“Slash doesn’t talk at all. He’s pretty much completely silent. I was like, ‘should I go that route?’”: Sophie Lloyd considered modelling her image on the Guns N’ Roses guitarist
While Sophie Lloyd has spent the last few years shredding it up alongside Machine Gun Kelly and on YouTube, this October saw her tackling her very first headline show. While the Camden Underworld gig was a rousing success, there were a lot of nerves leading up to the night.
In a new interview with Guitar.com, Lloyd admits that a source of anxiety surrounding her solo live debut was constructing an on-stage persona. She did her research, attending gigs like Slash with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – and even considered following in the footsteps of the Guns N’ Roses legend. “Slash doesn’t talk at all,” she recalls. “He’s pretty much completely silent. I was like, ‘should I go that route? More mysterious?’”
READ MORE: Sophie Lloyd says self-doubt led her to “almost quit guitar completely”
However, that didn’t quite suit Lloyd’s personality. “That’s not really me because I am a yapper,” she jokes. “[So] then I was like, ‘okay, what about Nita Strauss? What does she do?’ She gets a vocalist to come.”
Lloyd has been very vocal about her struggles with self-doubt, even calling her 2023 debut Imposter Syndrome. To combat the nerves, Lloyd opted to have a vocalist come along for the ride. “I knew I wanted Marisa [Rodriguez, of Marisa And The Moths] to be the one of the vocalists, because I’ve worked with her before,” she says.
Imposter Syndrome saw Lloyd taking on 11 guest vocalists on all 11 tracks, with Rodriguez featuring on Won’t You Come. Getting Rodriguez involved was the perfect compromise – Lloyd was still able to take centre stage, but she could let Rodriguez take the reins if she was feeling overwhelmed.
The ability to not always be the focal point was familiar and comforting for Lloyd. “I don’t really feel [imposter syndrome] when I go on stage with MGK or other bands anymore, because I’m not the centre of it,” she admits. “I’m there to do a job and I know exactly what I’m doing, but with the [solo show] in Camden, it’s your name on the door.”
“I went out and when I started playing that first song I just felt so good,” she smiles. “I felt so confident, I really felt like this is where I’m meant to be. There was no voice in the back of my head saying ‘you’re going to mess up’. The crowd was so amazing as well… You’re always going to be a bit nervous, it means you care!”
Lloyd will be performing at The Cause on 20 December, with a headline show at the Whisky A Go Go set up for 16 January.
The post “Slash doesn’t talk at all. He’s pretty much completely silent. I was like, ‘should I go that route?’”: Sophie Lloyd considered modelling her image on the Guns N’ Roses guitarist appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
