Why I'll Never Get Gel or Dip Again

Okay, this is by far the most popular question I received from when I did the Living with Landyn Instagram takeover. “WHY did I say I’ll never get gel or dip again?” Well, here are all the deets…

I’m a guitar player and a busy mom. I’m also a girl who loves a fresh mani/pedi. It’s one of the small pleasures in life that makes me feel good and put together. The challenge is, I’m constantly raking my nails across metal strings, digging into a bag, changing a diaper or washing my hands.

Every time I get gel or dip, I regret it. I’m stuck with the color until I can get back to the salon to get it removed with foils. Typically, after a few weeks, the polish starts to crack anyway. Or my nails grow out so far from the bed that it’s not a good look. And my nails are absolutely destroyed if I take off gel or dip and decide not to get them done again for a while. They’re paper thin, scratched and it takes the entire time of a nail to regenerate for them to look decent and strong again. You feel me, ladies?

Enter (drum roll please) Dazzle Dry! This is a product I can NOT live without right now. My favorite part is this polish is chip free for 1-2 weeks on fingers and 3-4 weeks on toes.

This is day 5 of my mani.

“Alluring Charm” is my go-to Dazzle Dry color.

My next favorite part is it comes off with regular polish remover. Bonus: it’s clean, cruelty free, and vegan (did you know some polishes use animal by products? I didn’t until recently. What ARE we putting on and in our bodies?! Ew!).

My friend, Steph, originally told me about it and said a salon in my neighborhood offers it. I love getting my nails done professionally because they paint them way better than I can, but I’ve also bought the Dazzle Dry system and done them at home myself when I can’t get to the salon.

The system is 4 simple steps, but I will warn you: you must use the entire system and follow the directions for the polish to cure properly. When you receive your product in the mail, Dazzle Dry includes a QR code where you can watch a video to see how it’s done. It’s easy, but there are nuances. If you try it, I highly recommend watching the video first. The director training will make no bones about it: if your mani chips before 1 week, then you missed a step in the directions. I can attest, it took a little practice for me, but as I type this right now, I’m on day 4 of my at-home mani and going strong.

Okay, ladies, if you try it, please let me know what you think! My favorite color is “Alluring Charm.” It’s a milky pink, full coverage, cream polish. Get the system with your favorite color and take a picture of your Dazzle Dry mani/pedi and tag me on Instagram @laurenlucasinsta ! And what color did you get??

The Carolina Kind

This year, I’ve been performing livestream concerts every-other-week for my supporter tribe. The connection we’ve made in that group has been very meaningful to me. I met some of the people in the group two decades ago when I first began releasing music publicly. I know their favorite songs, their families, their health issues, their losses, their celebrations. They have forged friendships with each other from meeting at shows or chatting in the private group. This tribe really is a tight knit community that has taken on a life of its own and for that I am so grateful.

One of the things that strikes me is how often certain songs get requested in my livestreams. “The Carolina Kind” is one of the most requested songs. This song means so much to me because it came from a personal place. And it is such a thrill to know that it hits other people in a personal way.

When I first recorded “The Carolina Kind”, the intent was to put it on an album that would be publicly released by a major label. I hoped it would be the title track. Alas, champions of mine left the label before the album was released, a new guard came into the label and that dream of an album titled, The Carolina Kind by yours truly never came to fruition. Recently, I came across a mockup of what the album cover might have looked like and I thought it would be fun to share.

This might have been what my album cover looked like!

I still love playing “The Carolina Kind.” Sometimes songs lose their shine after years of playing them, but this is a song that still means a lot to me. I’m so glad it means a lot to other people, too. In fact, it means so much that I decided to re-record the song years later and included it on my EP titled, If I Was Your Girl. You can hear the produced studio version two ways:

You can choose to stream it on your favorite digital platform or go old school with a physical copy.

Been a Minute

Hey there! It’s been a while since I’ve properly checked in. A lot of new things have happened since the beginning of 2020. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

• I became a mom! Yup, I had a baby in late March of 2020, just as everything was beginning to lockdown here in the U.S. I’m a boy mom to an adorable toddler.

• He was pre-term, so we spent several weeks in the NICU. We will forever be grateful for the nurses, doctors and neonatologists who helped our little nugget grow big and strong. They are angels and heroes.

• I mostly spent the next several months staring at my beatiful boy and being a hermit. I learned that postpartum baby blues and anxiety is a real thing. But, the fog does eventually lift and when it did…

• I began diving back into my home studio. I’ve been staying mostly behind the scenes tracking voice overs, vocals and guitars for friends’ projects and corporate clients. It’s opening up a whole new chapter in my creativity and, ultimately, my music career.

• And now I’m coming out of hiding — feeling good, super busy in a great way, and enjoying the heck out of reconnecting with y’all!

Soooo, catch me up. What have YOU been up to? I’m spending most of my time over on Instagram these days. Hit me up at @laurenlucasinsta and fill me in!

Story Behind the Song, "Addicted to the Rain"

The summer before my senior year at Belmont University, I worked as a host at P.F. Chang’s on West End Avenue. One day, a man and his wife walked in to be seated. He struck up conversation and mentioned he’s a songwriter. I told him about how I was working towards an artist career. (How “Nashville” can we get?) One thing led to another, and within a few weeks, I found myself at Curb Publishing on Music Row writing with Jim Reilley. 

Now, if you’re not familiar with Jim’s work, let me tell you a little bit about him. In addition to writing songs for acclaimed artists such as Jack Ingram, Hal Ketchum, Joy Lynn White and Sam Bush (just to name a few), Jim is co-founder of the folk-rock duo, The New Dylans. He’s shared stages with Shawn Colvin, The Band, 10,000 Maniacs and Townes Van Zandt. The project of Jim’s that is my personal favorite is his 2003 solo record, The Return of Buddy Cruel. I highly recommend you check it out on your favorite digital site. 

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Over the next few years, I found myself in that writing room many more times, as Jim Reilley became a friend and consistent co-writer of mine. Of the songs Jim and I wrote together, I felt most connected to one song in particular and chose to record it for my Warner Bros. album back in 2004. It’s a song called, “Addicted to the Rain”. 

Around the same time I met Jim, one of my professors introduced me to veteran guitar player/producer, Biff Watson. Biff and I became fast friends and collaborators. Biff ultimately helped me land my deal with Warner Bros. and produced the record. 

We all thought, “Addicted to the Rain” was a special song. The recording was made even more special when Biff made a phone call to a guest artist to sing background vocals on the tune. None other than Mr. Vince Gill came over to the studio and put vocals on the song (and guitar on a different tune). I absolutely loved the way it turned out! 

Fast forward almost fifteen years. Jim reached out to me to have coffee. Through conversation and reminiscing about how much we loved writing “Addicted to the Rain”, we agreed it was such a shame that Warner Bros. never released the finished product for the public to hear. How could we get to your ears?

Let me pause here and share a little music business 101 for anyone wondering how this works: Warner Bros. does not own the publishing on any of the songs I recorded for them; however, they DO own the master recordings. After all, they paid for those specific recordings. So, in order for me to release any of those songs for public consumption, I have to re-record the songs and own the masters myself. That’s exactly what I did when I re-recorded “The Carolina Kind” for my EP, If I Was Your Girl. And that’s exactly what I did again last year when Jim and I re-recorded “Addicted to the Rain”, which you’re about to hear when it’s released this Friday!

Now, for those of you who’ve been following along since my Warner Bros. days and are familiar with the original version: hold onto your hats. This new version is a LOT different. Jim and I started asking ourselves questions like, “What if we completely re-imagined this song?” “What if we changed the tempo; even changed some of the chords?” "What if we made it super dramatic, almost like a film score?”

The answer to those questions will all be revealed this Friday when the single is available on all major digital distribution outlets. I’m super proud of this single and can’t wait for you hear! Jim Reilley is at the helm producing. Eric Fritsch at Eastwood Studios engineered and mixed, as well as built the track with Jim. Additional mixing by Park Chisolm. Mastering by Alex McCullough for True East Mastering.

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Mary Sue Englund designed the single artwork. I happened to run across an old picture of me as a child from around Christmas, 1989. I used to love playing in empty boxes. Apparently, I fell asleep mid-playtime and for some reason I had an open umbrella in the box with me. What can I say? Using your imagination can be exhausting! Anyway, I thought it was cool to draw inspiration from the photo and Mary Sue made the vision come alive in a beautiful way. So many of you commented on how much you love the artwork. Kudos to Mary Sue for that.

I have to brag on my talented niece, Natalie Combs, for candidly capturing photos of the studio process with such artistry. Check them out on my Instagram throughout the week.

This Friday, January 31st, the new version of “Addicted to the Rain” will be available as a single at your favorite digital retailer. Please go stream, download, playlist, save, like, and share the new version of “Addicted to the Rain” with your family and friends! Then, hit me up on my socials and (kindly) lemme know what you think. 

Thank you for following along. Your support means the world to me. I am having so much fun making music that satisfies my soul. I hope you’re enjoying it, too. More to come!

xo,
Lauren

Joy and Cheer

I have a confession to make: I am the type of person who starts listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. I keep my radio dial in the car set to the station that plays all Christmas all the time starting on Thanksgiving day. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a December tradition, and I DVR The Holiday Baking Championship so that I can watch it when my husband relinquishes the remote. My only redeeming quality around holiday time is that I do wait until Thanksgiving before putting up the tree.

So why, might you ask, has it taken this holiday nut so long to release my own Christmas music? I don’t have a really good answer, but I’m thrilled to say it’s happening!

Joy and Cheer, my new holiday EP, is available starting this week on Friday, November 8th. Here’s a little bit about it:

I teamed up with my friend, Park Chisolm (Kevin Costner & The Modern West/Aubrie Sellers), on production. Park played most of the instruments on this three song project, with the exception of the second track: a song I co-wrote with my friend, Matt Ridenour (Jonny Lang/Julie Roberts) called, “I’d Be Fine with Christmas Time”. Michael Rinne from Miranda Lambert’s band laid down a sweet upright bass part on the track, and Adam Wright (Lee Ann Womack/Bruce Robison), played the Rhodes piano. That’s me you’ll hear on electric guitar and Wurlitzer on a few tracks.

I’ve heard it said that a sculptor doesn’t chisel an image out of the rock. Rather, they chisel the rock away little by little and allow the image to appear. That’s how making this EP felt. We didn’t record in a big fancy studio. Most of the recording was done in my upstairs guest room over several weeks. We lit some candles that smelled like pine trees and hung a wreath on the door for some extra vibe. It was such a fun, relaxed and joyful way to create. We didn’t have a lot of answers going in. We allowed each song to come alive the way it wanted to.

Probably one of my favorite nights of recording was when a small group of friends came over for pizza and wine, and we all gathered around a microphone to sing layers and layers of choir-like vocals on the Ray Charles classic, “That Spirit of Christmas”. A huge “thank you” to Shannon Wright, Sara Beck, Kimberly Quinn, Matt Ridenour and Park Chisolm for lending your insanely talented voices to this project.

The final song on the EP is the Irish folk song to which no one ever knows the words, but is sung every year at New Years: “Auld Lang Syne". The haunting melody is so beautiful to me. We kept this track super sparse and let the melody and emotion be the stars of the show.

Beginning November 8th, you can download and stream the EP from your favorite digital retailer (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). I’m also offering a holiday bundle on my website, www.laurenlucas.com, which includes a signed physical copy of the EP along with a hand-made custom ornament.

My hope for this project is that you will savor it over a cup of morning coffee curled up on the couch on the weekend; that it will be the soundtrack to your family opening gifts, or the music you play during your holiday dinner. Most of all, I hope this music brings you joy and cheer year after year.

Back to the Basics

Almost four weeks ago, I participated in a three-day intensive creative writing workshop with one of my musical heroes: Jonatha Brooke. Jonatha is a folk/rock singer-songwriter and now playwright whose career began in Boston with the duo, The Story. I was introduced to her through her solo work back in college. I took a songwriting class at Belmont and one of the guys in the class kept going on and on about Jonatha Brooke. I took a listen and immediately fell in love with her lyrics, the musicianship on the record, and her vocal delivery. 

Soon after my discovery, the local indie radio station in Nashville, Lightning 100, started playing her single, "Linger," on heavy rotation. I performed that song for my senior recital in order to graduate. So, you see, my love affair with Jonatha Brooke goes waaaay back. 

When I was signed to Warner Bros., I got the chance to meet her at an afterparty for the ACM's or CMA's... I honestly can't remember which. This was around 2004 or 2005. I had just performed a set with my band at the party, got off the stage, and saw her in the crowd. I totally fan-girled her (can I use fan-girl as a verb?). Anyway, she was so kind and she was even gracious enough to snap the picture that's at the top of the page.  

Earlier this winter, I was listening to a playlist on Spotify and the app populated a tour date for Jonatha in Nashville in May. I haven't seen her perform in years. No way was I missing this show! So, I clicked on the link, surfed her tour page, and discovered she was also leading a creative writing workshop in Nashville the days leading up to her show. What is life?! How can this be?!

So, I took myself back to school. Jonatha School. 20 other participants from all over the world and I bared our souls by sharing unfinished seedlings of song ideas. We walked around Vanderbilt in tempo like crazy people to shake loose new song ideas. We played instruments we'd never played before and tried tunings we never could have dreamed up on our own. We even sat in front of the room and (gulp!) got a song critiqued in front of the whole class. We went back to the basics. 

Going back to the basics can be frustrating and hard. I'm impatient. That weekend, I learned that the basics were exactly what I needed. The experience was exciting, hard, emotional, inspiring and even spiritual. Actually, it was mostly spiritual. For me, anyway. It's opened up my writing in the most exciting ways! I was groomed on co-writing. It's the Nashville way (at least since the mid-90's). A few years ago, a songwriting friend encourage me to write more on my own. It felt scary. I'd get stuck and not know how to finish it. So, I'd use the beginning I'd created as an idea to present to a co-writer at my next appointment. On one hand, I felt accomplished that I had contributed an idea. On the other, I let myself down time and time again by not sticking with the song when it got tough. I needed to learn how to do the work. How to dig in, dig deeper, and where to even start excavating!  

Now, I'm at least beginning to better understand how to do the work. I got to crawl inside the brain of one of my biggest inspirations to learn, to improve, and to understand how she teases out lyric ideas, creates interesting melodies and gets herself unstuck. It was exactly what I needed to reinvigorate my own creativity. I also received major impact from the other 20 creative souls participating in this workshop and getting to hear the inspiring and important things they had to say through their art. 

Based on my recent experience, I encourage you to stretch yourself, no matter what your career or passion. Don't be afraid to get schooled. Get uncomfortable. Play. Go back to the basics. I promise you'll surprise yourself. 

Vintage

Earlier this week, I received a text from my friend, John, telling me that New Country Brew is featuring Farewell Angelina's recording of, "Vintage!" New Country Brew is a radio show syndicated in 43 stations around the country and in the UK on CMR Nashville. How cool is that?! 

Many of you know that Farewell Angelina is a sisterhood I'm so proud to be a part of. Once an Angelina, always an Angelina. And I'm thrilled to have written three of the songs on their current EP. These women have worked so hard and are kicking butt on the road!

Vintage is one of my personal favorites that I've written with FA. Nic, Andrea, Lisa and I penned this tune with long-time friend and musical badass, Joe West. It was inspired by one word that Joe threw out as an idea: vintage. 

We wrote this tune at Joe's gorgeous home studio out in the country. His studio is built inside of an old barn with platinum records hanging on the walls and the random Grammy award sitting on the studio console. No big deal. 

The acoustics, lighting, and entire vibe of this place is conducive for songwriting magic. It took a while to wrestle the lyric down, but finding the lyrical angle is probably the most fun for me. Once we got a handle on it and a sweet guitar riff, it flowed like wine. I even got to squeeze a line in the chorus about my husband's '68 Camaro. I won some major bonus points for that one on the home front. 

Here's an acoustic songwriter take of the tune from yours truly. See if New Country Brew is syndicated in your area and crank it up! And, for sure, check out Farewell Angelina's studio recording of, "Vintage" off of their new EP.

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Up to Somethin'

About two weeks ago, I received a voice message from my friend, Marjorie. "Hey, Lauren, I'm in town tomorrow and curious if you can grab lunch? I'm up to somethin'," she giggled.  

We sat at an outdoor table at Taqueria del Sol in 12th South over fish tacos and margaritas (because Sunday Funday) when she told me she was about to make her Grand Ole Opry debut! 

Marjorie Eastman is not a musician. No. Marjorie Eastman is a retired post-9/11 United States Army intelligence officer and combat commander, a wife to a retired post-9/11 Army helicopter pilot, and a mother to a beautiful little boy who survived pediatric cancer. The entire family are warriors in the most literal sense of the word. She's also an award-winning author, an entrepreneur, a champion of veterans, and many more things, I'm sure.  

Oh yeah... and she's not even 40 years old. What have you done with your life? 

Most recently, Marjorie wrote a column highlighting 52 businesses and charities launched in the U.S. by the military community. She collaborated with Bicycle Playing Cards to transform that column of 52 into the Most Wanted Frontline Leaders collectable deck and partnered with the Grand Ole Opry for the official release! Big & Rich (former label mates!) performed that night and held up the deck from stage and promoted it to the crowd.

Earlier that morning, the 52 honorees saw the deck -- and their specific playing card -- for the first time in a private ceremony at Mission BBQ. Marjorie asked me to join her in her mission, and I was honored to sing our National Anthem for a room full of veterans. Listen, I've sung our Anthem a lot of times over the years and for some incredible crowds (can we say 2016 NFL Chiefs vs. Raiders game?!), but to lead a room full of women and men who made the choice to protect our country -- and to hear them singing back -- was incredibly powerful.  

I'll tell you something else that's powerful: witnessing how these 52 leaders lift up others through their businesses. I met owners of a non-profit who help veterans learn to code at no cost. I met a veteran who travels the world to find retired K-9's and helps match them to their original soldiers. One man creates lighting technology that helps keep fire fighters safe. I watched Marjorie start with a seed of an idea to follow her passion for writing and grew it into a full-blown love fest to highlight other people's hard work, sacrifice and success.  

I recently read this opinion article by David Brooks about two kinds of people: one-mountain people and two-mountain people. The article explained that we're typically all one-mountain people in our early adulthood -- climbing to get the best education that we can, clawing to the top of our profession, striving to win accolades and merit. Some people become two-mountain type people when they realize, either by force or by choice, that the first mountain leaves them feeling unfulfilled; like there's a higher purpose and a different definition of success. Two-mountain kind of people often find greater meaning in community, service to others, and family. 

There’s no doubt Marjorie and her 52 Most Wanted Leaders are two-mountain kind of people. Makes me curious about what mountain I’ve been climbing. How ‘bout you? It also makes me think if we find our second mountain, I wonder what we might get up to?

To read Marjorie's inspirational, award-winning book, The Frontline Generation, and to get a Bicycle collectable Most Wanted Leaders playing card deck all for yourself, click here or swing by her Facebook page and say hello!