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Pip Lewis slipped out of her stalemate with music
Residency at the Casbah begins June 3
Twenty-two-year-old folk-pop guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer Pip Lewis was born in Chichester, England, an hour south of London, but she and her family have been coming to San Diego for their winter holiday for many years. Around 2014, they decided to stop their pond-hopping and stay.
Lewis recalls that as a child, she was always singing. A music teacher advised her parents to put her in the choir. She performed her first solo when she was seven years old. “The important caveat here is that this is when other people knew I should start singing,” she said when we spoke. “I didn’t realize I really enjoyed singing until down the line.” Being self-taught — and not being able to read music — has not stopped her from writing her own music, mixing her own arrangements, and recording her own songs. Lewis’s first single “Frown” was released in 2018 while she was still a teenager, her EP Pathos came out in 2019, and her debut album Human Nature followed n 2021.
Back in her native country, her music has been featured on the BBC and Mahogany Sessions (a London-based YouTube music channel). Here in the U.S., she’s been heard on a CBS News 8 profile, Loudspeaker with Tim Pyles on 91X, and Stomping Grounds, also hosted by Tim Pyles. Besides the Casbah, Lewis has performed at The Roxy Encinitas, House of Blues, and Queen Bee’s, to name a few favored venues.
There’s an authenticity in her voice, both when she speaks and when she sings. It was evident when we spoke on the phone, and even moreso the first time I listened to “Baby Teeth,” which served as my introduction to her music. In discussing her influences and some of the great acts out of England, we discovered we shared an affinity for the band Joy Division. The song “Dead Ringer” from her new album was inspired by Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis, who committed suicide in 1980 two months before his 24th birthday (and on the eve of the band's first U.S. tour.) He reportedly struggled with severe epilepsy, anxiety, and depression. “How hard it must have been to perform with all those things in the back of his mind,” says Lewis. “He was suffering.”
Video:
Pip Lewis, "Dead Ringer"
Our mutual affection for an old favorite led to mutal recommendations for new discoveries. I suggested Todos Tus Muertos, an Argentinian Bad Brains-influenced punk and reggae band. Lewis said that I should listen to the album Submarine by American indie group The Marias.
Lewis said, “I’m in love with people in love with humanity. I’m not just a musician. I’m an empath that knows how to look inwardly.” She wants potential listeners to know who the real Pip Lewis is: as a human who is the person writing the music, and as the musician performing it. A little about the human writing the music: she currently lives with her two cats, Griffin and Merlin, and has a day job at a rock climbing gym, working closely with the route-setting team, instructing adults, and coaching youth teams. “If music is one of the loves of my life, rock climbing is the other.” In the CBS News 8 segment about her, which aired on local television shortly after she graduated high school. reporter Jeff Zevely opened by saying, “Sometimes in this job, you meet someone young and talented, and you know she’s going to make a difference.”
Video:
Pip Lewis, "Funeral"
Recently, Lewis took around two years off from the music scene. “I was at a stalemate with music,” she said. But now she's back from her hiatus, performing and working on a new full-length: Growing Pains, produced by Mylo Bard, set to be released June 13 via Enci Records. Six singles have been issued so far, the latest being “Funeral,” which came out in mid-April. Her month-long residency at the Casbah kicks off June 3: she’s playing every Tuesday of the month for $9 per show. The Little Italy club was also where, after years of performing solo, she recently played with a full band for the first time. “It was amazing, hearing the band play my music and my songs!”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Pip Lewis slipped out of her stalemate with music
Residency at the Casbah begins June 3
Pip Lewis slipped out of her stalemate with music
Residency at the Casbah begins June 3
Twenty-two-year-old folk-pop guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer Pip Lewis was born in Chichester, England, an hour south of London, but she and her family have been coming to San Diego for their winter holiday for many years. Around 2014, they decided to stop their pond-hopping and stay.
Lewis recalls that as a child, she was always singing. A music teacher advised her parents to put her in the choir. She performed her first solo when she was seven years old. “The important caveat here is that this is when other people knew I should start singing,” she said when we spoke. “I didn’t realize I really enjoyed singing until down the line.” Being self-taught — and not being able to read music — has not stopped her from writing her own music, mixing her own arrangements, and recording her own songs. Lewis’s first single “Frown” was released in 2018 while she was still a teenager, her EP Pathos came out in 2019, and her debut album Human Nature followed n 2021.
Back in her native country, her music has been featured on the BBC and Mahogany Sessions (a London-based YouTube music channel). Here in the U.S., she’s been heard on a CBS News 8 profile, Loudspeaker with Tim Pyles on 91X, and Stomping Grounds, also hosted by Tim Pyles. Besides the Casbah, Lewis has performed at The Roxy Encinitas, House of Blues, and Queen Bee’s, to name a few favored venues.
There’s an authenticity in her voice, both when she speaks and when she sings. It was evident when we spoke on the phone, and even moreso the first time I listened to “Baby Teeth,” which served as my introduction to her music. In discussing her influences and some of the great acts out of England, we discovered we shared an affinity for the band Joy Division. The song “Dead Ringer” from her new album was inspired by Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis, who committed suicide in 1980 two months before his 24th birthday (and on the eve of the band's first U.S. tour.) He reportedly struggled with severe epilepsy, anxiety, and depression. “How hard it must have been to perform with all those things in the back of his mind,” says Lewis. “He was suffering.”
Video:
Pip Lewis, "Dead Ringer"
Our mutual affection for an old favorite led to mutal recommendations for new discoveries. I suggested Todos Tus Muertos, an Argentinian Bad Brains-influenced punk and reggae band. Lewis said that I should listen to the album Submarine by American indie group The Marias.
Lewis said, “I’m in love with people in love with humanity. I’m not just a musician. I’m an empath that knows how to look inwardly.” She wants potential listeners to know who the real Pip Lewis is: as a human who is the person writing the music, and as the musician performing it. A little about the human writing the music: she currently lives with her two cats, Griffin and Merlin, and has a day job at a rock climbing gym, working closely with the route-setting team, instructing adults, and coaching youth teams. “If music is one of the loves of my life, rock climbing is the other.” In the CBS News 8 segment about her, which aired on local television shortly after she graduated high school. reporter Jeff Zevely opened by saying, “Sometimes in this job, you meet someone young and talented, and you know she’s going to make a difference.”
Video:
Pip Lewis, "Funeral"
Recently, Lewis took around two years off from the music scene. “I was at a stalemate with music,” she said. But now she's back from her hiatus, performing and working on a new full-length: Growing Pains, produced by Mylo Bard, set to be released June 13 via Enci Records. Six singles have been issued so far, the latest being “Funeral,” which came out in mid-April. Her month-long residency at the Casbah kicks off June 3: she’s playing every Tuesday of the month for $9 per show. The Little Italy club was also where, after years of performing solo, she recently played with a full band for the first time. “It was amazing, hearing the band play my music and my songs!”
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