Post by Jimmyzz on Oct 15, 2019 3:06:06 GMT
mcall.com
Q&A INTERVIEW: Avril Lavigne, playing Parx Casino tonight, tells how she kept her ‘Head Above Water’ through health and personal struggles
In October 2014, Avril Lavigne — the perky, punky, pop singer whose 2002 debut album sold 7 million copies and whose songs “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi” and “Girlfriend” were chart-topping gold and platinum hits — found herself in a hospital.
After months of exhaustion and lethargy that sapped any ability to perform, Lavigne was diagnosed with a severe case of Lyme Disease, the tick-borne infectious illness characterized by extreme muscle and joint pain.
It led to what Lavigne says was “a few years in bed and on heavy treatment.”
To make matters worse, within a year of her diagnosis, Lavigne was dealing with the separation and eventual divorce from her husband of three years, Chad Kroeger of the band Nickelback.
But now, Lavigne is largely recovered and on her first U.S. tour in five years — a jaunt that Friday brings her to Parx Casino in Bensalem for a sold-out show.
The tour is supporting “Head Above Water,” her first album in nearly six years and, she says, deeply reflective of her health and personal struggles. The disc, released Feb. 15, peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s Albums chart and gave Lavigne her 11th gold hit, with the title track.
In a recent call from Los Angeles, Lavigne spoke about her struggles, her new disc, and the future. Here’s a transcript of the call:
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
AVRIL LAVIGNE: “I’m good! How are you?
Just fine, thanks. Thanks for taking out time to talk with me today.
So let’s jump into this: Your first tour in five years. Why now, and what took so long?
“Um, well, I had the health stuff happen, so I had to take a few years off. So that was like my first break. So I definitely didn’t want to take a break but I had to [laughs]. I was forced to.
“But the good news is, is that this album, ‘Head Above Water,’ and this tour, the ‘Head Above Water’ tour, is just, like, I got to really just realize how much I really truly do, like, love music. And how important it is to me.
“So I’m just celebrating music and life and to be back out, and just so grateful that I’ve been able to make this record, shoot music videos. Now, here we are, going on a tour.”
Avril Lavigne's new album "Head Under Water" (Contributed photo)
Let’s talk a little bit about the disc: What were you trying to do? What did you do differently? Just tell me the story of it.
“So I spent like three years making this album. And I didn’t really know if I’d be even making music again.
“What sort of started happening was I just kept coming up with all these song ideas. Songs just kept coming to me. And so I’d, like, record them at the house, at the home studio, with Chad (former husband Chad Kroeger of the band Nickelback).
“It was, ‘OK, this is what I’m supposed to be doing and this is still happening.’ [laughs], ‘And I really just got the songs, and over the last few years I’ve actually gone through a lot in my life, so it was healing for me in that aspect.
“You know, you hear people talk about it, it’s, like, ‘Oh, writing, it’s like therapy. But it’s good to come to terms with how you feel and talk about it in a way, and get it out and express it and put it down. I felt like it was empowering and it was, like, real stuff that I just felt, ‘Oh, this is cool.’
“I feel like people will hear this, and because it’s so real that I just hope people pull strength from it. And that it’s encouraging, inspiring, uplifting overall.
“So that was sort of the process. I did that for a few years, and then just when I was ready, we started releasing the music.”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (David Needleman)
So were you putting this music together during that time? Or were just building up a bunch of songs and say, ‘OK, now it’s time to record them?’”
“I was writing, and then, like, laying stuff down and then just along the way was writing and recording slowly.”
Tell me about the title, “Head Above Water.” What does that mean? Just explain that to me.
“Basically, like, feeling like I’m drowning and having to work so hard to come up for air to survive and to stay alive. And that song, I wrote on, like, a really difficult night for myself, when I literally didn’t think would make it.
“So ‘Head Above Water’ is just keeping yourself afloat. Like, hanging on, holding on. And finding strength and keeping your head up and moving forward and getting through whatever your circumstances.”
I want to talk just briefly about your new single, “I Fell in Love with he Devil.” Tell me about it.
“Um, ‘I Fell in Love with the Devil’ is just another song about, obviously, being in a situation that’s not very healthy, and taking that stand – finding the power to realize that and to move on and recognize that and to just once again get … make a strong decision for yourself. And choose a better life.”
And did that also come from a personal place?
“[Guardedly] Yeah. It did. Um, so I feel like the song also is about empowerment, which is a constant theme on the new album.”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (David Needleman)
OK. I wanted to ask about the song “Tell Me It’s Over.” A soul-and-blues song. How did you come to do that?
“[Giggles] Um, so I think writing with different people on this record – and Ryan Cabrera brought this idea to me – I thought it was really dope. And I got to make – like, this whole album is really about the vocals and vocal performance, and going back to my roots and really just singing.
“And that song, in particular, ‘Tell Me It’s Over,’ along with the song ‘Crush,’ they’re both very, like, bluesy and jazzy and soulful. And with ‘Tell Me It’s Over,’ it was really like, ‘Wow! I feel like I’m back in church singing. And it felt so good and I had such a great time working on that song.”
I mean, had you done that style of music before? Or was that something new to you?
“I can sing different ways and I grew up in church performing gospel music and I grew up singing country music at the fairs when I was a young girl. And then when I got into high school I was listening to punk rock bands, you know? I stated writing my own music at 14, I was, like, kind of more rock influenced.
“But, yeah, I grew up singing, listening to, different styles and genres. So to be able to sing a song like that felt really good to explore that side of my voice.”
Speaking of which – those songs that you wrote when you were in your teens – how do you feel about them? You’re literally twice that age now. How does it feel to sing those songs? Do you find new meaning in them? Do you find new ways embody them? Tell me the experience of singing those songs at this point.
“Um, it’s so weird – I love it. You’re talking about my older songs, like ‘I’m With You’ and ‘SK8er Boi’?”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
“I always feel it’s important to play the old stuff and all the hits during the concert, and then to perform a lot of new stuff, too. But this show is going to be this really cool journey from where I came from to where I am now.
“And I also feel like it’ll be an emotional show. My concerts do have that – which is good. They’re diverse, there are moments that it’s fun and it feel really youthful and then it feels like rock ‘n’ roll. But then we break it down and w have these really intense and heartfelt, passionate ballads.
“And so it’s, like, cool. And then I’ll be playing my songs from [laughs] 2002! And then ‘Head Above Water.’ There’s gonna be a lot to it.”
You mentioned the song ‘I’m With You,’ and back in the time when you were at your commercial peak, that song stood out to me as something different, and one I though was going to be able to stay with you throughout your career. Do you approach it differently? Or how do you feel about it these days?
“I gotta say that’s like my favorite one. And I just love performing that song live. And I wrote that with Lauren Christy of The Matrix and she and I didn’t write together again until this album.”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
“We wrote a song on this album called ‘It was in me.’ So check out that one. I think that one will end up being a single after the tour, a little late on. It really kind of has that same feel and vibe [laughs] cause it always was my favorite song. I was, like, ‘Let’s do another one kind of similar to ‘I’m With You.’ Same thing but different.”
You mentioned a little bit about the health stuff you went through and I noted that for the tour you’re giving a dollar per ticket to you Avril Lavigne Foundation. Can you talk a little about that – your health struggles? And then what led you to start the Foundation?
“So I had the foundation prior to getting Lyme, and it was always important to me – to give back to the kinds and people with disabilities. And now we still work with that but also we focus a lot on Lyme. So now I’m partnered up with Global Lyme Alliance and Lymelight – two existing organizations.
“So the Avril Lavigne Foundation works with them and we raise money and we bring awareness, because people don’t know about it. So just talking it, raising funds for treatment and that is sort of main focus now with the foundation.”
If you don’t mind, you sort of alluded to the fact that you went pretty deep, to the point where you thought that you might not be doing music again at some point. Was that because of the health struggles?
“Yes. Because I was in bed for a few years and on heavy treatment and had it really bad. And I was, like, ‘OK, my life’s over,’ I was gonna die.
“And I had it the worst you can get it almost. And so I was just, like, I couldn’t even get up and walk to the kitchen. So I was, like, how am I ever gonna have a life or work or anything? Then eventually I just started stronger and stronger.
“No I just have to take care of myself and keep a really healthy balance. But I wrote songs. I went into the studio, I recorded. I shot music videos. I shot the music video for ‘I Fell in Love with the Devil’ – I worked 14 hours. I can’t even believe I did that. I’ve come so far.
“So I have my life back. And now we’re going on tour and I can’t even believe that I’m saying that to you – that I’m going on tour, how this is even happening. So just bit by bit, one step at a time, I get stronger and stronger. And just keep my head up, keep my head above the water, keeping fighting [laughs]. Keep focused.”
Well, great and congratulations on that. We’re glad to have you back. Is there anything I didn’t ask or that you’d want to see in my story?
“Um, I think just I’m really excited to be returning to the stage and coming back to the Philly area, at the Parx Casino. It’s going to be a really cool show. It’s going o be really emotional and dope journey – all the songs from my past and now and just celebrating music.
“And I’m just grateful to the fans and everyone who’s still around and been super supportive. So thanks.”
Morning Call Lehigh Valley Music reporter and columnist John J. Moser can be reached at 610-820-6722 or jmoser@mcall.com
By John J. Moser
The Morning Call | Oct 11, 2019
The Morning Call | Oct 11, 2019
12-15 minutes
After facing down Lyme disease and a very public divorce, eternal pop star Avril Lavigne returns with a new album and a tour stop at Parx Casino in Bensalem. (David Needleman)
In October 2014, Avril Lavigne — the perky, punky, pop singer whose 2002 debut album sold 7 million copies and whose songs “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi” and “Girlfriend” were chart-topping gold and platinum hits — found herself in a hospital.
After months of exhaustion and lethargy that sapped any ability to perform, Lavigne was diagnosed with a severe case of Lyme Disease, the tick-borne infectious illness characterized by extreme muscle and joint pain.
It led to what Lavigne says was “a few years in bed and on heavy treatment.”
To make matters worse, within a year of her diagnosis, Lavigne was dealing with the separation and eventual divorce from her husband of three years, Chad Kroeger of the band Nickelback.
But now, Lavigne is largely recovered and on her first U.S. tour in five years — a jaunt that Friday brings her to Parx Casino in Bensalem for a sold-out show.
The tour is supporting “Head Above Water,” her first album in nearly six years and, she says, deeply reflective of her health and personal struggles. The disc, released Feb. 15, peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s Albums chart and gave Lavigne her 11th gold hit, with the title track.
In a recent call from Los Angeles, Lavigne spoke about her struggles, her new disc, and the future. Here’s a transcript of the call:
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
LEHIGH VALLEY MUSIC: Hey Avril, how are you?
AVRIL LAVIGNE: “I’m good! How are you?
Just fine, thanks. Thanks for taking out time to talk with me today.
“Thank you very much.”
“Um, well, I had the health stuff happen, so I had to take a few years off. So that was like my first break. So I definitely didn’t want to take a break but I had to [laughs]. I was forced to.
“But the good news is, is that this album, ‘Head Above Water,’ and this tour, the ‘Head Above Water’ tour, is just, like, I got to really just realize how much I really truly do, like, love music. And how important it is to me.
“And it was such a big part of the healing process overall. So today I stand in a place where I really enjoy music and songwriting and, like, the entire experience – almost more than ever. Because at one point it was kind of taken away from me.”
Yeah.
“So I’m just celebrating music and life and to be back out, and just so grateful that I’ve been able to make this record, shoot music videos. Now, here we are, going on a tour.”
Avril Lavigne's new album "Head Under Water" (Contributed photo)
Let’s talk a little bit about the disc: What were you trying to do? What did you do differently? Just tell me the story of it.
“So I spent like three years making this album. And I didn’t really know if I’d be even making music again.
“What sort of started happening was I just kept coming up with all these song ideas. Songs just kept coming to me. And so I’d, like, record them at the house, at the home studio, with Chad (former husband Chad Kroeger of the band Nickelback).
“It was, ‘OK, this is what I’m supposed to be doing and this is still happening.’ [laughs], ‘And I really just got the songs, and over the last few years I’ve actually gone through a lot in my life, so it was healing for me in that aspect.
“You know, you hear people talk about it, it’s, like, ‘Oh, writing, it’s like therapy. But it’s good to come to terms with how you feel and talk about it in a way, and get it out and express it and put it down. I felt like it was empowering and it was, like, real stuff that I just felt, ‘Oh, this is cool.’
“I feel like people will hear this, and because it’s so real that I just hope people pull strength from it. And that it’s encouraging, inspiring, uplifting overall.
“So that was sort of the process. I did that for a few years, and then just when I was ready, we started releasing the music.”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (David Needleman)
So were you putting this music together during that time? Or were just building up a bunch of songs and say, ‘OK, now it’s time to record them?’”
“I was writing, and then, like, laying stuff down and then just along the way was writing and recording slowly.”
Tell me about the title, “Head Above Water.” What does that mean? Just explain that to me.
“Basically, like, feeling like I’m drowning and having to work so hard to come up for air to survive and to stay alive. And that song, I wrote on, like, a really difficult night for myself, when I literally didn’t think would make it.
“So ‘Head Above Water’ is just keeping yourself afloat. Like, hanging on, holding on. And finding strength and keeping your head up and moving forward and getting through whatever your circumstances.”
I want to talk just briefly about your new single, “I Fell in Love with he Devil.” Tell me about it.
“Um, ‘I Fell in Love with the Devil’ is just another song about, obviously, being in a situation that’s not very healthy, and taking that stand – finding the power to realize that and to move on and recognize that and to just once again get … make a strong decision for yourself. And choose a better life.”
And did that also come from a personal place?
“[Guardedly] Yeah. It did. Um, so I feel like the song also is about empowerment, which is a constant theme on the new album.”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (David Needleman)
OK. I wanted to ask about the song “Tell Me It’s Over.” A soul-and-blues song. How did you come to do that?
“[Giggles] Um, so I think writing with different people on this record – and Ryan Cabrera brought this idea to me – I thought it was really dope. And I got to make – like, this whole album is really about the vocals and vocal performance, and going back to my roots and really just singing.
“And that song, in particular, ‘Tell Me It’s Over,’ along with the song ‘Crush,’ they’re both very, like, bluesy and jazzy and soulful. And with ‘Tell Me It’s Over,’ it was really like, ‘Wow! I feel like I’m back in church singing. And it felt so good and I had such a great time working on that song.”
I mean, had you done that style of music before? Or was that something new to you?
“I can sing different ways and I grew up in church performing gospel music and I grew up singing country music at the fairs when I was a young girl. And then when I got into high school I was listening to punk rock bands, you know? I stated writing my own music at 14, I was, like, kind of more rock influenced.
“But, yeah, I grew up singing, listening to, different styles and genres. So to be able to sing a song like that felt really good to explore that side of my voice.”
Speaking of which – those songs that you wrote when you were in your teens – how do you feel about them? You’re literally twice that age now. How does it feel to sing those songs? Do you find new meaning in them? Do you find new ways embody them? Tell me the experience of singing those songs at this point.
“Um, it’s so weird – I love it. You’re talking about my older songs, like ‘I’m With You’ and ‘SK8er Boi’?”
Yeah.
“Yeah, I just remember that time in my life, and I think those songs are just so important to me and my career, and, like, I can see how much the audience loves them still. They just feel so good to sing, and that’s a part of me, part of who I was and still part of who I am today. And I really enjoy singing those songs.
“I always feel it’s important to play the old stuff and all the hits during the concert, and then to perform a lot of new stuff, too. But this show is going to be this really cool journey from where I came from to where I am now.
“And I also feel like it’ll be an emotional show. My concerts do have that – which is good. They’re diverse, there are moments that it’s fun and it feel really youthful and then it feels like rock ‘n’ roll. But then we break it down and w have these really intense and heartfelt, passionate ballads.
“And so it’s, like, cool. And then I’ll be playing my songs from [laughs] 2002! And then ‘Head Above Water.’ There’s gonna be a lot to it.”
You mentioned the song ‘I’m With You,’ and back in the time when you were at your commercial peak, that song stood out to me as something different, and one I though was going to be able to stay with you throughout your career. Do you approach it differently? Or how do you feel about it these days?
“I gotta say that’s like my favorite one. And I just love performing that song live. And I wrote that with Lauren Christy of The Matrix and she and I didn’t write together again until this album.”
Avril Lavigne performs at Parx Casino in Bensalem tonight (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
Wow.
You mentioned a little bit about the health stuff you went through and I noted that for the tour you’re giving a dollar per ticket to you Avril Lavigne Foundation. Can you talk a little about that – your health struggles? And then what led you to start the Foundation?
“So I had the foundation prior to getting Lyme, and it was always important to me – to give back to the kinds and people with disabilities. And now we still work with that but also we focus a lot on Lyme. So now I’m partnered up with Global Lyme Alliance and Lymelight – two existing organizations.
“So the Avril Lavigne Foundation works with them and we raise money and we bring awareness, because people don’t know about it. So just talking it, raising funds for treatment and that is sort of main focus now with the foundation.”
If you don’t mind, you sort of alluded to the fact that you went pretty deep, to the point where you thought that you might not be doing music again at some point. Was that because of the health struggles?
“Yes. Because I was in bed for a few years and on heavy treatment and had it really bad. And I was, like, ‘OK, my life’s over,’ I was gonna die.
“And I had it the worst you can get it almost. And so I was just, like, I couldn’t even get up and walk to the kitchen. So I was, like, how am I ever gonna have a life or work or anything? Then eventually I just started stronger and stronger.
“No I just have to take care of myself and keep a really healthy balance. But I wrote songs. I went into the studio, I recorded. I shot music videos. I shot the music video for ‘I Fell in Love with the Devil’ – I worked 14 hours. I can’t even believe I did that. I’ve come so far.
“So I have my life back. And now we’re going on tour and I can’t even believe that I’m saying that to you – that I’m going on tour, how this is even happening. So just bit by bit, one step at a time, I get stronger and stronger. And just keep my head up, keep my head above the water, keeping fighting [laughs]. Keep focused.”
Well, great and congratulations on that. We’re glad to have you back. Is there anything I didn’t ask or that you’d want to see in my story?
“Um, I think just I’m really excited to be returning to the stage and coming back to the Philly area, at the Parx Casino. It’s going to be a really cool show. It’s going o be really emotional and dope journey – all the songs from my past and now and just celebrating music.
“And I’m just grateful to the fans and everyone who’s still around and been super supportive. So thanks.”
Morning Call Lehigh Valley Music reporter and columnist John J. Moser can be reached at 610-820-6722 or jmoser@mcall.com
John has covered Lehigh Valley music for more than 20 years, and has been The Morning Call music critic since 2009. Also was assistant metro editor and editor of its offices in Bethlehem, Lehighton and Quakertown. He has won more than two dozen statewide and national awards as a reporter and editor.
