A Light Divided is an up and coming rock group out of North Carolina. With a female vocalist, their unique sound balanced the right weight in metal to appeal to metal fans as well as mainstream fans. Front woman, Jaycee Clark, won the Rock Female of the Year from the 2010 Carolina Music Awards, and that’s just the beginning of their rising career. Jaycee spoke with Side Stage Magazine briefly about their music and navigating the industry. Check out their new album, Choose Your Own Adventure, releasing October 5th.
Side Stage Magazine: How did A Light Divided form?
Jaycee Clark: ALD formed because we bonded over the idea of making the kind of music we wanted to hear and putting on the type of show we wanted to see. We all have such a wide array of influences and we didn’t want to box ourselves into one genre. Even throughout a handful of member changes, it remained important to us that new members love this band and believe in that ideology as much as the rest of us. Luckily we’re at a place now where all of us are ready to sacrifice whatever it takes to push as hard as possible and get to that next level.
In your bio, your music is described as “heavy enough for the hardcore crowd and soft enough for mainstream radio.” How do you maintain that balance in your music?
I’ve always been a huge fan of pop music and catchy hooks but also the raw emotion of rock and metal so I think it’s always been natural for me to want to blend the two in our music. With Choose Your Own Adventure, we really focused on that kind of pop sensibility in the vocals along with modern pop production while the instrumentation itself leans heavier.
What was it like to earn the title of “Best Rock Female” at the Carolina music awards?
It’s always really amazing to be recognized for your hard work. The fact that fan votes were a big part of it means even more to me because they’re the ones I really want to make proud.
What kind of experiences do you have as a female in the rock industry? With it being predominantly male, is it harder to navigate successfully?
It’s actually a really exciting time to be a woman in music! There’s so many women out there killing it right now and it’s slowly becoming more mainstream to see chicks who kick ass on stage! On the flip side, there’s still an additional pressure for women to look a certain way and sometimes it can feel like your music is judged more on how you look than the actual content of your body of work. It’s also frustrating when people group all female led acts into one “genre” even when musically, they sound nothing alike.
What can you tell me about your new album coming out?
Choose Your Own Adventure is about being unafraid to go after the things you want in life. We were inspired by the 80’s book series and the idea that every decision you come across has a different outcome. Making those hard choices can be scary but ultimately allow you to live your best life.
What went into the writing and production of the album?
This was by far the most collaborative effort we’ve ever released. With losing a primary songwriter for the band, it really forced us to start with a clean slate and reinspire what we thought we should do next. It was really fulfilling to sit down and hear everybody’s ideas and find ways for all those different influences to really work together.
What are you looking forward to fans hearing the most and why?
I’m honestly excited for our fans to hear Choose Your Own Adventure in its entirety! The whole record is really a huge step outside our comfort zone and showcases us trying on all kinds of different hats. I can’t wait for everyone to hear how much we’ve grown since our previous releases. I think a lot of people will be really surprised.
“Fear of Heights” is a great video! It looks trippy with the light effects. What was it like making it?
It was a long, hot and sweaty day! Working with Justin Reich is always such a great experience. He just knows how to take a vision and really bring it to life. We shot the video at Kersey Valley in Greensboro and they were gracious enough to let us borrow their killer laser light show set up. It’s probably worth more than we are as people so, huge thanks to them for being so accommodating!
After your album release, what’s next for A Light Divided?
We plan on hitting the road as much as possible and breaking into as many new regions as we can. We’ve always worked toward setting ourselves up to be a full time touring band and with this release we’re jumping in with both feet.
