Atlanta singer-songwriter Lucas Miré delves deep into the ups and mostly downs of relationships on his debut CD ‘Forever’s Not As Long As It Used to Be.’
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By VAN GOWE
Friday, March 11, 2005
Lucas Miré didn’t make a conscious effort to find a relationship theme to thread through his debut CD, but it ended up that way through serendipity, he says.
The 32-year-old singer-songwriter, is scheduled March 15 to release “Forever’s Not As Long As It Used to Be.”
“Although a lot of people might assume from the songs that I’m always this sad and depressed when it comes to love, I’ve actually been lucky in love and in finding special people,” Miré says. “I’ve just been able to explore all these themes well through my music.”
What’s evident from the beginning on the CD is that Miré’s strengths lie in his songwriting. As a lyricist, he cuts deeply and honestly into the maelstrom of angst and pain that color intimate relationships. And the candor is frequently startling.
“Now I want to stuff myself / With more food than I can eat / I want to kiss someone that I just meet / See, since I was a kid, I’m used to / Feeling more defeated than complete,” he sings on “Francis,” a song inspired by the end of a relationship, which led to the CD’s title.
“The CD’s title works in two ways,” Miré says. “It’s saying that forever’s just around the corner and there are still lots of things I want to do, and that’s a big part of life in the gay world.
“There’s also the moment where I realized that after [ending a relationship] with a guy I thought I’d be with forever, I thought ‘Forever’s a little shorter than I’d hoped,’” he adds.
Miré says that on “Francis” and other songs, he made a definite attempt to convey the “gay experience” in his music.
“The themes in the songs are universal, though,” he says. “The thing is that everybody wants to fall in love and feel those feelings. The gay experience is universal. [Gays and straights] are more alike than dissimilar.”
Miré, who wrote his first song in 1998 while living in New Orleans, says he’s most fond of the ’70s singer-songwriter movement and cites Cat Stevens as a primary influence. He also takes musical cues from Lori Carson, Natalie Merchant and pre-techno Everything But The Girl.
Miré entered the studio in 2003 to begin work on “Forever” with only a few songs penned. He collaborated with producer B. Calm and arrived with a collection of nine original tracks and a cover of Carson’s “Part Missing.” His favorites: “Fill in the Blanks” and “Go It Alone.”
“They capture a little period in my life,” he says. “With ‘Fill In The Blanks,’ my point is that we meet people and fall for them and don’t really know them. We only know people over time by seeing how they act when the chips are down. When things are rosy we don’t know them, and we make up the rest.”
Since relocating to Atlanta in 2000, Miré has played venues such as Smith’s Olde Bar, Eddie’s Attic, Red Light Café as well as at benefits for local gay groups.
He says he receives positive feedback from the public, fellow musicians and those who previewed his CD. He’s hoping to attract new fans after the CD’s release next week.
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