We recently connected with Lydia Von Hof and have shared our conversation below.

Lydia , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

I’ve been so absurdly lucky to have had music as my refuge and release for the majority of my life. For a good long while, there was nothing that came in the way between me and music. Any problem or life crisis I had could be worked out through the songwriting process, and it almost felt like a superpower! This was until I got to my Freshman year of college, when I developed Anorexia. Throughout my life, I had never had a good relationship with my body, ever since I entered Kindergarten. I was a bigger kid, and a lot of people made me constantly aware of it. I was heavily bullied because of my weight, by strangers, friends, boyfriends, etc. This lasted until my freshman year of college, where I began to spiral into my eating disorder. What’s unusual about becoming sick with an eating disorder when you were big to begin with, is that everyone will congratulate you on it. So many people asked me what diet I was on, because I was looking so great. Family members, friends, and acquaintances were all applauding my dramatic weight loss, so much so that I became addicted to it, and it very quickly became my entire life. I was constantly freezing, vomiting, depressed and extremely tired to the point where I had to hold myself back from social events. My hair started thinning and my skin started to become see through, and I became embarrassed to show myself to others. Worst of all, I no longer had mental space or physical energy to immerse myself in things I loved, including music. Since I wasn’t fueling my body, I wasn’t fueling my brain, and I was no longer able to write music. I could no longer turn to my shelter and outlet for solace, due to my sickness. I eventually got to the point where I had no choice but to recover. I made a New Years Resolution that I pretty much had to keep for the sake of my life. I am now a year and a half into recovery, and my life now has color again. Most importantly, I had music again. Losing music was a sincere wake up call to how important it is to take care of yourself. Without self love, self care, and self respect, your dreams could fall out of your hands in the blink of an eye. Recovery is insanely hard, but having an eating disorder is harder. I’m incredibly grateful to have music back by side.

Lydia , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Lydia von Hof, an indie folk singer/songwriter from Long Island NY, and am currently based in Nashville, TN.

I’ve been classically composing since I was 10 years old, and writing songs since I was 16 years old! I started playing around a local bars and cafes at the age of 17, and still do it to this day! I have a deep love for live music, and the way it’s able to touch people across societal barriers. It’s a sincere privilege to get to watch people let music take over them, while getting to sing music that is so near to my heart.

During the initial lockdown in early 2020, I began to pick up the guitar and opened up GarageBand for the first time, and I couldn’t be more grateful for this decision. The guitar opened me up to a whole new world of songwriting, and I haven’t been able to put it down once I picked it up (which is also convenient since it’s a much easier instrument to carry around than a keyboard!). As for GarageBand, it showed me a world that I didn’t know existed, and little did I know that I would want to live in this world for the rest of my life! I began dipping my toes in producing little by little, making demos out of my songs and uploading them to SoundCloud! I know have 3 songs on Spotify that I co-produced, and am currently producing my debut EP!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I ADORE THIS QUESTION!

I am still unlearning the weight of other people’s perception of me. As a DIY artist, a lot of my career does rely around how my audiences views me as both a musician, and a human. For a while, I not only believed that this was in my control, but that it was my sole purpose to get folks to see me exactly how I wanted them to. This is a wonderful recipe for driving yourself insane! While it was scary to acknowledge at first, the only thing I have control of is myself. As long as I am taking care of myself and nourishing my relationships with my family, friends, and music, I am doing quite alright! Not only is warping how other people see you impossible and unhealthy, it’s also just a goofy waste of time. People are going to think how they think, and it will always have more to do with them than it does with you. That used to sound like a negative thing to me, but now it sounds like the truth!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Without a doubt, being able to be a witness to the effect art has on people is the most reward aspect of being an artist. I have the honor to play a lot in nursing homes, and I’ve never seen joy like I do when folks hear a song they used to dance to way back when. These wonderful humans recite every single word to tunes by Frank Sinatra and The Ronettes, all through the biggest smile. With no hesitation they rise up out of their seats to dance and swing along to the music. If that isn’t telling about how magical of a force music is, I don’t know what is. Music can convey something that other things just simply cannot, and I’m beyond lucky to see how it moves people every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lydiavonhof.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydiavonhof/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LydiavonHofMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu8F9BOUuUEeQh6JR8uYTjg/videos

Image Credits
Gary von Hof