NEW YORK, NY – by Markos Papadatos [Photo: Nathan Chapman]
Lauren Lucas chatted with Markos Papadatos about her Greek heritage and new single “Hole in my Soul.”
Regarding her Greek heritage, she shared, “My paternal great-grandfather was a sheepherder from Roska, a tiny mountain village in Evrytania. Likely hence their last name, Mizithras (we have found paperwork with it spelled that way and Mouzithras). My grandfather and his brother immigrated to the US and settled in Sumter, SC. When they came through Ellis Island, their last name was changed to Nichols.”
“My grandfather owned and operated the Busy Bee Cafe in Sumter until he died suddenly when my own dad was only 8 years old. My dad was adopted and his last name was changed to Lucas, hence my name Lauren Lucas. We found papers years later showing that there is an inscription on their small church in Roska acknowledging contributions my grandfather and his brother sent back from 1920,” she said.
On her favorite Greek customs and traditions, she responded, “Well, because my dad was adopted at such a young age and didn’t grow up with his dad for very long, a lot of Greek customs and traditions didn’t get passed down. That being said, we have a thriving Greek community where I grew up in Columbia, SC. I waited tables during the summer at a family-owned Greek restaurant called Grecian Gardens. A lovely Greek woman named Lia worked for my family’s business and would tell amazing stories about growing up in Greece. To be very honest with you, our family thought about making a pilgrimage to Roska years ago, but when my mom looked up a YouTube video and saw how treacherous those narrow mountain pathways looked, we chickened out.”
“My husband took me to Greece for the first time on our honeymoon 10 years ago. We spent a little time in Athens, but the bulk of our time in Greece was spent in Santorini. Absolute heaven! And the best octopus I’ve ever eaten,” she added.
On her new single “Hole in My Soul,” she remarked, “It was a phrase I heard on a TV show. I brought it to my co-writer, Kenny Greenberg, and told him the way that phrase spoke to me was in how I struggle with perfectionism. It shows up in my life by hustling, doom scrolling, constant urgency, busyness, motion but not progress. It’s like an addiction, but more subtle than, say, alcoholism. It sneaks up on you and masquerades as ambition, love, hard work; things we often reward. But perfectionism will wear you down.”
She opened up about co-writing the original score of “Leanne” on Netflix and the theme song. “Composing the music and writing and singing the title theme for Leanne has been one of my greatest career moments. First off, I’m so grateful to Keb’ Mo for trusting me with the project. I love working with the team at Warner Bros. and Chuck Lorre Productions.
“I hear that Leanne has folks come up to her all the time singing, and it just thrills me! To know I have a small part in making a show impactful for the audience. It’s been a gratifying experience as a writer and singer,” she added.
She went on to share her thoughts on the Greek-American community in the U.S. “What strikes me as I look at my own experience is how tight-knit the Greek community is in small Southern towns, or at least in mine. That community filled in for what my family’s bloodline couldn’t pass down. The food, hospitality, and small family-owned business ethic in our area carried the culture forward, even when language and formal customs didn’t, because my dad lost his father so young. But even without knowing him, we’ve always felt pride in having Greek heritage in our family,” she said.
For her fans, she said about the new single “Hole in My Soul,” “I want people to know that the hole isn’t always something dramatic. Sometimes it’s not the bottle or the needle, or deep depression. It might be busyness, or endless scrolling and comparison. It’s motion that feels like productivity, but it isn’t actual progress.”
“If you’ve ever filled your days and life so full that you don’t have time to feel anything, then this song might be for you. A lot of us are going through it. I found that naming the hole helped me begin to fill it with more meaning, less hustle,” she concluded..
For more information on Lauren Lucas, follow her on Instagram.
