Last week, Mia Thompson of WLUW had a chance to chat with Lexi Vega of Mini Trees ahead of their show at Schubas with Eliza McLamb. Earlier this year Mini Trees celebrated the release of EP Burn Out and have been touring with McLamb since November. Mia and Lexi discussed song writing and storytelling, creative collaboration, cream cheese hotdogs (yuck) and more. Listen and read below!

Audio Interview:

Text Interview:

Mia: Hey, this is Mia from WLUW, and I’m here in the studio with Mini Trees. Would you like to introduce yourself?

Lexi: Sure! My name’s Lexi and, yeah, I play in a band called Mini Trees.

M: Yeah! So you’re from Los Angeles originally?

L: Correct. Yeah, I did grow up there and remain there — probably will forever. 

M: It’s a good place to be for music and art, I can only assume. I’ve actually never been myself.

L: Oh, really? Yeah, no, it definitely is. I mean, yeah, it’s a little oversaturated with all those things, probably, but I feel very lucky that I have found a really cool community amidst all of that. And I also just really like the weather.

M: Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty miserable here in Chicago today, and it has been for the past few days that you’ve been here, so that’s too bad. 

L: It snowed!

M: And sleeted! It’s just been miserable.

L: Wait, sleeted. So is that — is that wet snow?

M: Yeah, just, like, wet, hard, gross snow.

L: Dangerous snow, maybe.

M: Yeah, potentially, like, evil snow.

L: Yeah.

M: I actually did want to ask you about that music scene in Los Angeles — because I’m assuming it is so oversaturated — but it’s also where you’re from and where you grew up. So I was wondering how your location, as you’re creating your art, how does where you are influence your artistic process?

L: Yeah, I mean, that’s a good question. And also, I feel like – I don’t mean to say oversaturated, in a negative way. I just think that there are so many of us who are trying to make it happen out there that it gets kind of hard. So honestly, for the last several years, I’ve kind of lived a little bit outside of the busyness in LA. Sort of intentionally. I kind of like my day to day life being a bit more quiet and slow and than, I mean, I’m sure you’ve heard of LA traffic. LA traffic is horrible. And so the downside is I’m always just driving across town, sitting in, like, an hour and a half of traffic to go to a show or  see friends, because everyone kind of lives in, like, the same community on the eastside of LA. And I sort of chose to live outside of that a little bit because I like the separation in my day to day life from, I think, the creative and art scene. I think that when it comes to making music, I like some of that isolation just to sort of have more space to think and write and just be alone and be more reflective. And then drive into town and go to shows and be inspired by what my friends are making and, you know, be inspired by all the various artists and bands that come through LA. And so, yeah, I think for me, I tend to write and create when I’m more focused and clear headed. And so when I’m on tour, I’m never really writing. I’m never really creating the next thing, it’s like I’m very single-focused. So I think in order for me to sort of get into that space, I kind of need some separation from everything, if that makes sense.

M: Absolutely. That makes complete sense. I mean, I think solitude can be the space where your creativity can really thrive and grow. And when you’re on the road constantly, it’s hard to have any time alone, I’m assuming.

L: Yeah. And I think also I’m such a social person that if I’m around people, I’m not going to be thinking about writing music. All I want to do is hang out and spend time with other people. And I think that’s another reason why I benefit from being away from that a little bit. If I’m gonna try to be somewhat disciplined about practicing my instruments or trying to sit down and write, then I kind of need to remove distractions or else I just won’t ever do it.

M: Yeah, that makes total sense! I did kind of want to talk to you a little bit about collaboration because I know that, just before we started the interview, you were talking about bringing this rapper on stage tonight at Schubas, which is super exciting.

L: Yeah!

M: And I’m a big fan of your song “Cave.” And you worked with Medium Build on that.

L: Oh cool, yeah.

M: So I was just gonna ask you, like, the process of being a primarily solo artist — I mean, I know you do a lot of collaboration in terms of instrumentals and stuff — but when you’re collaborating with a different artist to make a song, to create a new sound, what is that process like for you?

L: Yeah, you know, it depends. I think, in the case of that song — well, actually, it’s funny because Nick from medium build was in LA, like, probably a year before that, and we met up to just write together and just kind of see if something would come out of it. And it actually wasn’t Cave. We sat down and started kind of writing almost like country ballad. It’s still sitting on my laptop, we haven’t done anything with it. But we’ve been buds for a little bit now, and Nick does a lot of songwriting sessions and collabs with people a lot. So I wanted to meet up with him and try it, and it was super fun, but like I said, we didn’t really do anything with that track. But then when I was in the studio working on Cave, I actually recorded the full song, and there’s a version of it where the second verse, that’s Nick’s feature now, is just me singing it. So that was, like, the first version that we did. And if you buy the vinyl, that version’s on there, too.

M: Oh, cool.

L: But it’s sort of like, when I would listen to it — I appreciate the original version, that’s just me, in a way, but it was like I just really wanted someone else there. And that verse is also so vulnerable that I was like “I would love for someone else to step in and sing this part.” And I would love for it to have this, like, intense emotion. And I wanted someone to, like, belt it. I want someone to scream it, almost. And so Nick was the first person that I thought of, because he’s got such an incredible voice, and he does that belting thing so well.

M: Totally. Yeah.

L: And so, basically, I just reached out to him, sent him the song, and he was in Alaska then, so he just recorded it remotely from his house and sent over the recordings from that. And then my friend and producer, John Joseph, was able to just kind of splice it in, and then we got it all mixed, and now it is the finished version that is out on Spotify and all that. And so in that case, it was just reaching out, sending him the song, seeing what he thought of it, talking through what his version of it would sound like, and then him just doing a few takes. And then we picked the one that we liked the most. And in some of the recordings, you can hear his dogs in the background barking and stuff. It’s very raw and very wholesome. 

M: I like that! I mean, I think it’s cool that you brought your storytelling and had him kind of bring it to life in a different way, you know, challenging the original structure of the song, maybe, the original concept.

L: Yeah, yeah. And I think that the subject of that song, too, or some of the themes, were actually the reason I thought of him. Because when we did meet up to write, we sort of spent half the time just talking. It was something that I realized, I felt like he would relate a lot to, just the theme of that song. So it really felt perfect for him to be brought into that one.

M: Yeah. You mentioned how vulnerable the lyrics of that song are, and that was something that I wanted to mention as well, because a lot of your lyrics are really vulnerable, sometimes really intimate. I especially noticed that with, “Shapeshifter,” super intimate, exposed lyrics. What is your approach to lyricism? How do you approach storytelling in songwriting?

L: Yeah, that’s a good question. I mean, a lot of times, I kind of forget in the writing process that it will be released for everyone to hear one day. It’s particularly embarrassing sometimes to know that family members are listening to the music. Like, whoa.

M: Yeah.

L: So I think in the moment, I’m not at all really thinking about where the song’s gonna end up. It’s kind of just like a cathartic practice for me in a lot of cases. And then usually it’s the thing that comes last in writing a song for me. So usually I’ll be writing a demo and figuring out all of the chord progressions and the structure of the song, and a lot of time I’ll start putting down vocals, but they’re mumbles, like, just melodies.

M: Yeah, yeah. Mumble tracks. Jeff Tweedy, he’s the lead singer Wilco, he talks about doing mumble tracks for a lot of his songs. So, just kind of figuring out the bones of the song before you put in your story.

L: Totally. It’s almost like, I would rather the melody and the mood and the tone of the song start informing what it’s going to be about. Like, what the lyrics are going to be about.

M: Yeah.

L: I rarely will start with lyrics, although I’m trying to challenge that a little bit, too, just to see what comes of it. So, on this tour, since I’m not really writing, I’ve been trying to just jot down thoughts or, as I sit in the car and stare out the window, you know, just write things down and see if maybe I’ll revisit them and work them into a song. But, yeah, for the most part, it’s kind of, like, what does this, you know, wordless song make me feel. Like, what comes to mind? And then I kind of start writing based on that. And, yeah, I think with songs like “Cave” or some of the really vulnerable ones, I think that I wrote them in a time where I was feeling particularly, you know, emotional one way or another and kind of needed to get that out into song form. But then other times, I think it can be more of, just like a practice, like exercising a muscle, almost. Just trying to practice songwriting and push myself to try and write something different. It’s always changing I think. 

M: Yeah, I can imagine. I’m not particularly skilled at music writing but I listened to it a lot. And  one thing I always ask people who are fans of music, like friends of mine, I always ask “when you listen to a song, do you hear the lyrics first or the melody?” I think that’s an interesting distinction in the understanding of music for sure. 

L: What is it for you? 

M: I think I hear lyrics first. Lyrics are really important to me. I’m a fan of Adrianne Lenker. 

L: Of course. 

M: I think she’s a super genius songwriter.

L: Absolutely. 

M: Yeah. 

L: Yeah, I think I’m the opposite. I think I hear melodies first. Are you like a Sigur Rós fan at all? Or have you listened much to Jónsi? Like they’re Icelandic. 

M: Okay. I don’t know that I’m familiar. 

L: I think it’s been a minute since they put a record out. But they sing in Icelandic and then sometimes in, I think it’s called Hopelandic, which is sort of a made up language. Never in English as far as I know. I think some of Jónsi — who’s the singer in Sigur Rós — some of his solo music has English in it. But it’s some of the most moving and emotional music that I’ve ever heard, and I can’t really connect with what’s being said because I can’t understand it. And so yeah, I think a lot of times the lyrics — sort of like on a third or fourth listen, I start noticing them. And if the lyrics are really impactful, it’s like a bonus for me. 

M: Right. Well, you know, music is a made up language in its own right. Like it speaks to people in completely different ways.

L: Yeah.

M: So kind of to that point, I wanted to ask you a little bit about your inspiration. Not necessarily other artists who inspire you, but also just other pieces of art, or certain experiences that you’ve had. What do you draw a lot of your inspiration from? And it can be artists, if you have a few artists that you want to shout out or something.

L: I think a lot of times, for me, it is kind of experiences, it’s primarily experiences. A lot of times, it’s kind of like digging into the past and sort of dredging stuff up, just to sort of process it again. I think that’s something that I tend to do a lot anyways, in my life, is just revisit things like over and over again, and think through them from different angles, and kind of like obsess. And so I think songwriting, a lot of times, it’s stuff that I’m still sort of thinking about and processing from the past, even years ago. And so I think sometimes that’s what’s funny about when a song is released, and the people who know and love me are sort of like, “you good?”

M: Gotta check in. 

L: Yeah, you know, it’s like, those are, those are experiences that have shaped me so much. And I don’t know, I think there’s something about tapping into it again, especially when you’re writing where it sort of feels just as real as it did years ago, or whenever it occurred you know. It’s sort of like, revisiting it in a very tangible way. So I think a lot of times it is kind of just my own experiences. But I think that I’ve also developed a kind of coded way of songwriting. Like, I’ve never been one of those more literal songwriters. I never call people by name. I almost never use pronouns; it’s always like, you, me, I — kind of vague. So there’s a lot of room I think to — and I do this somewhat intentionally — allow listeners to attach their own meaning to it.

M: Yeah, I noticed that about your lyrics, you stray away from diary-esque lyrics, like, “this thing happened to me and here’s who did it.”

L: Yeah. Yeah. Not to say I’ll never write like that. But I just think up till this point, I’ve appreciated it for two reasons, I think. One, I feel like in a way it’s a way to protect myself from being sort of overly transparent, especially since it’s all based on, you know, real experiences or real feelings, real people or whatever. And I think it’s just a way to kind of, I don’t know, protect the anonymity a little bit. 

M: Absolutely. 

L: But also, I do really, like knowing that someone who listens to it could maybe connect to it in a different way than what it means for me. That’s something that I love about some of the musicians that I listen to. And so yeah, that’s kind of always been part of the format too, I think.

M: Yeah, definitely. So tonight, you’re doing a show at Schubas with Eliza McLamb. You’re like, little over halfway through this tour with her. Right?

L: Yeah, that’s right. 

M: How’s it been? So far? 

L: It’s been a blast! The shows have been awesome. Eliza, she’s got diehard fans, like they are waiting in the cold to get in. And they show up at doors, which I appreciate because we’re opening so there’s like a full room by the time you get on stage and they’ve been really cool and really receptive. And then Eliza and her whole band are just incredible people, it’s been really fun to get to be out on the road with them. We’re sharing all of our gear. And Jacob, who’s a musician, is playing with both Eliza and us, so it’s very all in the family. It’s been really fun, but it’s also kind of… definitely that halfway point, you know? We’re tired.

M: Yeah. I can imagine. 

L: But we’ll get that second wind.

M: Yeah, you got to. Especially after a show in Chicago. We’ll give you your second wind!

L: Yeah exactly.

M:  You played here before. You played at Lincoln Hall once?

L: I did. Yeah, that was like two years ago and we were playing with Yumi Zouma. They’re from Australia. Wait. New Zealand?

M: Tricky, those two.

L: New Zealand. From New Zealand.

M: I believe you. 

L: Yeah.

M: All right. Well, that’s fantastic. I heard today you got to go to Portillo’s, which is a classic. 

L: Oh, see, I didn’t go! The guys went. 

M: Oh, all right. You missed Portillo’s, so you’re gonna have to hit Portillo’s on your way out.

L: Sounds like a post show if it’s open. 

M: Yeah, I think that could be a post show spot for sure. 

L: It’s hot dogs? 

M: To my knowledge. [Realizing I don’t know what they serve at Portillo’s] Maybe I’m not a real Chicagoan.

L: I’m not a big hot dog gal. But I would try it. If it’s a thing that you eat around here. Like if that’s a thing, then I’m all for trying it.

M: It’s definitely a thing. 

L: Okay. 

M: As long as you don’t put ketchup on it, it’s a thing. 

L: Ohh?

M: Oh yeah. That’s a huge thing.

L: Any condiments at all?

M: Well the traditional Chicago Dog, that’s going to be relish. mustard, pickles, onions, tomatoes. I think you can play fast and loose a little bit as long as you don’t do ketchup.

L: Okay, okay. You know, like I said, I’m willing to try it. 

M: You seem a little nervous about the hotdog. 

L: Well, the Seattle Dog is cream cheese, so as long as it’s not cream cheese.

M: I have never heard of a Seattle Dog. Yeah, I’m not so sure I believe in a cream cheese hot dog.

L: I don’t know if I do either but I’m pretty sure it exists.

M: I wish it didn’t! All right. Well, that pretty much takes us to the end of our time here. Any last words for our WLUW listeners?

L: Just thanks so much for listening to the music. Appreciate y’all. And then hopefully see you next time in Chicago!

M: Yeah, definitely! You can check out Mini Trees on all your streaming platforms. And definitely check them out tonight at Schubas!

L: Sweet! Thanks Mia.

M: Thank you!