Page 26 - ION Indie Magazine NovDec 2020

At 21 years of age, you might think that Loz Campbell would be fairly new to the music
business, but this lady has rewritten the rules. She has been a regular at festivals and
playing gigs all over the UK for some time now. I first saw her a few years ago and was
impressed at how such a young person was not only totally at ease on the stage, but in
complete control of what was going on. I caught up with Loz to get a bit of background into
her career so far.

Mal Whichelow: At what age did you start playing music and when did you first play
in front of an audience?

Loz Campbell: I started playing music very young but started to play guitar at age 11. Playing
music in general, I was probably about 8 years old when I played in a school orchestra. But
with guitar, I was about 14 when I played down at a local open mic night and that quickly
progressed onto festivals…and the rest is history.

MW: Open mic to festivals, that's quite a leap.

LC: Yes, I got a spot at a local festival and then not long after, I was down in Hertfordshire
for the Standon Calling festival. Some good friends invited me down and then I went up to
the Northbound festival in Cumbria after that. I made loads of connections there, which led
to gigs and gave me a good CV to hand to other festivals and venues. For example,
someone that saw me at Northbound got me a slot at Lancaster Music Festival the year
after, I believe.

MW: Are you self-taught or did you have lessons?

LC: I started off self-taught, but then I studied classical guitar for 8 years and did all my
grades in that.

MW: It's pretty impressive that you spent 8 years studying classical guitar when most
rock musicians wouldn't go down that road. What made you choose that route?

LC: I could already read music from playing flute, but it was my music teacher that
recommended it. I’m really glad that I did that because it has made my playing a lot better
than I think it would have been without studying it. At live gigs, people comment on the
stretch I can get across the fretboard and that is definitely thanks to studying classical guitar.
I always played rock as well, but I believe if you ‘learn all the rules then you can break them’
sort of thing.

MW: So, you've tamed your little finger then? When I played guitar years ago, my little
finger was a bit of a rebel. It totally refused to do anything I expected of it.

LC: Yes, you have to train that because it shares the same tendon with the finger next
door…or so I'm told, ha, ha!

MW: I'm always in awe when people play the guitar and their pinky does what they
tell it to do.

LC: It takes a lot of practice.

MW: What was it like playing in front of an audience for the first time? Were you
terrified or completely ‘I got this’?

LC: I was terrified. I remember going busking and thinking that everyone was laughing at
me. My family have always been very supportive, which I’m grateful for.

LC: I was terrified. I remember going busking and thinking that everyone was laughing at
me. My family have always been very supportive which I’m grateful for.