Ultimate Guitar Interview: Avril Details Biggest Challenges
Mar 15, 2022 20:35:42 GMT
MyHappySk8er likes this
Post by Jimmyzz on Mar 15, 2022 20:35:42 GMT
Avril Lavigne Details Biggest Challenges She Faced as Female Artist in the Industry, Explains Why 'You Don't Have to Put a Ton of Pressure on Yourself'
UG Exclusive: "You don't have to be perfect."
By Justin Beckner
Posted 03-15-2022
Posted 03-15-2022
Avril Lavigne Details Biggest Challenges She Faced as Female Artist in the Industry, Explains Why 'You Don't Have to Put a Ton of Pressure on Yourself'
Late last month, Avril Lavigne returned with her seventh studio album, titled "Love Sux." Bringing his signature pop-punk and alternative rock style to the masses, Avril proved that she's still that energetic musician. She's still young at heart and she's still rocking as hard as she did back in the 2000s.
Recently, UG's Justin Beckner got the chance to speak to Avril Lavigne about her new album, career, and various other topics. You can read the first part of the interview below.
Late last month, Avril Lavigne returned with her seventh studio album, titled "Love Sux." Bringing his signature pop-punk and alternative rock style to the masses, Avril proved that she's still that energetic musician. She's still young at heart and she's still rocking as hard as she did back in the 2000s.
Recently, UG's Justin Beckner got the chance to speak to Avril Lavigne about her new album, career, and various other topics. You can read the first part of the interview below.
March is International Women's Month. I was wondering what sort of challenges have you faced as a female artist in the industry? And have you seen things improve since you started 20 years ago?
I think things were way rougher for chicks 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and even five years ago in the world, in the media, and behind the scenes. Because unfortunately, people were getting away with things that were really not okay. I watched that Britney [Spears] documentary where they're showing her in interviews, and they're straight-up talking about her body and her boobs to her. It's so inappropriate, and never would that even happen now.
I think I was pretty lucky because I didn't have anything crazy like that happen. I'm also like, one of those girls, where people knew not to fuck with me. If someone did something, I would have said something. So, I think just in general, I was really lucky.
Because I worked with L.A. Reid - he discovered me and he was like, 'Hey, you have your own thing going on, style-wise, so you just do you.' Normally, we'd have people come in here and you'd figure out your style or look,' and I was just like, 'huh?' I was sitting in his office, and I was like 16 and I'm sitting there with my mom and I was like cool, you know, 'I'm allowed to keep wearing like baggy skater clothes and my fat skate shoes?', and he's like, 'Yeah,' and I was like, 'sick!' Because my parents, of course, were telling me, 'Avril, you need to dress nicer.' That instilled confidence in me. I was like, Yeah, I knew I had cool style and he made me feel very confident in myself and kind of said, basically, 'you keep doing you.'
So that wasn't a challenge, although it still continued to be a challenge outside of his office, because I would show up at photoshoots and they would want me to wear like, fucking pink laced blouses, and I'd be like, No. After that, a manager would have to come in and fight the magazine. I'd be like, can I just wear my ties? And they'd like, pull out my duffle bag, and pull out my stuff [and try to decide what I should wear]. [Ultimately,] I ended up getting to kind of really, just be me. But I mean, I was just a little fighter and I had to fight to be a writer, and then production-wise, for the songs to rock a little harder and be more pop-rock-driven and guitar-driven and even how they were stylized.
In general, as far as that stuff goes, I feel like I never had that much trauma personally, and I was well-protected by my team and family at the time. I always had family on the road and Lauren Christie, who I wrote my first album, was a really good role model for me, and she's still there for me today.
I think you've been a good role model for a lot of the upcoming crop of female musicians. Do you have any advice for that girl who just bought her first guitar?
Yeah, put a lot of time into it. You really have to work hard and give it chance. I know a few people who have bought a guitar and they never gave it the chance or the shot that it deserves. You have to learn it, you have to spend time practicing, because once you know it, you'll know it the rest of your life, and it'll be part of your life no matter what.
You'll be at a party, and you'll be like, 'Oh, I know how to play this.' Or you know, you might turn into a songwriter for a living, or you might just want to grab a guitar at a bar and jump on stage or you may end up doing that for a living. But you've got to own your craft. I remember doing that - being at a pub one time, and randomly, I took some guy's guitar just played one of my songs. You never know. When I have kids, I'm definitely going to have them take music lessons. Because once you spend a couple of years and you learn to play piano or you learn the guitar, you learn the drums, you take that with you your whole life. I think it's totally worth it to at least know a little bit of the basics of an instrument. It really gives your kid an opportunity if they want to play and then if they don't, they don't.
Also, you don't have to be perfect, and you don't have to put a ton of pressure on yourself. If you just want to rip fucking barre chords like I did the majority of my teenage years, great. If you don't want to get into crazy gnarly classical scales and shit, don't do it. If you can, and you want to, great. The more you learn, the better. But it can be as simple as you need it to be. You don't have to put a ton of pressure on yourself.
That's solid advice. Do you have any tour plans or what's next for you?
Yeah, so this is the seventh album, and this year is the 20th anniversary of my first album. So, we're going to be celebrating all year. I'm going to tour in May and MOD SUN is going to be opening. I'm announcing, I think this week or next week, my US tour dates for the summer and then going to different territories throughout the year. I'm happy to be back making some fucking rock and roll music and I'm having a great time. I can't wait to connect with the fans during all the live shows.
I think things were way rougher for chicks 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and even five years ago in the world, in the media, and behind the scenes. Because unfortunately, people were getting away with things that were really not okay. I watched that Britney [Spears] documentary where they're showing her in interviews, and they're straight-up talking about her body and her boobs to her. It's so inappropriate, and never would that even happen now.
I think I was pretty lucky because I didn't have anything crazy like that happen. I'm also like, one of those girls, where people knew not to fuck with me. If someone did something, I would have said something. So, I think just in general, I was really lucky.
Because I worked with L.A. Reid - he discovered me and he was like, 'Hey, you have your own thing going on, style-wise, so you just do you.' Normally, we'd have people come in here and you'd figure out your style or look,' and I was just like, 'huh?' I was sitting in his office, and I was like 16 and I'm sitting there with my mom and I was like cool, you know, 'I'm allowed to keep wearing like baggy skater clothes and my fat skate shoes?', and he's like, 'Yeah,' and I was like, 'sick!' Because my parents, of course, were telling me, 'Avril, you need to dress nicer.' That instilled confidence in me. I was like, Yeah, I knew I had cool style and he made me feel very confident in myself and kind of said, basically, 'you keep doing you.'
So that wasn't a challenge, although it still continued to be a challenge outside of his office, because I would show up at photoshoots and they would want me to wear like, fucking pink laced blouses, and I'd be like, No. After that, a manager would have to come in and fight the magazine. I'd be like, can I just wear my ties? And they'd like, pull out my duffle bag, and pull out my stuff [and try to decide what I should wear]. [Ultimately,] I ended up getting to kind of really, just be me. But I mean, I was just a little fighter and I had to fight to be a writer, and then production-wise, for the songs to rock a little harder and be more pop-rock-driven and guitar-driven and even how they were stylized.
In general, as far as that stuff goes, I feel like I never had that much trauma personally, and I was well-protected by my team and family at the time. I always had family on the road and Lauren Christie, who I wrote my first album, was a really good role model for me, and she's still there for me today.
I think you've been a good role model for a lot of the upcoming crop of female musicians. Do you have any advice for that girl who just bought her first guitar?
Yeah, put a lot of time into it. You really have to work hard and give it chance. I know a few people who have bought a guitar and they never gave it the chance or the shot that it deserves. You have to learn it, you have to spend time practicing, because once you know it, you'll know it the rest of your life, and it'll be part of your life no matter what.
You'll be at a party, and you'll be like, 'Oh, I know how to play this.' Or you know, you might turn into a songwriter for a living, or you might just want to grab a guitar at a bar and jump on stage or you may end up doing that for a living. But you've got to own your craft. I remember doing that - being at a pub one time, and randomly, I took some guy's guitar just played one of my songs. You never know. When I have kids, I'm definitely going to have them take music lessons. Because once you spend a couple of years and you learn to play piano or you learn the guitar, you learn the drums, you take that with you your whole life. I think it's totally worth it to at least know a little bit of the basics of an instrument. It really gives your kid an opportunity if they want to play and then if they don't, they don't.
Also, you don't have to be perfect, and you don't have to put a ton of pressure on yourself. If you just want to rip fucking barre chords like I did the majority of my teenage years, great. If you don't want to get into crazy gnarly classical scales and shit, don't do it. If you can, and you want to, great. The more you learn, the better. But it can be as simple as you need it to be. You don't have to put a ton of pressure on yourself.
That's solid advice. Do you have any tour plans or what's next for you?
Yeah, so this is the seventh album, and this year is the 20th anniversary of my first album. So, we're going to be celebrating all year. I'm going to tour in May and MOD SUN is going to be opening. I'm announcing, I think this week or next week, my US tour dates for the summer and then going to different territories throughout the year. I'm happy to be back making some fucking rock and roll music and I'm having a great time. I can't wait to connect with the fans during all the live shows.
