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Finding her way

A conversation with Lexi Pifer

By John Hubner

Fort Wayne Reader

2018-03-16


If you're not familiar with Lexi Pifer, chances are you will be someday. She's a Fort Wayne native with one hell of a voice and a keen knack for intimate, personal songwriting. Her songs are a mix of smokey, breathy takes on relationships and the trouble they can get you in. They seem simple at first, but the more you live with them the precision and intricacies make themselves known.

Pifer received a music degree from IPFW and shortly after graduation she hit the high seas, working on a cruise ship. The entertainment aspect suits Pifer, as she's a great performer. This also works to keep her music chops sharp and in focus, allowing her to hone her own skills as a writer and player.

Lexi recently released her album Feeding a Wolf digitally, so I sat down and talked with her about the album, her influences, and her life on the high seas.

J. Hubner: Since we last talked you took a job with a cruise ship and have been sailing the seas. What does your job entail?

Lexi Pifer: I'm going on my 3rd year. When I started I was just working as a musician playing solo gigs in various bars around the ship. Last year I moved up to Music Manager. I still gig every night but now I’m also in charge of the musicians. I work with the Entertainment Director to create programming for the music, write reviews for each act at the end of their contracts, and help the musicians with anything they need from the shipboard and shore side team.

J. Hubner: Are you enjoying the traveling aspect?

Lexi Pifer: I love it! This job has afforded me to see so many amazing places and meet so many incredible people. I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve gotten to go to Australia twice now, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and basically all over the Caribbean. As I’m writing this I’m actually on my way to Grand Cayman.

J. Hubner: Was there a period of getting used to being on the water? Was there ever any major sea sickness issues for you?

Lexi Pifer: Not really. These ships are so massive that you rarely feel the thing moving. It has to get really rocky before I get sea sick. If it gets too rocky for me I usually chug a ginger ale, take a sea sick pill, and hide my perfume bottles in a drawer so they don’t break (lesson learned there).

J. Hubner: So let's talk about your newest album Feeding A Wolf. How long had you been working on the songs that are on the album, at least the writing aspect of them?

Lexi Pifer: I wrote the songs over the last two years and recorded them a year ago. Whenever I write something new I always play it in front of people and try to refine it before I even consider recording it. I was kind of holding onto them like I was a parent who wasn’t ready to let her children out her sight. It’s actually a huge relief to have them out there and it’s a great feeling knowing that I can finally share them with everyone.

J. Hubner: Where did the phrase 'feeding a wolf' come from?
Lexi Pifer: It’s this idea of giving into bad habits (whether it be toxic relationships, negative thoughts, self-doubt, or whatever it may be) and letting those things take over your life because you keep giving them energy. Just because something looks harmless doesn’t mean it always is.

J. Hubner: Where did you record the album? Who helped in the recording, mixing, and engineering part of the process?

Lexi Pifer: I actually recorded the album while I was working on a ship out of Australia. Cody Pelchat, a friend of mine who worked as part of the entertainment tech team, did all the recording, mixing, and engineering. He’s a bit of a wizard.

J. Hubner: Are you in the process of writing new songs for the next release?

Lexi Pifer: I am always in the process of writing new songs, haha. I’ve got a few new ones that I’ve written over the last couple months. Eventually I’d like to do a full length album with a band.

J. Hubner: Where do you find inspiration these days?

Lexi Pifer: I’m finding inspiration in a lot of the same things that have always inspired my music. Relationships, love, loss, whiskey fueled shenanigans, etc. However, I think my perspective on life is starting to change (and I hope grow) a little bit. As cliché as it sounds having traveled so much has defiantly changed the way I see the world. Or I could just be getting old, haha.

J. Hubner: Playing cover songs for others on a ship in the ocean, does that help or hinder the creative process for you? I would imagine it would at least keep you pretty sharp music-wise.

Lexi Pifer: When I first started the job I definitely put my writing off to the side because I had SOOOOOOOO much music I needed to learn. After I had my first contract under my belt I started writing a lot more. I’m a stronger musician now than when I started. Playing 4 hours a night 6 nights a week really gets your chops up.

J. Hubner: As beautiful a view being out in the ocean for that long of time would be, I would imagine, at least for myself, that I would really grasp just how small I am in the scheme of things. I'm sure there'd be plenty of existential crisis' for myself. How do you cope being out in the open waters for so long? You're probably too busy to have time for an existential crisis.

Lexi Pifer: Oh, I’ve had my fair share of night where I’ve started out at the ocean and questioned what exactly my purpose in life is (and it’s really easy to do when you don’t have a decent Wi-Fi connection when you’re out at sea for a few days in a row.) Fortunately for me as a songwriter many a good line is born out of an existential crisis. When I can’t find the words to write it down it’s good to know that you’ve got friends from all corners of world that you can talk to.

J. Hubner: As a songwriter, where would you like to see yourself in five years?

Lexi Pifer: I hope I continue to grow, collaborate with more people, and learn something new about myself with every song I write.

Pick up a copy of Feeding a Wolf at Lexi's Bandcamp page lexipifer.bandcamp.com/releases

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