Interview: Lacey May, SA’s New Dynamic Duo

The Daily Spin caught up with South Africa’s talented dynamic duo, Kelly Grevler and Candice Armitage, who make up the unique, quirky and upcoming band that is ‘Lacey May’.  We find out about their musical history, who they are, what they have in store for us, as well as the release of their highly anticipated new sinlge AND music video ‘Back To Shore”.

Kelly, We’ve seen you on both sides of the spectrum.  How was the transition from being in a hardcore rock band like “We Shall Embrace” to fun, quirky “Lacey May”?

The days of We Shall Embrace were amazing, the amount of experience I gained is so valuable to me from the point of view of a songwriter, performer and manager/booking agent. But something more commercial is what I have always wanted to do.

Tell us the story about how you and Candice joined forces to start this band.

Candice and myself studied music together where she majored in vocals and I majored in guitar, I have always loved her voice and it wasn’t until she completed her studies we began talking about starting up a project together. We both share a love for folk/pop music and writing songs together just seems to work beautifully.

What are your thoughts on the local music scene?  Do you think South Africa has the right platforms for you to share your music?

It is a very exciting time for South African music, the caliber of musician that are out there lately is astounding, so many interesting, talented acts popping up all over the country. The resources available for bands and musicians are improving each day and there is no reason for anyone to feel as South Africans we are hard done by, we have everything we need to make a go of music as a full time career.

What was the significance of calling the band ‘Lacey May’? And tell us a little bit about your first single “Back To Shore” – what was the concept behind the song?

We liked the idea of naming the band after a person, even though “Lacey May” is a fictitious person, she has her own identity, personality and voice, which is a mixture of Candice and myself. We have the freedom to be exactly who we want to be and say what we want to say through Lacey May.
Back To Shore is about a relationship that’s at a crossroad, it’s something that a lot of people go through so we felt it was relevant to write about, it was the very first song we wrote together and it is very special to us.

What was it like filming the music video for ‘Back To Shore’?  Was it a good experience?

The music video experience was amazing, we cannot praise the team we worked with enough, to be surround with people who work so hard, with such clear vision only made us want to work harder. they completely understood what we want to say through our music and adapted it to an amazing visual concept. We couldn’t be happier and more grateful of what we have experience so far.

You girls have been in the music industry for a very long time.  Can you tell us a bit about your music background, and what do you think you would be doing if you were not involved with music?

We are both formally trained musicians, Kelly has been in many original bands, marketing and releasing an album independently, currently plays for a corporate function band and is guitar lecturer at a private school. Candice has featured on many local bands albums and does backing vocals for the SAMA nominated band Wrestlerish as well as featuring vocals in the new Revlon South Africa television advert.
I think one way or another we will both be involved in the music industry in some aspect.

What plans do you have this year for Lacey May, and any upcoming shows we should know about?

There are tons of exciting things in the pipe line for Lacey May this year, but for now we just like to take it one step at a time, one single at a time.  The next show will be on May 26th in Melrose Arch for a fund raiser called Photos for Hope. It is a great cause that we fully support.  We are on at 15:00 right before the amazingly talented Josie Field.

Lacey May, bringing something fresh and exciting to the South African music scene – We have no doubt these girls will continue to rise.

For more info and updates, follow them on twitter @Laceymaymusic or check out their facebook page

Please check out the video above of Lacey May’s first single ‘Back To Shore’