This edition of A Musical Life originally aired on March 15, 2019.
Lindsay Unruh is a Wichita-based multi-instrumentalist who most frequently performs as a solo artist. She has also played with bands such as Little Red Quartet and The Ra-Ras.
“My first gig was with a little punk band of girls in Louisiana called The Ra-Ras. They wanted some keyboard in the band. I had just moved down there and we played this gig with a math rock band that didn’t have a vocalist and a garage band called The Transmission that used a Theremin in their set.
Here’s us with guitar, bass and drums and then throw some keyboards on there. That’s me. That was our first show.
It was in Louisiana around Mardi Gras time, so the whole deal was, ‘Oh my gosh. That’s Lindsay’s first time on stage? And it’s in Louisiana? Let’s throw some beads at here! So, it was a good time!” [Laughs.]
“Playing solo I have a lot more time to figure out my own set list. I can practice the day of a show and make sure that I’ve got it solidified. Playing with a band takes a lot more coordination. It takes people being on the same wavelength.
It takes people being almost like-minded in the sense that, when you get together to practice, you have a direction, which is how I approach my solo work.
There’s always the possibility that you sit down to write a song as opposed to just jam it out and that’s more where my direction as a songwriter comes from. I want to write a song. I don’t want to jam it out.”
