Lee Miller Matsos is an interesting proposition. This American singer was once an opera and musical theatre performer, having turned to producing pop music in recent years. However, his music still contains a hint of his previous life, with The Only One being a good example of this. I was intrigued by Lee’s life and wanted to find out more, hence this interview.
By Jane Howkins
How was your 2022?
2022 was the best year of my life so far. I experienced a great deal of healing from a chronic illness, released my first 2 singles, performed my first full concert of original music and made some great progress in my relationships with others and myself.
You recently released a single titled The Only One. What can you tell us about the track?
The Only One is a heart-wrenching song, and also very cathartic. It leans into the raw pain of grief. Ultimately, there is solace in the realisation of not being alone in these feelings. We can be the most alone when we are grieving, hurt, depressed – we might even push some people away – and yet our pain during these times brings us into a deep connection with each other, because we’ve all been there.
How has the reception to The Only One been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
I’ve been really pleased with how The Only One has been received. Given that it’s my first single and I felt my way through the process, I managed my expectations. I’ve been humbled by all the coverage on many well-known blogs. I also was able to perform the song with a full band for an assembly at my high school in November. It was an awesome experience to come full circle and perform back on the stage where I had played musical theatre roles in my youth. The reception from the students after The Only One was outstanding and it felt great.
You also released another track recently called Life Force Lullaby. What can you tell us about that song?
Life Force Lullaby was one of the first of about 13 songs I wrote during the early days of the Covid 19 pandemic, while I was attending music school in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. During this time, I experienced a creative burst unlike I had ever experienced before. That unusual situation of the pandemic lockdown afforded me the elimination of many outside distractions. Stowed away in a small attic, I found that the songs easily came through. A melody would surface. I’d go to the keyboard and put chords to the melody. Sometimes the verse would begin to appear – other times the rest of the melody, up to the chorus and beyond…Each song was a treasure to discover.
What I loved about ‘Life Force Lullaby’ was it’s spiritual nature – it very much felt like a prayer.
“It doesn’t matter what I do…I can’t fall out of step with you.”
That lyric carries the spirit of the song. It’s always OK, no matter what happens. It’s that deep peaceful place in ourselves that can be very hard to find, but is always there if we just open to it. Really, we just have to stop looking. Stop trying. We can’t do anything wrong, really. We’re always held by this deep, peaceful essence, so it doesn’t matter what happens to us. That’s why it’s such a special song to me. When I wrote it, I felt I was receiving a vital message I wanted to pass on to others.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Actually yes, very soon! I’ll be unveiling an exciting new project which will launch with a single release in February. Stay tuned!
Your music draws from many different genres, as you have a very varied background! What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
Great question – I think because I was shaped from such a young age by opera, musical theatre and seeing greats like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. perform, I think that sensibility is built in. I also listened to Paul Simon’s Graceland a lot as a kid, and that was hugely influential. As a young adult, I became very drawn to The Beatles, then U2 and Coldplay. In them. I saw that same kind of stage presence and charisma, and connected with the emotion of the music, and that still resonates.
I like to follow other indie artists and hear what other artists are up to. Lately, a couple things that have caught my ear are a song by a singer based in Sheffield, Tommy Maddox, called Till Monday Comes. Another song I recently enjoyed was The End by Eoan.
It’s also fun when a personal connection has success. I’ve enjoyed watching my friend Shannon Koehler rise to great heights with his San Francisco band, The Stone Foxes. I’ve known Shannon since the band first began back around 2007, and it’s special to see them invited to perform at the Napa Bottle Rock festival this year with the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Wu Tang Clan. I’ve been listening to their song Time is a Killer” from their latest album On the Other Side. It’s a great listen.
You have a background as an opera and musical theatre artist. Why did you decide to make the transition into pop?
The transition to pop was a process of self-discovery. When I was 21, I was busy applying and auditioning for school to study opera. As far as I knew, it’s what I wanted. By the time I arrived at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to begin studying classical voice, I had already started to recognise something was ‘off.’ I wasn’t as passionate as the other students about what we were performing. I went through the process of confirming that to myself for 1 school year, and had an outstanding teacher in Leroy Kromm, who I owe a lot to as a singer.
Between then and 2019, when I returned to school to study contemporary music at Holland College, a Berklee Partner Institution, I was preparing to take the leap. I had to be certain that I wanted to take on the risks and challenges of committing to a music career. I had known what I wanted for around 10 years, but I had to come to the point with myself where I had no choice but to take some major risks for what I wanted – and that involved embracing who I was as a pop musician. And I think I’d always known that on some level – I remember being in the backseat of my family’s car at 10 or 12 years old, and epic, grandiose pop music videos would take over my daydreams, and I was the star.
I guess I’ve been on a decades-long expedition to cultivate these daydreams – it’s an excavation to undercover my true self. If it took me the rest of my life to accomplish that, I think it will be more valuable than all the money in the world.
You’re based in Ohio. What is the music scene like in your part of the world?
To be honest, I don’t know much about the music scene here! I live in a fairly rural area. That being said, I don’t live far from Cleveland or Akron/Canton which are larger urban areas, and one of my goals this year is to explore the music scene by finding more venues in which to play.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
I’m flattered by the question, because a European tour including the U.K. is my dream tour. I’m not near that point yet and that‘s the beautiful thing about believing you were born to do something. I affirm every day that I will make a living as a professional musician and that I’ll travel all over the world performing this music. I look forward to unveiling the first U.K. dates!
Any last words for the fans?
Believe in your dreams, and if you have to choose between what your head says and what your heart says, follow your heart.