Interview with Ted Stryker for KROQ

[Elle 113,569]

Interview with Lana Del Rey with Ted Stryker at the KROQ Weenie Roast

*Ted was given a release date, but that part was edited out*

 

 

Ted: Hey everybody it is Stryker on 106.7 KROQ at Weenie Roast. Backstage, down a hall, to the right, open a door, past a man on a white couch: Lana Del Rey. Hi, Lana Del Rey!

Lana: Hello!

Ted: How are you doing today?

Lana: I'm good, thank you.

Ted: So your performance already happened...

Lana: Yes.

Ted: & you feel exhausted, relieved, excited? What do you feel?

Lana: I was so excited to get on that stage, and I feel good. It was pretty loud, but, um, I think that everybody was happy, so, good.

Ted: You have such a great way of having energy that is not contrived.

Lana: Really? Thank you

Ted: Yes. You're Welcome. When you're making a record, is it a fight within yourself to do a certain thing? Maybe you're trying to get there, but you feel better in this position, if that makes sense?

Lana: Like when I'm actually making the record?

Ted: Correct.

Lana: The record is kind of the one part of the whole process, part of the whole pie, that I don't have to fight myself on anything. I mean, it can take me a long time to finish a record, but, um, it's kind of my most comfortable spot, so I really just get excited to see what the tracklist reveals to me in terms of order and different production.

Ted: When you're going to make a full record and make a collection of songs obviously now you can put out a song and have it ready in two days!

Lana: Thats true!

Ted: But you have to release, it's out of your hands at that point!

Lana: Yeah, well, I mean, in the past I've spent, um, a lot of time, like on the production, but I did put out a song, um, lately called "Coachella" which I wrote after Coachella. 

Ted: Woodstock on my mind? Yes! I love that song!

Lana: Yeah! Thank You! It was really cool for me to just be able to kind of release it in real time, and I've never.. I don't think I've done that in about 6 years. I mean, obviously before I was signed to a label I would just kind of put stuff out as I thought about it with just an acoustic guitar, but I feel like it's a really interesting time in music where you can just sort of.. you can kind of do that again. Just see how it goes.

Ted: Right. The first minute of the song you're just referring to.. I mean, you tell such a great story. All your songs are stories. You can feel them immediately.

Lana: Yeah!

Ted: Everyone can know the words, but overall, the Coachella experience, specifically that, is positive for you?

Lana: *giggles* Yes.

Ted: Yes. Okay.

Lana: Yeah, I mean, I love festivals. I love, I mean, you know, like even today seeing people get together and sing songs all together, it's amazing and it's kind of different from everything else. Um, no, I had so much fun during Coachella, it was just such an interesting experience. Like, 'cause I love Father John Misty and I love his, um, wife Emma Tillman, and, um we do so much together, and then like to see the show go so well, and then the next day, um, you know having breakfast, hearing about all the tension that was rising between North Korea and the US, it kind of was a shock to my system, so, um, yeah.

Ted: Is it because all this fun is happening.. no one within that 10 miles of Indio.. people are just kind of in their own little world while outside of that all the lunacy is happening?

Lana: Yeah, I mean, the people I was kind of seeing shows with were talking about it. I don't really know how many.. I know a lot of people weren't talking about it, but I think it was just, that was like a new problem we were experiencing as a country, so.

Ted: Stevie Nicks.

Lana. Stevie Nicks!

Ted: Part of the new record.

Lana: Yeah.

Ted: Now, do you tell her what to do? Like, 'do it like this!' How do you know her? How did she get involved? What's the name of the track? When? Give us the information if you feel, please

Lana: The track is called "Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems." Um, I kind of thought I had finished the record a couple of times, and then one of those times I really felt like I just wanted, like, a woman on the record, and I was talking to my producer Rick Nowels about, you know, who would be great to, um, get on the record, and we both kind of could only come up with Stevie. Funny enough, he went to high school with her, and he wrote, um, his first hit with her.

Ted: Whoa.

Lana: I'm so bad, I don't remember what song that was. But, um, so, you know, he knows her really well, and um, he called her, um, they actually started the track in New York at, um, Electric Lady, and then she flew back I think the following week and she finished it at our studio. She was amazing, she was, I don't know, she's just kind of everything you hope she's going to be. She's so contemporary, and she knows all the new music thats out like weekly, and she loved the track, and she added so much to it.

Ted: I love that she did it how she wanted to do her entire career, and not only sang songs, but wrote them as well.

Lana: Mhm. Yeah, she one of those few people I know, like, the muse is the most important thing to her. Like, she always says she, you know, more than anything else, her priority is just following the muse wherever it takes her whether it's like a 60 date tour, or a new record, or solo endeavor, so she's inspirational like that.

Ted: Is it easy or difficult for you to stay on the exact path you want to be on? Not 'cause you're with a major label, but because theres a lot of people in your world. There's managers, and there are record label people, and there's a lot of people in your ear, but you have a path. There is so obvious to me as you're an artist and I know that you're on, you want to do it like this. Is it hard to do that?

Lana: No. I have trouble doing a couple things, but everybody's so used to me being on my winding nonsensical path that it's actually been great. *laughs* Like when I said I wanted to just put out "Coachella" a few weeks after everyone was like, "Great! Put it out!" And, um, no pressure, um.. No like, hoping that it would, you know like, change the world or anything. You know, just kind of doing it 'cause it was coming from my experience and getting to put it out when I wanted to but it out. But, um, no I think the only thing that's hard is just.. I mean in some regards, it is a decision every day to like wake up and go to the studio all day every day, or do the same thing with tour, but I do really like doing both.

Ted: Do you set a certain time to write a song? Or do you constantly say things into your phone and hum melodies? Or do you say, 'tomorrow at nine I'm going to have egg whites followed by song writing!'

Lana: Uh, I do both. I'm like singing all day long into my phone. Then my producer, um he's pretty regimented so we like start around 1:30 or 2 most days, and so I know I'm probably going to be down four days or five days a week. Um, so, I guess at the end of the record I know I'm going to be down at the studio every day, but up until the point like where I've got about nine tracks in my head, I'm usually just singing in my phone.

Ted: Nice.

Lana Yeah.

Ted: Do you work with someone like The Weeknd because out of the blue you found him as an artist a few years ago and he was on your radar? Or how does someone like him, who I love that dude, but how does he end up with you and on a song?

Lana: Um, well he's kind of the reason I was ever on the radio. Like, 6 years ago or something he started posting all my videos on his Tumblr and his, like, social media, and thenm um, Fearne Cotton from Radio 1 reached out, and, like wanted to make it her indie track of the week or something, and um.. He's been in touch with me ever since then, just kind of, he's always been really supportive, and, um, yeah. Like, he had his own path, which has lead him to this place that's crazy big, and, um, but yeah, we've just been friends for maybe the last 6 years. I've got like a good little group of musician friends in LA. He's one of them.

Ted: Nice. Do you like living in LA compared to East Coast?

Lana: Uh, I mean, I like them both but there's a lot more musicians here now. Like, a couple people, I mean like, Emilie Haynie, who I.. like, used to produce a lot of stuff for me is here, and a lot of people who um, like were producers and doing videos, I feel like everybody's here, so. It's definitely a lot, I mean, there's a lot more action here *laughs*

Ted: You've done a great job of building a fanbase that is unforced, and um, they're so dedicated. I've gotten to know them over the last two weeks.

Lana: Have you? *giggles*

Ted: I have! They're very, very nice, from all over

Lana: They are! They are nice.

Ted: Very, very, very nice.

Lana: Yeah.

Ted: So, the question is as an artist how do you maintain that relationship where it doesn't become too close, but you can still not turn them off?

Lana: Thats a really good question. Um, well, I mean I've been really lucky in the way that I kind of dip in and out of sort of being around and in public, but it seems like when I come back with a new song or whatever a lot of familiar faces, and names, and handles are still kind of there. People who, um, just like the music, and so, I mean, that's become more apparent as I've put out more records, so, I mean, I don't know how it works with everybody, but, um, I don't know if I expected that, but its definitely a blessing, and, you know, like last night on Twitter before I went to bed, like,  I saw kids that had their hands out with like a number one and a number two, you know, lined up for the show today, and I, you know, like I'll like it or I'll comment on it. Um, so I think it's cute that they're waiting out there like a day and a half before! *laughs* So it's kind of just like whatever feels right, I guess.

Ted: On that note, thank you for playing the KROQ Weenie Roast!

Lana: Thank you for having me.

Ted: Any time. Congratulations on the carrier you have built.

Lana: Thank you!

Ted: Very, very impressive, and its credible, and is cool, and you're doing your own little path.

Lana: Thank you, thats so nice.

Ted: It's admirable!

Lana: Thank you!

Ted: You're very welcome.

Lana: I tried.

Ted: Good, and you're doing it well

Lana: *laughs*

Ted: That's Lana Del Rey, and I'm Stryker on a white sofa at the KROQ Weenie Roast

Lana: *laughs*

[Nick Del Rey 5,225]

of course she requested audio only, listening now lmao

[reputation 6,313]

I told y'all Lana's team wasn't doing shit!! I told y'all!!!!

 

I will be transcribing this later

[frankie 1,781]

...whats with her song title choices this era, yikes 

[Lust 4,031]

Finally omg

[Elle 113,569]

Takeaways:

No album date mention

"Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems" - Stevie song title

[Crimson and Clover 22,034]

Takeaways:

No album date mention

HA

[latothemoon 11,827]

[theeternalstars 4,576]

You could almost hear Ben holding a gun to Stryker's head

"Ask her about the release date I DARE you"

[whitman 1,286]

She was so nervous poor lana 

[Stargirl 13,348]

Lana: my fans are very very nice

Lanaboards: 

Lana: 

[Ultra Violet 18,412]

She's so cute, especially when she gets awkward for a couple of seconds, I'm like THANK YIU FOR BEING REAL

[ChameleonsouI 178]

Ugh I could seriously listen to her voice all day it's so soothing to me

[Flowerbomb 65,555]

TED YOU FUCKING LIAR YOU DIDNT ASK HER THE DATE

[Ultra Violet 18,412]

Also, she only has 9 songs atm??? Goddamn, July 21= most likely

[UltraviolenceBaby 5,013]

We got nothing

Literally nothing

[theviolence 5,828]

"emile haynie who... uh... used to produce a lot of things for me... is here too"

 

Bring back the loon

[UltraviolenceBaby 5,013]

Except her lovely voice

[theeternalstars 4,576]

I feel like Lana's management (or maybe even Lana herself) are being far too uptight - like you're so special you're the only act to not be interviewed like everyone else - and it's audio only - and it's released later for management to censor things they don't like... hmmm

[whitman 1,286]

Lana always said how she wanted to have musicians friends ( to find her "crew" etc) and now she finally has and can't shut up about it    it's cute