Lady Daisey

Some are born with it, and some are born in it. I suspect Lady Daisey falls into both categories. There’s that effortless flow that makes her music feel like such a natural extension. It may have started as a child touring the country with her parent’s band, but it has blossomed as she has made her own way around the world, incorporated new influences and found a new collaborator. Her collaborator and producer, Batsauce, is also her husband.

“In My Headphones” is her new album, and she’s planning a special release party performance in Jacksonville on Saturday, February 8th, at Rain Dogs. I spoke with her about the upcoming event, globetrotting and the dynamic of collaborating with her husband. The album is being released on bbe, February 24th, and was produced by Batsauce. It features a track with George Clinton and includes musicians from Jacksonville, Berlin and France.

Q: What’s new with you?
A: I’m all cheeks and smiles, getting ready for the release of my 2nd album – In My Headphones (bbe) – We just released the first single “Get Got” featuring George Clinton! We’ve been busy shooting videos, promoting, planning, preparing…and Batsauce has 4 projects coming out this spring/summer, so 2014 is going to be beautifully busy! We just landed back in a Jax a couple weeks ago, so we’ve been soaking up that hometown love, visiting family and friends, eating well, enjoying NOT being bundled up and shivering in Berlin right now.
Brooklyn-born, Florida-raised, Berlin-based–that’s quite the journey! Can you give us the CliffsNotes version of that story?
My parents met in Brooklyn, had me, started a band and hit the road. After touring the eastern half of the US for 14 years, we finally settled down in Florida. I graduated, joined the Marines, came home, moved to Jersey, moved back to Jax. Many years later, I met Batsauce, got married, started a band, hit the road… The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We spent half of a year teaching in China, then did a Smile Rays tour with Paten Locke throughout Europe. And we just never got back on the plane. That was almost 6 years ago, and we love it. We live in Berlin, Germany, half the year and tour around Europe and the States the other half.

Q: For the uninitiated, describe your sound in terms of a recipe.
A: Equal portions of soul, funk, sunshine. Mix it all together; shake it on up.

Q: Where does the great funk influence come most prominently from?
A: I gotta say, the funk influence heavily came from Batsauce. I was an indie girl before he came along. He wooed me with mix CDs and opened my world up to the funk legends like James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament and the Funkadelics, etc.

Q: What can attendees expect from a Lady Daisey & Batsauce show?
A: Dope beats, uplifting lyrics, soulful vocals, funky vibes and always, ALWAYS a happy, positive crowd. That’s my favorite part. We provide the funk and soul, and really, the crowd brings so much love. We all seem to fuel off each other. It’s beautiful.

Q: How does playing in Jacksonville, with your history here, compare to playing other shows?
A: We have a special bond with Jacksonville. We have friends here. We have family here. It all started in Jacksonville, so it always feels good to bring it back home and play for people who have been fans since the very beginning. When we play in other cities, the crowd sees us as what we are now, at that very moment. But when we play in Jacksonville, they see us as what we’ve become. I guess it’s like seeing a tree for the first time versus seeing a tree and remembering when it was just a wee, little sapling.

Q: How does marriage impact the collaborative dynamic?
A: We’re together 24/7, literally. We both work from home. We travel together. We tour together. We do everything together. But, as much as we’re alike, we’re also a ying-yang of skills. He handles all the music; I handle all the design. He writes the social-commentary lyrics; I write the love songs. He has the “big picture” vision; I wrap up all the little details. I couldn’t imagine a better partner. Plus, I hear every boom, every bap, every sound Batsauce makes, so I always get first dibs on his beats.

Q: What are your three favorite albums at this very moment?
A: Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, a mix CD of our favorite classics by Sly and the Family Stone, plus a little D’Angelo, Belilse and Frank Ocean. And whatever Bat’s working on at the time.