Voices from the Void: An interview with Lizzie Died Young

Emerging from Houston’s underground music scene, the local band Lizzie Died Young is back from the dead and is now on the rise. Consisting of three members: Nicolas, Valerie and Sofie.

I had the opportunity to interview Lizzie Died Young after their performance at the White Swan Live on November 1st, 2024. We talked about their inspirations, the story behind the band, and what’s upcoming for Lizzie Died Young.

Anahid: Who am I here with and what is your role in the band?

Val: We are Lizzie Died Young. My name is Valerie and I play guitar.

Nick: My name is Nick and I play the drums.

Sofie: My name is Sofie and I play bass.

Anahid: When was the band founded and what’s the story behind starting it?

Val: Well, I’ve written a lot, like basically all of the Lizzie Died Young songs two years ago and I’ve been trying to find a drummer since then for like two years and I finally found Nick as a drummer. But before him, I went through four other drummers, four other drummers, let me emphasize four. It’s very difficult to find a drummer that is willing to make the drive and to have the practices and such.

Sofie: I joined like a couple months ago. Valerie just hit me up. We met through mutual friends and I jumped on it because I’ve been looking to join a band for a while, so I’m super excited.

Nick: Yeah, so Valerie actually scouted me from our other band Reverie. They asked me to join the band and I was like, f**k it, why not?

Anahid: What other bands inspire your sound for Lizzie Died Young?

Val: For sure this small Chicago band called Lifeguard… and also Yo La Tengo is another band that really inspires me. Lyrically, though, I’m trying to be better so I’m listening to more Car Seat Headrest because I really think Will Toledo is a really great lyricist.

Nick: Recently, I saw Her New Knife live and I think they have a really sick sound and if we could try to build anything off of that… and for me, like drumming-wise, I also really like Title Fight and try to emulate that a lot.

Sofie: I saw this really cool psychedelic punk band at the Austin Psych Fest last year and I feel like I really am inspired by them for sure. They’re called Frankie and the Witch Fingers. And one of my favorite bands of all time is Alice In Chains… but I’m definitely inspired by them.

Anahid: Is there anything upcoming for y’all? Any shows or new music?

Val: Over the winter, we’re definitely going to work on bettering our sound and our stage presence. 2025, though, we really want to perform weekly. As much as we possibly can because we think growing from the local scene is very important. To build a community because I know a lot of bands go more towards the internet route like TikTok and such. But I think it’s just a lot more intimate and a lot more special and authentic to grow from the local scene. So 2025, we definitely want to perform as much as we can.

Sofie: And maybe record an EP at some point?

Val: For sure.

Anahid: Favorite song at the moment?

Sofie: My favorite song is ‘Angel F**k’ by Misfits right now.

Nick: So, mine would have to be ‘Lonestar’ by Faye Webster

Val: I think maybe ‘No One Noticed’ by The Marías. Yeah, that’s been on repeat for me.

Anahid: Where can we find y’all on social media?

Val: @lizziediedyoung on Instagram. That is our only social media presence right now.

Anahid: My final question is, who is Lizzie?

Val: Lizzie is a concept of a young girl who disappeared and you know that statistic where if you can’t find someone for over three days, you can assume that they’re dead… well, we’re still looking for her.

Find Lizzie Died Young on Instagram to look out for their next upcoming show in Houston!

Live at the White Swan: Lizzie Died Young YouTube Video