Meet Lucy Claire of Panda Forces

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucy Claire. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Lucy has been writing and performing all her life, on stages of various sizes, and through various mediums. A decade ago, Lucy became particularly attached to her acoustic guitar, and performed in coffee shops in and around her hometown near Baltimore, MD. When she made the move to Nashville, the singer/songwriter act started to feel less accurate- like she had more to say than she could with one instrument and one voice.

In 2015, she formed Panda Forces in an attempt to bring her true vision to life. The band underwent several lineup changes before Lucy found her ultimate songwriting partner in guitarist Nathan Hoffner. Together, they blend sounds across many genres, including rock, pop, punk, new wave, shoegaze, and dream pop. They are accompanied by drummer Cheikh Proctor, but rotate bassists at live shows, sometimes even including guest vocalists.

They have been NIMA nominated, and have gotten airplay on 102.9 The Buzz, WMTS, and 99.2 Hermitage FM (UK).

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nashville has a challenging music scene for original artists, especially the ones who are doing something a little different. One of the biggest obstacles for us has been finding our audience. We have fun playing dive bars, but we have come to realize that our biggest fans aren’t going to dive bars. I would love to see more opportunities pop up for original artists, especially those in alternative genres.

Nashville is so big on local, and I think there is a real opportunity for local businesses and local bands to come together here. People know our city for our country music, but I don’t think that many people – even locals – realize what an insanely cool and talented rock scene we have.

We have incredible artists in pop, rap, and hip-hop too. If we could shed this “pay to play” standard, we could start focusing on more artistic, genuine, and I believe potentially lucrative collaborations.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Panda Forces is an indie rock band, first and foremost, but I believe we are more than that. We are weaving worlds – that has always been my goal. I am a writer as well as a songwriter. What lives in me, in the place where the songs come from, is no different from when I write a story.

It has colors, feelings, smells, and light. It is my ultimate goal as a performer to bring that world to the audience. Whether it is visual, or perhaps through the tone of the instruments, or maybe I do a poetry reading mid-set, or maybe it’s just the items for sale on our merch table – everything is to bring you into this magical space where you can play in the shadows, lucid dream, astral project, splash in puddles or smash bottles, figuratively speaking of course. It isn’t enough for me to tell you how something felt – I want to take you there.

The other thing is I am a healer. I’m a personal development coach and reiki practitioner. Nearly all of our songs tie back to a crucial stage in my personal development. Nowhere Feels Like A Destination is about scraping up the will to live. Pink Dress is about redefining your dreams and what success means to you. 1945 Forever is about letting go of the past, or rather not letting it go, but letting those unrealized potentials live in you. Sex is Ice Cream is about disordered eating and finding your self-worth through that and sex and relationships. But I don’t preach to my listeners. I don’t say “Here’s a stupid thing I did, don’t do it!”

Instead, through these songs, I create a space where people can feel seen. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) “Well here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.” He is comparing the imagery of a bug encased in amber. That’s what I think our songs do. Preserve those moments. And then on my coaching platforms (Get Metaphysical with Lucy) I speak to healing those wounds, and how we can work with them.

I have had some seriously dark, messed up, perhaps unhinged moments in my life, and a big part of my self-love journey is realizing that everyone who listens can feel less alone in that. And if they resonate, I can even help them find their way out.

What’s next?
We are ready to live our dreams. When I look at the elements that we are in control of, I think that means getting more serious about our timelines for releases and putting music out more often. But it also means some really fun stuff like getting our live performances closer to the performance we would give if we were rockstars.

I was always self-conscious people might think I take myself too seriously if I did a bunch of “extra” stuff onstage, but I’ve slowly started doing the extra stuff and people love it every time. If you’re supposed to dress for the job you want, I guess you’re supposed to play the shows you want. I’m going to have as much fun as possible on as many cool stages as I can.

Contact Info:

• Website: Pandaforces.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/pandaforcesband
• Facebook: facebook.com/PandaForcesBand
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@pandaforces3437
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lucyfrompandaforces

Image Credits
PonyPics Photography and Synnfox Photography