Of all of the amazing women on the Sunset line up, Lizzy Jane is a name who really jumps off the page. She has been curating a solid reputation for herself in the Bay area for the past few years as both a performer and producer. Being a Tampa native and former resident DJ at The Ritz, she quickly grew her local fan base each night. Lizzy would open up for huge names in the EDM music scene.
Now, she’s got her own spot on the lineup at arguably, one of the most anticipated live music events this year. Speaking to Lizzy was such a pleasure and her passion for music is contagious. We chatted about what she has planned for the rest of the year, her advice to aspiring producers, and we received a deeper look into her creative process while making music. We’re so excited to see what’s to come for Lizzy Jane, as she gives us the inside scoop of what she’s been up to since quarantine.
MIC DROP: Is this your first festival back since the pandemic? How has it been?
Lizzy Jane: Yes, absolutely. It was amazing. It was wonderful. I looked up and then there were just tons of f*cking people and it like… *exhales* I don’t know, COVID has kinda been a blessing in disguise because I’ve taken this time to make music I really want to make.
And I’ve moved forward in my musical progression way more than if I would’ve just kept going and COVID didn’t happen. The podcast, the EP… it all feeds into one another. It’s good. I’m very happy.
MIC DROP: What did you miss the most about live shows?
Lizzy Jane: Ohhh the energy. Yeah definitely the energy. And being able to hear songs that I was working on, because I have a bunch of monitors, but hearing something on this system is so different from hearing something at home or in your headphones. And I understand the masks due to COVID and keeping everyone safe, but it was really nice to see everyone’s faces. That’s what I miss the most — being able to see everyone’s faces and feel their energy.
MIC DROP: In terms of production, what comes first for you? The music, the lyrics, the visuals — what’s your creative process look like?
Lizzy Jane: So my process, until literally about 3 months ago was that I would always start with a melody or a synthesis and I would have that as my motif for the song. I’d work on the drop then take the drop elements and minimize them and build into the drop of the song. But as of recently, I just sat down and wrote a whole EP in about a week and a half by starting by writing the lyrics first. So, I have a new EP coming out on a really awesome label in the fall that’s all vocal-driven like “Home”.
Where I come from, the last thing I learned to do as far as production, was the act of producing [for a job]. Before that, as a kid and growing up in college I would always do the music for singer/songwriters, I would perform at open mic nights, all of that. So that’s kinda what I have in my body. It was just an obstacle to overcome to figure out how to intertwine the two.
Now, I’m at that point where you start with a traditional song structure, and then you build the rest of the song around it. And that’s how we got “Home”. So that formula obviously worked and it’s great, haha.
A lot of people have co-writers and stuff but I write all of my own lyrics. I enjoy the singer/songwriter aspect of it, and then I’ll have my mix and master engineer do the mixing and mastering part of it. So that’s my approach now. It’s something I wish I would’ve tried forever ago, but it’s all part of the journey so I understand. I wouldn’t have made that connection if I didn’t go through all of that sh*t.
MIC DROP: Sunset is boasting a female-heavy lineup in a genre that is mostly male-dominated. How has this bias affected your career? Positively or Negatively?
Lizzy Jane: So, there’s pros and cons to everything. I wanna say right now in our industry, for every male who is in a position that doesn’t want to see a female succeed, there’s a male in a position that wants to see a female succeed. So it’s pretty balanced. I think now more than ever, because we were removed from this kind of environment.
Online you saw a call out for women, you saw a call out for people of color, you saw a call out for all of that sh*t to be recognized on lineups, as they should be. I think that talent buyers finally have pressure on themselves to fulfill those quotas. And like, I don’t give a sh*t if you’re filling a quota to fill a quota, you’re giving an opportunity to someone who is going to make new fans and spread whatever message they have.
I think now more than ever too, there are women producers that are making their own music and they’re proceeding hugely. I can’t wait to see where we are in like 5 years. It’s gonna be a whole different ball game.
It’s kinda like the NBA where it’s like, female basketball players aren’t paid as much as male basketball players. So, when you look at the ratio of men and women in the industry it’s always substantially smaller, but I really love when I see lineups come out and people are like, “Why the fuck aren’t there more women on this?”
It all starts with the fan base. It all starts with fans saying what they want because if they go for what they want, the talent buyers will listen! So it all comes from a fan saying, “Hey I know this girl. She’s f*cking awesome she should be on this lineup.”
Like I think of LUCII. I think of KENDOLL. I think of those girls where it’s like, they will be headliners, you know. It’s all just like a matter of time where you just have to trust the process, but it’s happening. Even today we had JVNA, Softest Hard, and LUCII. You know, it’s girl girl girl. VAMPA’s playing. I played. There’s girls in the Cool Down tent. There’s new locals coming in. So like, every kind of generation we move forward, there’s more females coming in. And I think that’s the result of people like REZZ and Alison Wonderland saying, “Hey you can do this”.
I remember when I started. I knew JEANIE, and like Mad Girl and that was it. That was us, but now there’s GRL GANG and we have a whole community there. There’s a Discord with 200 girls in there, and all of my students that I teach on my Patreon are all women! So it’s like, that’s like the fiscal proof of it growing, you know.
MIC DROP: What advice do you have for aspiring female producers?
[First], it’s about realizing that this is hard work. Being a woman gives you a huge advantage in this industry, but you must be willing to work. If you have a good head on your shoulders and you’re willing to be patient, you’ll do well.
Every career has a shelf life. You see people come in and they’re on the touring circuit and they disappear two years later. So, you have to decide if you want it to be a chapter in your life or if you want it to be a career. The most success I’ve seen, not only from my career but from other people that inspire me, comes from taking it way slower than you want it to be to make sure you’re building bricks instead of straw because then, you’ll never move backwards. So, that’s the approach we take to my project. Rather than running ads or promos, we’ve set strong grassroots, and it’s working.
As an artist, you have so many doubtful moments where you’re questioning if what you’re doing is working, or if you need to change something. But the answer is no. You just have to be patient. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned. You have to be patient. Don’t run yourself into a wall and burn yourself out, just stay consistent. It’s best for you to work a couple hours a day on something for everyday of the week, rather than staying up on a 3 night bender to finish. So it’s just about having that peace of mind to keep you going forward.
MIC DROP: For any of our readers who are brand new to your music, pick one song for them to listen to that would sum up your sound best.
Lizzy Jane: So, for my future sound, I have a lot of stuff coming out, definitely listen to “Home”. I also just released “Forgive Me” with a good friend of mine Too Kind. It’s a mix of hybrid trap then it goes into a house drop. That was really enjoyable too. I have a few really heavy releases coming out, and then I have my singer/songwriter projects, so we’re running both alleys.
All socials: @thisislizzyjane
Website: https://www.thisislizzyjane.net/
