Smartists: Lydia Night of The Regrettes
At sixteen, Lydia Night, lead singer of the punk-pop band The Regrettes, is not only talented beyond her years — but self-aware and outspoken about body image, mental health, and feeling your feelings. With the single “A Living Human Girl,” and their new full-length release, Feel Your Feelings Fool, The Regrettes have emerged as the next-gen Riot Grrrl group — chocked full of effortless cool and raw relate-ability.
Night is a combination of punk Karen O and rockabilly Buddy Holly in one person; a strong, fearless vocalist and guitar player with a love of blending sixties doo-op girl group harmonies with the classic punk sound. As the daughter of a nightclub-owning dad and a mom who spent her teen years in a metal band, Night says she was always encouraged in her musical leanings.
“As soon as I learned how to talk I was always singing The Ramones. My dad had a nightclub in New Orleans so when I was 2 I would sound check for him and I would sing “Beat on the Brat,” which is kinda of funny coming from a two year-old,” she said.
Her dad also took her to see The Donnas when she was five, a concert which is lodged in her mind as a major inspiration. “…I became totally obsessed. After that, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” said Night. “For my sixth birthday I got a guitar and then started taking lessons.”
Night continued taking guitar lessons, which incorporated singing and songwriting, throughout her childhood. Then she began participating at the L.A.-based music school, School of Rock, that gives kids the opportunity to learn about their instrument and perform with peers. It was at that program that Night met the rest of the Regrettes: Sage Chavis, Genessa Gariano, and Maxx Morando.
“The three of them were in a band…and I saw them all play together and thought they were super cool…the band I was in had just split so I was like ‘I should try and shimmy my way into that,’ because they were just the best people for it,” Night said.
“A Living Human Girl”, The Regrettes’ debut single, was premiered on Rookie Mag last summer. The song wipes away the sheen of being a teen girl, or a woman of any age — unapologetically crooning about the reality of razor burn, annoying boys, and periods. Night says she was hoping to wipe away some of the societal pressures that she says has been really damaging to her and her friends.
One moment specifically comes to mind when Night talks about the song: when she watched her very thin friend call herself fat as she changed her shirt in the mirror.
“That crushed me,” she said, “on one hand it’s awful to see one of your friends think that about themselves, and on the other hand I was thinking, I’m bigger than you, that means I must be fat? It starts this whole cycle… When all of your friends don’t like themselves, it’s hard to be that person who does because then you get shamed for it. Or people think you’re cocky or narcissistic. So, then I started not liking myself.”
“A Living Human Girl” was Night’s way of creating a safe place for her and her friends, a place where they all could escape the insecurities and feel empowered in their womanhood. It worked. Night says many of her friends have come up to her and thanked her for the song, some even stating that it helped them recover from eating disorders and other forms of self-harm.
Night talks faster when she speaks of all this, obviously impassioned by causing such a positive change. That’s the thing about Night: the quality of her songwriting is bolstered by her desire to help people’s emotional health. That’s a major reason The Regrettes named their debut album, Feel Your Feelings Fool.
“I think it’s not about people not being emotional enough, I think they’re just afraid to show it…We just want people to know that they’re not alone. You can’t control your feelings and we support them,” said Night.
Night’s emotional intelligence far beyond the typical for someone of her age, likely attributed to for her long-time commitment to seeing a therapist. It’s this emotional awareness she’s spent time cultivating early on that gives her songwriting such depth, honesty, and power with audiences.
“…I love therapy and I want the world to go. I think that you don’t have to have any quote-on-quote problems going on. Even if you think you’re not going through anything that is huge, you’re going through little things…It’s helped me so much,” said Night.
The Regrettes have plans to continue to spread their pro-feelings message all over the world. Feel Your Feelings Fool dropped on January 14th on Warner Bros. Records and now they’re gearing up to tour the world.
“I really want to see Tokyo and Germany. I can’t wait to go. It’s so cool to be in a band, you get to visit these places but you also get to play in those places. To have [an audience] is such a cool exchange of energy, and getting to do that all over the world is so fascinating!” Night said, adding breathlessly, “I can’t imagine what I would do if I didn’t have music or the opportunity to perform.”
Watch The Regrettes video for “A Living Human Girl” below!
