Lizzie No, ep. 94

Around age 10, Lizzie No was getting tired of the violin. The Princeton-born No picked the harp after seeing it being wheeled into an elevator on 'Diff’rent Strokes.' It was the weirdest instrument that she could have imagined. While attending Stanford, she took on a job as a research assistant where she could listen to music for hours at a time while at work. Over time, she started to realize that she was far more interested in the music that she was listening to than the research that was being conducted. Music kept calling and gnawing at her to a degree where she finally allowed herself to give music a chance. As a songwriter, she works to evoke writers with important messages, particularly Bob Dylan, who became a true north after she learned a whole set of his songs on the harp and became in awe of the writing and morality tales in his political songs.

Lizzie shares her experience of being a Black folk singer in that she thought if she were to play country and folk that she would be taking someone else's music as her own. She didn't yet know that folk and country came from African musical forms that came to America because of slavery. She felt like she was fighting her way into something that she didn't have a right to. Once she started getting to know the Black artists that are in folk right now, she realized that she did belong and began to learn the history. Lizzie is whip-smart and her perspective on this topic could unsurprisingly fill an entire podcast episode on it's own. AND we talk about EGO and narcissism, which encompasses her latest album Vanity. Her insight on the different sides of the ego is fascinating. Literally could talk to Lizzie No everyday. 10/10! Please enjoy!