Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Highfill, Beth Cunningham, and Whitney Hansen.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Lois Righteous started because the three of us (Whitney Hansen, Bass; Lisa Highfill, Guitar; Beth Cunningham) were listening to WABE’s Lois Reitzes in the car together. Whitney started “mispronouncing” Lois’ last name to get a rise out of Beth. Eventually, she pronounced it “Lois Righteous” and we all decided that was the best band name any of us had ever come up. We love Lois. We love Atlanta. We figured we couldn’t waste a name like that, so we started a band. It was really a reason to have a planned time to hang out every week.
Lisa has played guitar since middle school and played in bands around Atlanta in college (Magic Apron, Living Rooms), and Beth and Whitney taught themselves how to play their instruments when we all decided to start this band. Like the band name, the song titles came before the songs (usually from dumb inside jokes). Beth wrote our first song (which we assigned “Sexual Pie Party”) while stuck in traffic. Lois Reitzes eventually found out about us and invited us to be on her show, City Lights, way before we were ready. That was actually our first show ever as a band. We were totally terrified and shitting our pants, but it turned out to be one of the best experiences. Since then we’ve played a lot of shows, met some really awesome Atlanta artists, and we’re proud to be an all female-identifying band that other women and young girls can see out there, writing music, performing, being loud, speaking against systemic oppression, while still keeping shit pretty silly mainly because we can’t help it.
Please tell us about your art.
We make songs. The art that we make is almost always collaborative. It’s an exercise every time. We usually come up with a message that we want to get people thinking about or a topic that’s been weighing on us that we want to get out there and yell out. Or it’s about absolutely nothing of consequence, like getting your period as a kid and wanting to go swimming, or the X-File. Our process usually starts with a guitar or bass riff, and then a melody comes, and we start the process of writing lyrics.
We write these songs because it’s a physical and emotional release of a lot of the pain that we often feel as women existing in the world. It’s speaking to the pain that we see black and brown people experiencing in this country. It’s talking about the fear that we feel for undocumented people. It’s a lot to take in, and a lot of us are taking a lot of it all the time because we don’t have a choice. This art is an action that we’re taking to combat the wrong that we see around us. We hope that it’s a comfort to people who listen to it. We hope it’s a release for them, too.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
If you want to start a band and you don’t have an instrument, start asking around. Our instruments came from friends and family that had instruments and equipment they didn’t have room for/were selling for way cheaper than they should have, or was half-broken. Beth’s first-floor tom was given to her by another musician in Atlanta and was held up with a small metal trash can. Work with what you have — and don’t worry if it’s crap. It’ll give it a unique sound, and you’ll be surprised how fast that sound can kind of become a signature.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
We’re writing a lot of new songs at the moment, so we plan to be back out playing shows in Atlanta in the Summer of 2019. When we’re playing shows, we play a lot at 529 in East Atlanta or the Bakery in Southwest Atlanta. People can support us by buying our EP, RUDE, at https://loisrighteous.bandcamp.com/releases. They can also come to our shows and buy our merch. Lois Reitzes loves the shirt and wears it every Friday at work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://loisrighteous.bandcamp.com
- Email: loisrighteous@gmail.com
- Instagram: loisrrrighteous
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loisrighteous
Image Credit:
Photo of us facing away from the camera: Credit to William Hennis
Photo of us on stage: Credit to David Norbery
Photo of us laughing: David Norbery
All others: Lois Righteous
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