LANA LANE
www.lanalane.com

(Spring 2005) by George Dionne

To celebrate her tenth anniversary in the music industry, Lana Lane wanted to do something special. She and her her trusted keyboardist Erik Norlander decided to compose a concept album. Although concept albums are nothing new to Lana Lane, this concept album was going to be a bit different.

Lana Lane's latest release is Lady Macbeth (read CD review). It's based on the famous Shakespeare play Macbeth. Instead of focusing on the protagonist, Lana chose to focus on the antagonist Lady Macbeth. The result is a stunning melodic/symphonic journey into literature. Lana plans to tour in honor of her tenth anniversary as well.

RIL: If I knew absolutely nothing about Lana Lane’s music, how would you describe it?
LL: I would say it is Symphonic Rock fronted by a powerful female vocalist with emphasis on strong song writing, melody and arrangement.

RIL: Why did you choose Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth as the focus of your latest concept album?
LL: Erik and I wanted to do something different to celebrate my 10th nniversary (my first cd "Love Is An Illusion" was released 10 years ago). So we decided to do a concept album based on the Macbeth play. But we told the story from the perspective of Lady Macbeth, which is quite a different take. To our knowledge, no one has done this before.

RIL: Why did you choose to focus on Lady Macbeth? She wasn't exactly a sympathetic character.
LL: True, but I think that is why it make it interesting. The way you present things directly affects the way people receive and/or accept things. I focused on the humanity and madness of Lady Macbeth - the story from her perspective. It gives it quite a different twist.

RIL: When writing the songs to fit around Lady Macbeth character, did you find that any of the lyrics fit you too?
LL: Certainly not literally -- there's not much to identify with there, of course! But I think I put some of myself into the emotional aspect, and of course the fantasy of it all.

RIL: Did you know that the mere mention of Macbeth in the theater community is bad luck?
LL: Hopefully that's not the case in the music world! :-)

RIL: Why was the choice made to split the recording of Lady Macbeth between Europe and the United States?
LL: Most of my regular touring band is European (Dutch and Swedish), so it really made sense for Erik to go to Holland and record them there than it was to fly all of them out to Los Angeles and record them in our studio. We've worked together on many tours in the past, and this is the first studio album where all three Europeans participate. I think it's a great sound.

RIL: What other literary works do you enjoy?
LL: I really enjoy short story collections like those of The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and Arthur C. Clarke.

RIL: You're a self-professed television addict. Off the top of your head, can you name two women that have played Lady Macbeth in a TV movie (no cheating)?
LL: Hmm, not in a TV movie. But in film, how about Francesca Annis (Roman Polanski's Macbeth) and Moira Tierney (Scotland, PA). Who are the TV women?

RIL: While I'm on the subject of television, is your real name Lana Lane, or is it a combination of Superman’s girlfriends (Lana Lange & Lois Lane)?
LL: I've always been "Lana", but I became "Lana Lane" about 15 years ago. I thought the whole name Lana Lane rolled of the tongue nicely and was easy to remember. No connection to Superman, actually.

RIL: You and Erik Norlander aren't just partners in music you're also husband and wife. How did you meet?
LL: I was in a girl vocal group (3 girls back by an all male band) in Los Angeles and we were losing our keyboard player. He was offered to go on tour with Nelson, so we had to find a new keyboard player. The drummer that was playing with us knew Erik and suggested I give him a call - so I did. I told him about the group and what we were trying to do and sent him a demo tape. He joined the band and the rest, as they say, is history!

RIL: When did you realize he was the one?
LL: When Erik and I first met, he had a girlfriend and I was in the process of breaking up with a boyfriend, but hadn't really ended the relationship yet. One day Erik and I were working on music and I clearly remember thinking why is he with "her" and why am I lingering in this "nowhere" relationship? Soon after that, I made the final break with my boyfriend and Erik did the same with his girlfriend and we've been together ever since.

RIL: You're celebrating 10th anniversary as a recording artist this year not only with a new CD release, but with a tour. Where will this tour take you?
LL: I am very excited about my upcoming "10th Anniversary Tour" because I will be visiting countries that I haven't been to yet like Sweden, Switzerland and Lithuania. In addition to those countries, we will be going to Holland, Germany, Belgium, Canada and Japan ... not in that order, of course :-)

RIL: Are you planning anything special for the live shows in relation to the anniversary?
LL: We will play at least one song from every one of my albums. We are trying not to duplicate too many songs that we have performed and recorded live before, so it will definitely be a special tour. We are going to record the last concert in Japan for a DVD release later this year. "The Lana Lane 10th Anniversary Concert".

RIL: What would you say was your greatest musical accomplishment in the last ten years?
LL: I think the fact that Erik and I have been earning our living making music for the past 10 years is a huge accomplishment. Not that it has been cakewalk, but to be successful at anything takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice. We done just that - we've worked hard and sacrificed a lot. And here we are, ten years later, still going strong.

RIL: What would you say was the most disappointing?
LL: I haven't had too many disappointment is my career. However, I have a dream to sing a James Bond theme - be the "musical Bond Girl" if you will, and if that never happens for me, that will be a big disappointment in my career.

RIL: Any ‘Spinal Tap’ moments out on the road?
LL: Not really (I know, how boring!). But I would love some just
because that movie cracks me up!

RIL: You list Heart’s “Dreamboat Annie” as your favorite album & Ann Wilson as your favorite vocalist. How come on your covers album there are no Heart songs?
LL: When I cover songs that were made famous by a man, the song is instantly changed by the mere fact that there is a woman's voice instead of a mans. If I were to record a Heart song (or any song that was made famous by a contemporary female singer), I don't think it would be as interesting. Ann Wilson sounds so great. I don't know if I would be able to bring anything new to one of her songs.

RIL: Have you had the chance to meet Ann?
LL: No, but I sure hope to some day. I have been within the 6 degrees of separation thing with her though. The cousin of one of my guitar players, Neil Citron, is Howard Leese - who, as you know, played guitar and keyboards for Heart for many, many years. That was a total coincidence! We worked with Neil for at least 3 years before we found that out!

RIL: You're originally from California, but your fan base is mostly overseas. Is it frustrating that the U.S., particularly the main stream music industry, is so closed-minded when it comes to your particular style of music?
LL: Not really. I don't respect the music scene very much in the US because too many bands are manufactured to be "one hit wonders" (if they're lucky). There is no emphasis on record companies cultivating an artist or band anymore, which I think is really sad. It seems to be different in Europe and Asia. They are also very loyal fans in those places, and they make room for unknown artists as well as the artists that are shoved down their throats on a daily basis. But that's not to show any disdain for American FANS. I have lots of them! And as time goes on, we are playing more and more in the US, and our CD sales are increasing here as well.

RIL: What do you think could be done to change things?
LL: Boy, that's a hard question. If I knew the answer, I'd be changing things! ;-)

RIL: Which do you enjoy more; writing and recording or playing live?
LL: Another hard question. They are both such different animals. I like recording because you can try different things and be a bit more experimental. The atmosphere is also quite relaxed. Playing live you are locked into certain environments /venues which may not be ideal, so you have to adjust. You also have to be able to react at a moments notice if something happens to go wrong. But you get a rush of energy from a live audience, which of course, you don't get in a recording studio. So, to make a long story longer ... I like them both for different reasons. If I could only do one, I would surely miss the other.

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