RGM INTRODUCING – WE INTERVIEW SEATTLE ARTIST LAUREN DRAKE

Hiya folks thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today, grab a brew and take a seat.

What made you decide that music is a thing for you?

Singing has always been a source of joy, meaning, and expression for me, and writing has become an outlet for all of my emotions and experiences. I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t in music- emotionally and literally. It’s always been my first love, and I can’t imagine myself doing much else.

Introduce us to you and your musical history.

I am Lauren Drake! I’m a solo artist; a singer-songwriter and actor. I’ve been singing my whole life and started writing my own music at eleven years old. I got my start singing around Seattle, Washington and graduated from Pepperdine University’s theatre and music programs in 2022.

Name me your 3 favorite Albums.

Evermore by Taylor Swift, Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves, and Heard It In a Past Life by Maggie Rogers.

What was the first song you heard that steered you into a music path?

Taylor Swift is definitely my biggest musical influence, but my first real performance was singing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. I got the solo in my elementary school choir performance, and singing that in front of a big crowd in the high school auditorium and receiving so much positive feedback and support gave me the confidence I needed to start pursuing singing, voice lessons, etc. Taylor Swift is the reason I started writing songs and playing the guitar and piano.

The music industry is the hardest industry in the world to progress in, How do you feel you are doing?

I’m starting out. I lived in LA for a couple of months and thought that was the only place to chase this dream. It ended up being the wrong place for me at this time in my life, and I’m back home in Seattle now. I do have some insecurities and doubts about how I want to progress in this industry, but for now I’m just thankful that I can release music whenever and however I want and perform around town in places I love and feel supported in. I’m also pursuing acting in Seattle as well, and I’m very excited about that.

As you develop as an artist and develop using socials what ways do you get new ears on your music? Any tips?

I’ve been posting a lot of Taylor Swift covers/mash-ups on my Tik Tok page. Those have gotten the most traction from all the videos I’ve posted on there. I’ve found that being patient is what really helps me the most. Before, I would just post a video and if it hadn’t gotten enough views within an hour, I’d delete it. But now I post something and sleep on it, and usually wake up to it doing better than it would’ve had I deleted it.

Tell us Two truths and a lie about you?

My favorite movie is Megamind, my favorite city that I’ve travelled to is Vienna, and my favorite instrument to play is the acoustic guitar.

Do you sign up for any conspiracy theories?

I follow “Birds Aren’t Real” on pretty much every social media. I like to keep people guessing as to whether or not I actually believe in the feathered gospel.

Did you buy anything you don’t need during the pandemic?

I buy a lot of things I don’t need- the pandemic did not affect that.

What was the worst experience on stage?

I’m lucky enough to have never forgotten words/lyrics onstage (or if I have, I’ve blocked it from my immediate memory and can’t recall it) but I’ve definitely had a few auditions that I’ve blown due to nerves. I also had to do a designer run for a play once with a brand-new guitar (with brand-new strings) and after a few songs it went completely out of tune- but I was on stage the whole time and was supposed to be silent, so I couldn’t fix it. It sounded so bad.

Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about?

I used to run a pretty successful meme page on Instagram.

What makes you stand out as a band/artist?

I like to think that since my songs fill some sort of emotional void for me personally, it’s easy for them to connect with people. All of my major musical influences are amazing songwriters, and I think that influence paired with all the voice and acting training I’ve had makes it so I’m able to convey emotion in my songs well.

I hear you have new music, what can you tell us about it.

“Preludes.” A musical beginning, an introduction to something important: in this case, a love story. This EP journeys through a lightning-strike first meeting, a bold declaration of love, and then a promise for the future: three distinct musical beginnings. It came to life in 2020, when I wrote, performed and produced the first versions in my bedroom. They have since evolved into evocative and powerful love songs, “fixed and mixed” by John Lowell-Anderson.

Talk me through the thought process of the new tune/s.
These songs came to life in the early stages of my current relationship. I was inspired by Maggie Rogers to start trying to produce my own songs. I took an online class during the pandemic and started messing around with Logic, and that’s how these three songs were born.

What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?

I guess most of it was becoming comfortable with the vulnerability and confidence it takes to release such personal love songs. I had to get over the fear and stress of having people I know hear these lyrics. But once I did, I’ve kept focus on how proud I am of this music.


Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Nope. I was tempted to release them as demos, with no production edits beyond what I had done myself. But I instead sent them off to get mixed, and that was a great decision.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?

Give my other songs a listen! Especially “play along” – that one has a completely different vibe than these songs- it’s more singer-songwrtiter-y, folk-y, and acoustic.