In March, 2005, I had the opportunity to interview Lisa Marie Presley. I just learned she died tonight and interviewing Elvis’s daughter was certainly a highlight of my time doing interviews. She talks about her journey in the music industry and how she transitioned from work to enjoying it. She also talks about how she was apprehensive about climbing the mountain of success and recognition as an artist, but she is still climbing it.
DM) When did it all switch from work to enjoying it?
LP) When I headlined, when I did my first tour.
DM) Was your first headline nerve-wracking in a way?
LP) No, because they loved the music. They loved my record and they get so into it that it really grew and came together in the end. I have to say it was the exchange that happened. It was the letters from the fans… “Your music helped me get through this illness”, “Your music changed my life”. It’s an incredible reaction and it took a while to sink in. It was a great experience, which leads to the second album. I don’t play big giant venues and the fans that I do have I really found my way with.
DM) Did you find that by interacting with the crowd you found your own voice?
LP) Yeah, I am which is kind of why I did it in the first place. The other thing is that I think I was pushed to the wrong demographic. I’m not a top-40 artist and that’s nothing I aspire to be. That’s not what I want.
DM) What do you want then?
LP) I’m very comfortable doing what I’m doing, playing in front of a few thousand people and when I see that I’m moving them and the music speaks to them. I want to know that I’m helping people and moving them. That’s what I’m about. I’m just a music lover, maybe that’s a naive
approach. I don’t have an interest in selling out to sell records.
DM) You mentioned that you’re comfortable in front of crowds of thousands but at one point you seemed to have avoided the crowds. Why the switch then?
LP) I have a very specific answer to that question. When you get attention for being an offspring of a famous person from the day you were born, without having continued a product it’s a very big difference. I’m doing something and exchanging something with eh audience. I’m giving, it’s a little more comfortable for me to get attention for that. Not for getting attention for whatever the reason. I personally needed to feel I was contributing somehow.
DM) Was there a moment that you realized that they like you for you and not for your famous dad?
LP) That was while I was touring. When the whole machine went into action and I finally realized that I don’t have just one demographic but it’s a mixed group of people. It was when I saw that fans were there for my songs.
DM) For so many years you lived under a big shadow, but it sounds like you’re saying, as of late your failures and success are your own. Were you apprehensive or cherishing that thought?
LP) It was something I was looking forward to but I was very apprehensive. Can I climb this mountain? Is this even possible? Am I delusional? In the beginning I wasn’t nervous from the critics, because I thought they’d like it. I knew that it was probably thought of as a sell
out or a pop thing, not knowing me at all. I was okay with that, but I was worried whether my music could help people and move them. Is it possible for people to hear my songs and understand them and be moved them? That was my biggest worry. It was a mountain to climb and I’m still climbing the mountain. I would be delusional to say I wasn’t… it’s still there.