Cumulus is the creative outlet for musician Alexandra Lockhart, who’s past two albums have won wide ranging praise from the likes of Stereogum, Interview, Consequence, PASTE, KEXP, Brooklyn Vegan, Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, and NPR Music’s All Songs Considered. The band recently released the single “Sunbeam,” a track that right away piqued our interest in knowing more about the project. We caught up with Alexandra to see what inspires her, how she got started and more!
1. How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
The “band” is a rotating cast of friends and collaborators in my life that I’ve met by existing in such a vibrant region of music! The Pacific Northwest areas I have lived (Seattle, Bellingham, Anacortes) are just full of musicians who do it for fun, who do it professionally, who do it only in their bedrooms, who play open mics, etc. I just try to immerse myself in the creative community wherever I go and I have naturally made friendships in that way that frequently result in either writing or playing together.
This most recent album was mainly written by me and my longtime friend and bandmate William Cremin. William also helped a great deal with arrangements when we brought our producer on board, Andrew Vait. Andrew was someone who I’ve rotated around for years- sharing stages, attending the same shows, etc. and then one day we finally got together to write a song for fun and hit it off instantly. When he started adding his ideas to William and I’s demos, it felt like magic!
“Cumulus” has no significant meaning other than I love clouds and daydreamed a lot as a kid (and still do!). I have been playing under that name since 2008.
2. Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
My dad was not a musician, but music was always in our house. He bought me a drumset when I was 16 because I had a few girlfriends that were in a band, and I wanted to be a part of that. I grew up attending concerts, addicted to the radio- I was one of those people that called in and requested songs and knew all of the top radio hits. Eventually in high school I found myself booking concerts in my small town because there was nothing for kids to do. That started connecting me with young musicians all around my state, and I wrote for a local music blog and got really involved with a venue called the Department of Safety (DOS) that was in Anacortes. The DOS was run by adults who lived in the upstairs of the venue, and then ran a venue in the downstairs. It was super communal- touring bands like TV on the Radio, Beach House, and Bonnie Prince Billy would come through and the venue would give them rooms to sleep in and cook the band dinner. I remember that it really blew my mind to know that you could be a “grown up” and still be involved in the music community- it didn’t have to be something you grow out of. That was a north star for me.
When I started college, I chose a university in Bellingham that had a reputable college radio station (KUGS) and immediately became a DJ. Eventually I worked for the radio station, worked for the on campus music venue booking shows, and eventually realized I loved writing songs and singing and had something to share. I started playing house shows, and all the connections that I had made from being a lover and supporter of music over the years just fell into place for me as an active musician. Other than a short stint playing drums for a punk band in college, I’ve really only performed in my own project. I have contributed songwriting and backup vocals to a lot of artists records- Odesza, Rocky Votolato, Mike Edel, John Van Deusen (off the top of my head).
3. First concert that you ever went to?
I attended a lot of community/downtown type folk and blues concerts with my dad as a kid. Bumbershoot was a festival we attended every year for 15 years, and the first Bumbershoot set that I vividly remember and will always consider my first real rock show would be watching Third Eye Blind. I remember singing along to “Semi Charmed Life” on my dad’s shoulders, of course having no idea what that song was truly about!
4. What's your writing process like?
I’ve started to put less pressure on myself, and I’ve also fallen out of the practice of regular daily writing, so my songs really take their time to fully form. I am someone who always wakes up with a melody in my brain- when I’m in the shower, when I’m cooking, when I’m going on a walk- I just make up songs as I go. I feel so grateful for the invention of the iphone and the “voice memos” feature. I have thousands of pieces of songs in my voice memos.
“Something Brighter” as a record happened because I moved away from Seattle and was unemployed for a bit, so I had extra time on my hands and wanted to dig into my voice memos and find the best unfinished ideas and reapproach them. When Covid and quarantine hit- it was even more of a reason to just dig into my wealth of demos and find the hidden treasures. Once I started working on those ideas, I became inspired and was more immersed in song mode- so a couple of the songs on the record came out of me all at once from being in that zone. This record is more of a patchwork/quilting process than any other album I’ve written. Very few of the songs had a linear path, and a couple of them were ideas I never thought would become a full song. I needed William and Andrew to hear the demos and then tell me- “oh yeah- that’s definitely a song” and then I’d be surprised and go “alright- let’s do it! Let’s figure it out!”
5. What other artists or songs inspire your music?
I’m constantly discovering new music. When people ask me what genre I like to listen to, I feel it’s such an odd question because I’m drawn more to the song itself. I really love hooks, lyrics, and it’s hard to explain but…honesty? Like when the song really makes you feel something and the writer is conveying something raw and true- that stops me in my tracks. So- when a song is either incredibly smart (like a crazy impressive pop hook or a clever lyric) or incredibly honest- I’m there. When you can combine those two things- whooo boy.
On my playlist, I’ve got a couple songwriters I’ve been listening to for years like Jenny Lewis, Ben Kweller, and Samantha Crain. Samantha Crain released my favorite record of hers in 2020 and the song “Pastime” just has an amazing rhythm to it, and a great hook that makes you want to drive around with the top down and scream at the top of your lungs.
Ben Kweller has a nostalgic place in my heart, and he’s an incredibly clever songwriter who knows how to describe love in the sweetest ways. I actually used this song “Starz” as my procession song at my wedding! “I wanna dance with you all night, I wanna hold on to you tight, forever.” So simple, so good!
Madi Diaz is a songwriter that just blew me away with her vulnerability, in her voice, in her arrangements, and in her words. Same with Joy Oladokun- her songs just make you feel like you have a friend that you can console with. The Highwomen released one of my favorite records of 2019, and I would say the song “Crowded Table” is in my top 10 favorite songs of all time. Obviously the band itself is a supergroup of songwriters, but this song in particular is such an understated anthem of unity and friendship. I cried the first time I heard it.
As for U2 and Liz Phair- I have been digging into records that came out before I really knew how to critically listen. It’s so silly and fascinating to me that music critics gave Liz such a hard time for “Why Can’t I”- saying she was selling out, going too pop. It’s such a fucking great song, and that’s it! U2 “I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is just so epic. I hope I can record a song that epic one day.
6. What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be it's own thing?
Oh man, this question feels like you’ve been inside my head listening to all of my insecurities! But seriously, I’ve been thinking about this a ton lately. My philosophy has evolved over the years, probably in a big part because of access to money, resources, and trying to build a creative path that is sustainable.
My first record was made in 3 days- and recorded mostly live and exactly the way we rehearsed the songs. It was fun, and perfect for a baby band making a first record! In my 2nd album, Comfort World, I had no band but I had a batch of songs I believed in. I found a producer who could be my creative partner, Mike Davis, and we brought different players into the studio as we needed them, and really dove into experimenting and exploring the world of the song. I realized that, in my opinion, restricting the universe of your album to what you can perform live is only going to hold you back in the studio. Being in the studio is my favorite thing because you can throw the craziest ideas at the wall and see what sticks, you can go big! You can strip it down! The possibilities are endless. I carried this perspective into “Something Brighter” as well. We have a ton of electronic beats, violins, and details that would be really difficult to replicate live- but it’s a fun challenge to figure out and ultimately I’ve come to terms with the live show and record world being two separate things.
Sometimes I get self-conscious because my live show, for reasons of finance, travel, necessity, will always be more stripped down than my record. I have no idea how most bands can afford to tour these days. Touring with a band always came with huge sacrifices- quitting a job, borrowing a van, deteriorating health, the list goes on. I absolutely loved it, and learned so much from it, but after a while I knew that if I wanted to continue making music, I was going to have to make it financially sustainable and involve less moving parts. This is also why it is so important to just write good songs- songs that can be played with a band, or played with just one guitar. I’d like to think my songwriting and personality can transcend whatever live stage arrangement I have access to and still build a connection with the audience.
7. Has Cumulus toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? worst shows?
We have toured quite a few times, I think I’ve seen about 43 out of 50 states through touring! I love meeting strangers and asking them where they are from and connecting over their local rock clubs.
A few of my favorite tour memories:
Playing at Asbury Lanes in New Jersey. It is a bowling alley, bar/pizza restaurant, and venue and they take amazing care of their artists. It was the first time we’d seen the ocean in weeks, and I took a picture in front of the Stone Pony because I am Bruce Springsteen obsessed. We met a band from Boston that was watching our soundcheck and went to their show after our show. Everyone we met was so kind and for some reason this night just sticks out to me and it was from like 2013?
I love discovering great all ages venues like Cafe Berlin in Columbia, Missouri. They made everyone in our tour party a hot vegetarian dinner, and the stage was covered in twinkle lights and it felt so cozy.
Smoking weed out of a french fry someone had hollowed out into a one hitter in Atlanta, Georgia. (This was so if they got pulled over, they could eat the evidence!)
Playing amazing sessions at places like Daytrotter and meeting the crew at Audiotree in Chicago. The Audiotree team is so passionate about supporting artists, and the lighting/sound/video work they do is ridiculously impressive.
Pulling over and checking out landmarks, beaches, swimming holes, local restaurants, museums, and public art.
Honestly the best shows are every night- even the worst shows, and you don’t realize that until something like the pandemic hits and it’s all taken away in an instant. It’s a unique experience that not everyone gets to have, and connecting with people through the words I write is such a humbling and life affirming experience. Yes, we’ve had our van breakdown, we’ve had our gear stolen, we’ve slept in some really scary places, we’ve played empty rooms, we’ve gotten into crazy fights driven by sleepless nights, but at the end of the day touring memories will always be some of the best memories of my life.
8. What's up next for you?
“Something Brighter” officially comes out on October 21st and I”m so excited!
I still have creative goals, like touring Europe and the UK and co-writing a song that gets on the charts! But overall, I plan to just continue writing songs and making records that I love. I still have so many songs to finish! Hopefully touring can enter the picture again, but for now I’m playing shows regionally around Washington and prioritizing more intimate venues and settings that allow me to strip things down, get nerdy about songwriting, and feel connected to the audience.
https://cumulussongs.com/