Hello Vivian Leva

Hey Vivian, how are you?

I’m doing great! The sun is shining today, which makes everything a little bit happier.

So, where are you right now? And what are you up to today?

Right now I’m sitting in my kitchen nook in Portland, Oregon. So far today I’ve answered some emails, gone on a beautiful walk, and played some wiffleball. 

Tell us something about you that we won’t find in your bio.

I actually used to be very resistant to the idea of playing guitar! For a while, the only thing that kept me going back to my guitar lessons was that my teacher would let me play his drum kit for 10 minutes at the end of each lesson, to whatever song we had been working on. I used to think I wanted to be a drummer instead. 

I last spoke to you in 2018, what have you been up to since then?

Wow, it feels like so much! Since 2018 I’ve moved from the southeast to the northwest (although I’m moving back this spring!), transferred colleges and got a degree in Sociology and Anthropology, toured with Riley as a duo and with our old-time band The Onlies, and made two new records, a traditional one with the Onlies, and the new duo record of original music!

OK, so very busy then! Tell me all about your new, really beautiful, record with Riley, in a couple of sentences?

The new record is a collection of songs that Riley and I wrote, some individually and some collaboratively, over the course of the last several years. We used to attend different colleges and lived on opposite sides of the country, so we would send our song starts back and forth to each other over text and voice memo. These songs pretty much encapsulate the various things we were going through during college. We finally got to record them in January 2020 in Eunice, Louisiana. We worked with Joel Savoy, an amazing producer, engineer, and musician, and a fantastic band consisting of Trey Boudreux, Matty Meyer, Sam Fribush, and Chris Stafford. 

Obviously it’s got a traditional country music sound to it, do you think this style of country is becoming rarer or making a comeback?

Gosh, I think that’s hard to know. Traditional music and country music has been such a big part of my life that it’s never felt rare to me. Maybe that’s because a lot of people in my musical community still listen to and write in the style of old-time and classic country.  Country music has obviously changed a lot over the last fifty years. I definitely don’t think that traditional country music today is mainstream, but there are always artists who love it, tap into it, and keep it going.

One of my favourite songs is ‘Leaving On Our Minds’, what’s that song about?

‘Leaving On Our Minds’ is a recognition of the inevitable hard moments of long-distance relationships. It's about all the joy and sorrow that gets wrapped up into each brief visit: loving one another, but always having leaving on your mind. I sent the verses I wrote to Riley over voice memo and we finished the chorus together from afar. It seemed natural for us to write a song about withstanding distance in love in the style of the country and honky-tonk music we both love to listen to and play.

Tell me how you and Riley met.

We met in June of 2016 at a music camp in Port Townsend, WA. I was there teaching some vocal workshops with my mom, and Riley was there with his bandmates Sami and Leo from the Onlies. We all met after a concert one night and immediately clicked. We ended up playing tunes and songs all night in an empty dance hall. Soon after that Riley and I decided to get together and play some gigs. I think that on our first visit we wrote our first song together. Not long after that I also officially became the fourth member of The Onlies.

There’s a particularly lovely guitar bridge in ‘Hollowed Hearts’, who’s the bigger guitar aficionado, you or Riley?

I think that we both love playing guitar and approach it in different ways! Riley plays that beautiful lead over the bridge, but we envisioned the chord progression and arrangement together.

If people could only listen to one song from the album, which one do you feel sums you guys up best?

I would pick ‘Hollowed Hearts’. That song came together so naturally, and I think that the lyrics combined with the building melody really encapsulate the kind of song we like to write.

I believe you wrote the album when you guys were on different sides of the US, how did you find that remote process, and did it prepare you for the last 12 months?

I feel very lucky that we’ve been able to spend the last 12 months together, first in Ohio and now in Portland, Oregon. We spent four years writing remotely. Even though we weren’t in a pandemic when we wrote those songs, I think that the ideas in them actually reflect the current moment and what a lot of people are going through now.

What’s your biggest personal achievement over the last 12, weird, months?

Definitely finishing college and getting my degree. Last spring and winter I attended school partly in person and partly over Zoom. Riley and I were trying to prep to release our album while I was also writing my final thesis and taking a full course load. It was hard, but I feel really proud of myself for following through. 

What can we expect from you for the rest of 2021?

Well, Riley and I will be moving to Durham, North Carolina in about a month. If the vaccination rates continue like they are, we plan on playing some outdoor venues this summer and fall on the east coast. We’ll be announcing those shows soon!

Who (or what) has inspired you?

Right now I feel inspired watching people continue to make music and art. Whenever I see a friend writing or playing a new song they learned, I feel inspired to try to do that too.

If you could recommend one artist to hear this week, who would it be?

Recently I’ve been listening to Waylon Payne’s new record on repeat. He’s an amazing songwriter, and I would definitely recommend taking a listen.

What’s the question we should have asked you today but haven’t?

I can’t think of anything! You’ve asked so many great questions.

Finally, how do you take your coffee?

A splash of half and half, no sugar.

To find out more about Vivian and Riley you can visit their website or check out what they’re up to on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Their self-titled album is out now to buy on Bandcamp and streaming on Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music.