Leighton Antelman On: What Makes Lydia, Lydia
Welcome to your brand new life
There’s an undeniable anticipation that surrounds the thought of finally seeing one of your favorite bands live after religiously listening to their music for the last five years of your life.
Lydia, Copyright © Dylan Eddinger Photography
But there’s a whole new kind of anticipation when you actually have the chance to sit down and talk to one of the band members and pick their brain about what it is that makes them who you love.
Lydia embraced the crowd at World Cafe Live on November 13th. Before the show started, however, I had the chance to chat with frontman Leighton Antelman and discuss all things Lydia, and my excitement, as I’m sure he could tell, was not easily contained.
This fall tour is unlike any of Lydia’s other tours. They’re joined onstage by a trio of strings, therefore allowing for some rearrangement of both old and new songs.
Evan Chapman, Copyright © Dylan Eddinger Photography
“We’ve been wanting to do this tour for a while now,” Antelman says. “I love playing with a lot of people onstage.”
That enjoyment was so evident during the performance. I love hearing smiles in a singer’s voice, and I could tell just how happy the whole band was to be here. There was a constant flow of relaxed movement all night. The crowd was totally caught up in the music and the slow, hypnotic sparks of light onstage. It was a very visually pleasing show.
Matthew Keller, Copyright © Dylan Eddinger Photography
Their newest album, “Run Wild,” has been one of my exclusive favorites front to back, because it emanates a sound that is so recognizably Lydia, while still managing to attain an incredible aspect of different, and I wanted to know where the inspiration came from.
“I’m a little biased because I wrote it,” Antelman says. “But that would be a strange way to write songs, to ask yourself if this sounds too much or too less like other stuff. I just try to write about whatever is going on in my life at the moment and let the pieces fall where they may.”
I’m happy that he likes to stay true to what he knows rather than writing for a specific reception from an audience. That’s what makes Lydia one of my favorites; they do it for themselves.
I always admire artists who are able to portray a sense of specificity in their writing, and Lydia encapsulates this perfectly. Take, “Coffee Drips:”
Shawn Strader, Copyright © Dylan Eddinger Photograph
upstairs I hear her as she sings
she’s never sure if I’m gonna leave
in between notes and how she breathes
I heard her laughing ’cause she’s singing off key
To me, songwriting is incredibly difficult. To Leighton, it seems to come exceptionally easily. His words are beautiful and poetic and place me in the exact moment. His songwriting process is a bit of both a group and a solo effort.
“All three of us will write at our own houses and then once we have a handful of ideas we’ll get together and hash out the details that way. I’ve never really been a part of a group that sits in a room and writes a song together. If you can do that – more power to you, but that’s just not how Lydia rolls.”
Lydia isn’t his only outlet. Antelman is a key member of another band that has recently been getting lots of attention as well, The Cinema. To work on two projects at once must allow for some inspiration between the two, though Leighton disagrees.
Copyright © Dylan Eddinger Photography
“I try to keep them separate so they don’t morph into the same band. I wouldn’t say they inspire each other, I think they’re complimentary in the way that they are comprised of totally separate humans. So I have a completely different writing experience with Matt Malpass than I do with Lydia. It’s a palette cleanser to work on each project after each record.”
Of course I had to ask how he likes Philly. Leighton joked that he’s always cold when he’s here, so that’s where his memory seems to jump to every time he thinks of the City of Brotherly Love.
Philadelphia always has the most receptive crowds. There hasn’t been a single concert that I’ve been to where a band wasn’t totally received with love, and Lydia’s show was no exception.
Leighton Antelman, Copyright © Dylan Eddinger Photography
“I feel like we’ve always been embraced here and it’s always one of the bigger shows of the whole tour.”
Philly loves you, Lydia, and you gave us a performance to prove that you love us right back. Pick up “Run Wild,” now, and check out their earlier albums as well because I know you won’t be disappointed.
Keep up with their fall tour on Instagram @lydiamusic, and don’t forget to follow our Instagram account @brotherlylovelivemusic for more pictures from the show as well as from our previous posts, shot by Dylan Eddinger.