Exclusive Interview: Eli Lieb Talks Self-Acceptance, Meditation And More
Earlier this month, we caught up with American singer-songwriter Eli Lieb to discuss his new single 'Lightning In A Bottle' and much more!
Eli is definitely one of our favourite independent artists around at the moment so it was a pleasure chatting to him. He's incredibly talented and very down to Earth too; fame or popularity certainly hasn't gone to his head.In the interview, Eli spoke about: his musical inspirations, life as an independent artist, his interest in meditation, rumours about a collaboration with Adam Lambert and more. The openly gay singer also left a lovely message for his fans and gave great advice to any who's struggling to come to terms with their sexuality or identity.
The interview aired on Gaydio, the UK's only LGBT radio station, last week and it can be heard or read below. Gaydio also gave 'Lightning In A Bottle' its UK radio premiere and it received an incredible reaction.
Your latest single ‘Lightning In A Bottle’ has a great message but for people who haven’t heard it, how would you describe the song’s meaning?
“I’d say the song is just about really owning who you are and being proud of who you are and not feeling a fear of being yourself. It’s just about self-acceptance and not being afraid of being who you are.”
Have you received any messages from fans saying that the song has helped them embrace who they are or maybe even come out?
“Absolutely, every single day which is awesome. I mean I get so many tweets off people saying ‘this is exactly what I needed to see today, I was feeling terrible and I watched this video/heard this song and I feel really good’ and that’s sort of a constant everyday thing. It’s really great for me because that’s the whole point of the song so I’m happy that the message really hits home.”
For anyone who maybe is struggling with their sexuality or identity right now, what would you say to them?
“My advice would be that it is a scary thing to really look inside yourself and really accept who you are. And it can be a hard process but I guarantee that once you get there and you really accept yourself, with no holding back, your life will expand and you will become extremely happy. A lot of times when I talk about that, people say ‘but it’s hard for me right now’ and it can be. Sometimes it’s a journey and it’s not going to be an easy one but when you get there, it is worth it.”
And Shangela from Ru Paul’s Drag Race stars in the video, how did that come about?
“I am friends with the guy who produces Ru Paul’s album so I knew that he was close in that camp. So I sent him a text, I told him the concept of the video and he said Shangela to me. Every dancer and performer was filmed in a different city and I was only there for the Los Angeles one which was all of my shots and Shangela’s. The performance that you see Shangela do in the video, just watching her do the actual performance that we recorded which she sang a Lady Gaga song, it was incredible and I was so excited when I saw her perform it because I knew the footage was going to be amazing.”
Your previous single ‘Zeppelin’ is slightly more pop/rock, can we expect more songs like that?
“Yeah, I mean I definitely write pop songs. They vary between what you've just heard in ‘Lightning In A Bottle’ which is more sort of pop whereas ‘Zeppelin’ is pop/rock and I've got some other stuff that’s almost more indie sounding. They are all very cohesive but they all have their own flare.”
And you also released a song titled ‘Safe In My Hands’ for Allstate’s LGBT Campaign. Can you tell us more about your involvement with them and the project as a whole?
“Yeah. I put out a music video/single called ‘Young Love’ a year and a half ago and the guys who created the Allstate’s campaign saw that video and liked the message and everything behind it. They approached me to be the face and voice of this Allstate campaign so they asked me to write a song specifically for it and gave me all the details of what they wanted it to be. Then we got the song to them and it just worked.”
“That’s the one thing that’s been so amazing to be. I set out to be a musician and just based off of my sexuality and just being who I am without any holding back or even making a big deal out of it, this whole other aspect of my career has opened up which is really advocacy and helping people really embrace who they are. But it’s done in a subtle realistic way as opposed to pickets and marching and fighting. It’s really living by example and it’s incredible to see the profound effect it has on people.”
There’s been rumours that you've worked with Adam Lambert, can we expect to hear a collaboration soon?
“I don’t know. (laughs) You live in LA, you’re in the industry, you meet a lot of people and you become friends. You work with them, you work together because you want to see what can happen but what actually translates into the public seeing it you never know. So you keep on collaborating and see what happens.”
Who would you say some of your biggest musical influences are?
“It’s not necessarily maybe reflected in my music but I think Sia’s writing is incredible; I love her very specific voice. The songs are very her, you can tell that she’s just writing these song and it’s what comes out. I love Bonnie McKee, I think she’s an incredible writer. I also love Fiona Apple and Bjork. There’s a lot of different influences; some of them are reflected in my songs and some of them not. I think I’m just mostly inspired by people who are really writing from their own strong place and aren't worried about if people will like it’, they just do it.”
Something people may not know is that you often meditate, do you find it helps with your song writing?
“Yeah, for sure. I do transcendental meditation, I've been doing it my whole life and I was born into a family of meditators. The whole point of any form of meditation is to get more in tune with your higher self and I think the more in tune you become with yourself, the more everything opens up. You become more creative, more in tune with the forces that create and I think that it’s helped me remain really balanced in my life in really understanding who I am. I think the more balanced you live your life and the more you really understand who you are, the more powerful whatever you do will be. It frees your mind more because you’re not so locked into the idea of ‘this song has to make it’ or ‘this thing has to work’ because you’re contempt with yourself and your life."
"So when you are and you don’t put the pressure of things needing to work on what you create, you just allow what naturally comes out and you’re much freer. I think that’s where the excitement comes with creating art. And you’ll notice that the people who really make their huge impact in society are the ones that have their own unique voice; they weren’t trying to model themselves after people. They were just being who they are.”
And you’re an independent artist - do you feel more involved with everything because of that and how would you imagine it compares to being signed to a major label?
“I am the captain of the ship. I am involved in everything highly and I've created everything from scratch. Starting out with no help at all, I had to navigate how to just be seen. I've done everything; social media, making the music videos, the Youtube videos, all of that. Producing music was just doing it in my bedroom at the beginning stages and now that I've had more success and more acknowledgement, I have a great team of people that are helping me like a manager and a publicist. But I am still fully in charge of everything and I think I have now brought myself to a place where that is how I want it to be. I never want people to be making decisions on my behalf. I enjoy being heavily involved. When you’re at the label, it’s not like that. Aside from being a musician, I really feel like I've become a business person as well which I never expected but actually really appreciate.”
You’re based in the US but do have you any plans to come and play some shows in the UK in the future?
“I mean I would love to, I love the UK so much. My only limitation is that because I’m independent, I have to pay for everything. So when I record an album, when I make a music video, when I hire someone to help then all of that comes out of my pocket. So planning a tour overseas is a daunting task when you also have other things that you have to fund. So I kind of say I’m going down a path where every step I take, I am putting a brick in front of me so I can step more so when the right thing shows itself, I would definitely like to come over. I’ve been over to the UK a bunch and I love it, I’ love to spend more time there.”
2014's been a great year for you, can you give any clues about what we can expect next year?
“Oh man. It’s that same thing, I am walking down this path that I know is there and it keeps on being built in front of me brick by brick. I've been in quite a few meetings and I have more coming up but you never really want to say anything until something is set in stone but I definitely think 2015 is going to be another great year.”
And if you could leave one message for everyone who’s supported you on your journey so far, what would it be?
“That I love you all. I really try to make people understand how they really are the ones who have enabled me to have a career. Without fans, it would not be possible. My job is to create something that people will like and just be who I am but aside from that, it’s fans that spread my music and make people like the Allstate people see me and make all these things really available. I try to make people understand that they really basically are my record label and I think that they do but you know, that’s what I would say to them.”
'Lightning In A Bottle' is available here on iTunes and we'd definitely recommend that you check out some of Eli's other original songs: 'Zeppelin', 'Young Love' and 'Safe In My Hands'. Eli has also covered many famous tracks over the years and you can view them here on Youtube; our personal favourite is 'Born To Die' by Lana Del Rey.
As well as releasing fantastic music, Eli has become a great role model and his songs have helped to inspire people all over the world with their great message. We can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for Eli.
