Lisbee Stainton | Interview

Girl On An Unmade Bed  - The Interview by Akustik Gitarre

How did you start playing guitar?  
I remember wanting to play the guitar from about the age of 5 onwards - my dad's guitar used to be on a stand in the living room so I'd go and sit next to it trying to strum my hand across the strings like I'd seen him do, whilst singing random little songs in accompaniment. I didn't actually get my own guitar or start learning it until I was 8 years old and my hands were big enough to play a full size guitar. I've always had ridiculously small hands so it was very frustrating to have to wait that long! From the moment I started learning the guitar, I loved it. I started studying classical guitar playing on a Spanish acoustic and began writing songs on it when I was 9.   Did you grow up in a musical family, did you have support?    
My dad's family are quite musical and he encouraged my sister and I to sing from an early age. Music was a pretty integral part of our family life so I spent a lot of time listening to it one way or another! I think I first sang in front of an audience when I was 3 years old: my sister and I sang in the village square of Hamble (near Southampton) on Christmas eve! 
Who were your early musical experiences / influences (first projects, gigs)?     
My early musical experiences consisted of whatever my parents were listening to at the time: Fleetwood Mac, Sting/The Police, Carole king, Kate Bush, Supertramp, The Beatles, Lindisfarne…to name just a few, so primarily bands from their upbringing in the 70s and early 80s. When I was 7 years old I remember vividly that my favourite artists were Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Lindisfarne. I don’t think I was that bothered about what was in the charts until I began avidly watching ‘Top of the Pops’ when I was about 10 years old! I think I’m fairly heavily influenced by the music that I listened to growing up and even now my favourite era of music is the singer/songwriters of the 70s: Joni Mitchell, Carole King, James Taylor, etc.  
How do you write usually, what inspires you?       
Inspiration can really come from anywhere with me: from something I’ve seen to a personal experience of even just a sentence in a book. I seem to know when I need to get my guitar and write in the same way that I know when I’m hungry. I usually start with a chord sequence; it’s very rare for me to write the lyrics first! Once I’ve come up with something on the guitar that I like, the melody and lyrics predictably follow and the song begins to develop. It can take me from anything to 20 minutes to 2 weeks to finish a song, depending on the song, I suppose! I’m often not happy with a first draft, so I’ll usually go back to a piece a couple of times before I feel it’s ready to be played live, and that’s generally I how measure it: if I can see myself performing the song, then it’s good to go.
You play an 8-String guitar made by Joe White. Tell us a bit about that unusual instrument, your way of playing it and your philosophy of that guitar sound.    
I went to Joe White at the beginning of last year and originally asked him to make me a 12-string guitar, as that’s something I’ve always wanted! However, he’d been thinking about the concept of an 8-string for some time and asked me if I wanted to be his guinea pig and be the first to try it. I pretty much agreed without hesitation and we began planning the guitar: the finished product had been made exactly to my specifications, the size of my hands, my height, etc., and the materials were all my choice as well, so when it was finished it was absolutely perfect! It plays like a dream and although it took me a month or two to really get used to the two extra strings, it’s surprisingly easy to play! The two extra strings are sympathetic strings on the D and G, which rather wonderfully makes it sound like everything I play is much harder than it actually is! It produces a very full and warm mid-range sound and has been described as having a dulcimer feel to it – it has all the perks of a 12 string but the practical ease of a 6 string! Strumming or picking, it always sounds great.   
You played as an unsigned artist in front of 30.000 people at "BBC in  concert". What kind of experience was it?      
 BBC Radio 2 came to record Joan Armatrading at Colston Hall in Bristol when I was her support act on her world tour at the beginning of this year. She was due to be on their ‘BBC in Concert’ show and they arrived just before my sound check. They hung around to listen to my band and I and then approached us afterwards to ask if we would mind if they recorded us too: I wasn’t going to say no to that! It transpired that I would also get played on ‘BBC in Concert’ the week after Joan on the same show as Crowded House – it was mind boggling to think that it all came out of one sound check!   
You also play Nylon string ­ most players choose Nylon or Steel string. You seem to have no problem to switch between different fret boards, nut width, string action, etc...?    
My first guitar was a nylon string Spanish acoustic guitar and I played that almost exclusively until I was almost 20 and I got my first steel string guitar. The only problem I experienced switching between the two was that at first the calluses on the end of my fingers were nowhere near hard enough to play a steel string guitar for any length of time!  nylon strings are much softer to play, so I had to harden my hands up to transfer to a steel string. Other than that, I think it’s same as switching between any guitar, nylon or steel string: each individual instrument is different so you’ll always have to slightly adjust your playing method. I love that about guitars.   British press calls you ‘The English rose with the 8-string guitar’. Does that make you proud?
I don’t know if it necessarily makes me proud, as such, but it’s certainly a compliment! I think the ‘English rose’ thing possibly comes from my retaining a very English accent when I sing, whereas a lot of English singers tend to affect an American accent. Either way, it’s a nice nickname to have!   
Is it true, that Tom Robinson somehow ‘found’ you and introduced you on BBC 6 music? Tell us more... 
Yes, it is true! Tom Robinson messaged me on my Myspace page two years ago and asked if I’d be happy for him to play my song, ‘Red’ on his BBC Introducing show on BBC 6music! That’s really when things started to properly move forward for me: I played a live session for Tom on his 6music show and then again on BBC Radio 2, which led to one of my songs, ‘Just Like Me’, getting ‘song of the week’ on the Radcliffe and Maconie Show on Radio 2. Without Tom I’m not sure I would have done half the things I’ve done in the last 2 years! He really is a pioneer for new and unsigned music and he airs bands and artists who otherwise wouldn’t get a look-in in the music industry; a lot of careers have been made because of him. I can’t thank him enough.   
You’ve been working with guitarist Jon Bishop on your album. For what kind of qualities did you choose him? Tell us about your working relationship.     
Jon is quite simply an awesome guitarist and he’s good friends with my producer on six of the tracks on the album, Rupert Christie. We hired a barn in East Sussex to record some of the album for a week and Jon came down for a couple of days, laden with what seemed like every type of the guitar under the sun! His technique is basically flawless and it was fantastic to have him playing on my album. Although the main guitar parts on the tracks were played by me, Jon added a vital amount of colour and warmth to them that I couldn’t have done. I hope to be able to work with him again.  
What was the biggest challenge of that album in terms of playing? Recording? Composing?     
The biggest challenge for me at the time was my inexperience in studio recording. I’ve been performing and composing for years so by comparison my studio technique was a bit lacking and a simple process like playing to a click was something I had to work really hard at. Luckily I’ve had a lot more experience since then so I’m hoping I’ve got much better!  
What acoustic guitars (make, type, year) did you use on your album?       Oh wow, well unfortunately I can only tell you a bit about the guitars that I played, not what Jon Bishop used. I was using my Spanish acoustic nylon string guitar, of which it’s history is unknown – it has no label and I’ve had it for years! My 8-string guitar, which was made by Joe White last year. Sorry about the lack of details there!  What attracts you sonically on acoustic guitars, acoustic instruments in general?     
The thing I love the most about acoustic instruments is that you don’t need to amplify them at all, you can quite simply just pick them up and play. My roots are in playing the classical guitar so there was never any desire or need to even mic it up and I was dependent on filling out the sound entirely myself. I suppose I still carry that with me: although I absolutely love plugging everything in now and playing with a band, I still really enjoy playing solo, especially when there’s no mic and no leads and DI boxes involved.    
How do record your acoustic guitar(s) in the studio, do you use a PU (which make and model) or microphones (make, model)?    
When I’m recording my stuff just in my bedroom I use an Apogee Duet interface that I plug my guitars into plus I use two condenser mics to get that live acoustic sound (again, I can’t remember their makes and model – sorry!).   

Some statistics:   You’re 21? No, I am now 22.
You where born in Basingstoke? 
I loved in Basingstoke from the age of 7, but I was born in Southampton.
Where do you live at the moment? South East London.