In your song empty soul, you discuss personal feelings of shame and depression, but you also mention how being loved can be healing. How does your cover art portray the themes of the song?
luvblaise: I create my cover art most of the time. So, I had the idea in my head for every little thing to be symbolic. I feel like the little ghost character I created with those magazine patchwork letters under it really ties in what the song’s purpose is. Like you’re trapped and feel unfulfilled in your life. Feeling like there’s little pieces of you all over the place that you can’t seem to pick back up and piece together without things going wrong. Also, just trying to gain control over everything again even though it’s difficult.
You were born and raised in CT, which is exciting because I am too! How did your upbringing influence your current artistry?
luvblaise: My mom and sister surrounded me with all different sounding rock music when I was young. People like Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Blink-182, Nirvana, and so on. I really grasped onto the genre because of the way it made me feel. You could have something so upbeat and energetic talk about something upsetting like real life feelings and mental health. The music creates a safe space for people to be vulnerable and relate on such a deep level. I really just wanted to be a part of that community.
On your Instagram, you posted a TikTok with the title “getting ready to perform on stage!!! (working cause i’ll have no money if i don’t”). I love the authenticity of an artist who is also working to keep the dream alive. How do you balance creating music and working?
luvblaise: With perseverance and a terrible sleep schedule! I currently work two jobs in order to pay for my equipment and all the licensing involved with music. I use some free time at work to listen to instrumentals I have and write as much as I can. I’m always humming melodies I think of throughout the day and often record the idea in a voice memo on my phone. When I’m finally free to come home and get to it, I’m writing, I’m recording, and piecing together the songs up into the late hours of the night. Sometimes even 4 or 5 in the morning.
With your performing experience, where was your favorite place to perform and why?
luvblaise: As of right now, I don’t have a whole lot of performing experience with my own music. I mostly do cover songs at open mics online or attend events in person. The most memorable that I can think of is during the pandemic. I got a concert-like setup in my room and livestreamed the performance on Twitch and YouTube. I took suggestions for what songs I should do on social media a week prior to it so I could create a set list. It was super fun. I got to interact with new people just popping in for the first time and got to interact with long time listeners as well. It was great to take an unfortunate time and bring something nice to it.
What inspired your Pop Punk artist name “luvblaise”? Did you have any other names you are considering?
luvblaise: Blaise is my actual middle name and because it’s pronounced like Blaze, it felt right to try to incorporate that into the name. I went through multiple name changes like musicbyblaise and thatsblaise. I finally landed on the name luvblaise because the name sounds like somebody signing the bottom of a letter. It’s really how I feel about every song that I create. It’s almost like a letter to me or a letter to other people who could be going through tough times.
After this successful song release what can we expect next?
luvblaise: I’ve definitely got a few more singles to release after this one comes out. One of which I can say will be an acoustic song. Around the end of 2023, I’ll have a project/album out. I won’t say the release date or name of it yet but if you keep following me, you’ll definitely know soon enough!
Interviewed By Sophia E. Henry
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