Interview with Noelle Berryman (1996)

Noelle: I was told that you went to Hockaday, a prep school in Dallas. What did you get out of that experience?

Lisa: It gave me a sense of discipline ... it was a very discipline-oriented school, and it had very high academic standards, which for me, was something I enjoyed because I liked to be challenged by my schoolwork ... it prepared me, it taught me how to talk with other people and also the things I learned in the English department about poetry. I mean, they constantly influence my writing. All those things they ingrained in my head, in my songwriting, I'm constantly writing and rewriting things.

N: I understand you went to Brown University. What did you major in?

L: Comparative literature, with a little Spanish literature ... I thought I needed a liberal education. At Brown you can take whatever you want 'cause you're not forced to have all those science and math and history classes, so I thought literature would help me out in those things. But really, it turned out that I spent a lot of my time taking music classes and putting on plays and being, you know, a musician.

N: I appreciate your lyrics especially because the music seems to go deeper than just a cool beat. Your music seems to have a theme behind it. I mean, it makes sense; or if it doesn't make sense, it gives you something to think about.

L: Yeah, I think that that's because that's mainly what I grew up listening to, music like David Bowie and The Cure and, like, bands that you don't know what they're, like, talking about, but you do . [The lyrics] are either something so specific that you don't understand what they're talking about ...

N: Is it more like a feeling?

L: Yeah, it's about the tone or the feeling or the emotions ...or it is so specific that you know exactly what they're talking about. And I think that's how I write. I am constantly trying to write a better story-song. I remember once a guitar teacher told me that it's not really what you know, the chords and stuff, it's what it sounds like. And with lyrics and music -- it's not poetry -- you know, there's no rules ... you can write whatever you want, and if it feels right, then it makes a good song. It's really about how it makes you feel.

N: At the concert this evening, I heard "Hurricane" ... I loved the musical twist at the end -- almost metallic ... it was really awesome. I've noticed that most of your other songs were really mellow and thoughtful and introspective, but this one really lashed out and grabbed hold of you.

L: That's because it's depicting a hurricane ... we tried it live with strings on the album for that song ... but we figured the best couldn't get the life that we could ... live. Like when we're live, the guitar player, Mark Spencer, could go way out and like do all these screams and stuff and it sounds, you know, it sounds like a hurricane. We like to take advantage of that in our live performance when we can.

N: What do you prefer, acoustic or electric sound? I noticed during the show that you are pretty versatile, I mean, every time I turned around you were playing a different guitar!

L: I write mainly on acoustic just because that's what I'm used to and it's quieter, because I don't like people to hear me when I'm working. Also, I love listening to electric music, that's what I really like ... Led Zeppelin and even The Cure. It's not whether it's electric or not, it's like, the passion.

N: Do you see any of your favorite bands' influence in your music?

L: I guess it's like a British thing, like really depressing, emotional lyrics. You know, the thing that's the most depressing is the best. That's where I'm creating the acoustic guitars mixed with the electric guitars, the different textures of it. I'm really interested in the production of it. Not only are they songs that they could play on their acoustic guitars, but they also have the production that characterizes the sound, like The Who, the Police ...

N: Why did you name your band Nine Stories? Did J.D. Salinger's collection of short stories by the same name really affect you that much?

L: It was kind of random ... it's hard to come up with a band name ... I sort of came up with the name Nine Stories, but some friends didn't think much of it, but then I was with another group of my friends and they suggested "Nine Stories" -- it was, like, a total coincidence. It made sense because the tone of the stories was kind of similar to what I try to get in my songs ... just the feeling that you get at the end, you're kind of, like, sad at the end ... I like that!

N: Do you prefer intimate settings, smaller club scenes?

L: Yeah, I do ... I like playing to a full house of people who want to be there.

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