Local Luminaries: Daisy Helmuth

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When Daisy Helmuth burst onto the Lexington music scene a few years back as a teenage songwriter, it was hard not to notice her maturity and poise were well beyond her years.

But looking at musical lineage of her family, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Daisy’s parents, Otto and Christin Helmuth, have long been active in the local music scene – starting with music lessons as children and moving on to rock bands, gigs and recording studios as adults. Whether it was offering guest room accommodations to musicians in need or time in the recording studio Otto had built behind their Chevy Chase bungalow, the couple has fostered a lot of local music over the years. That nurturing now includes Daisy, their youngest daughter, who has been lending her talents to the up-and-coming local band People Plant since 2017.

Looking back, Christin doesn’t remember a time she herself didn’t love to sing.

“I took any opportunity when I was a child to perform and sing – I always loved it,” she said.

In early 1991, Christin’s voice caught the attention of Kirk Harrod, and he asked her to join his band, Born Cross-Eyed, a much-loved local Grateful Dead tribute band playing gigs in Lexington and regionally. She performed with that group for a couple of years and rejoined them onstage several years ago at a packed-house reunion concert.

Otto initially discovered music through his older brother’s massive album collection. Later, taking note of the positive attention and palpable energy surrounding the performance of his brother’s band in a school talent contest, he recalls thinking, Yeah, I wanna do that. Otto went on to collaborate with friends in several different band iterations, ultimately fronting the band The Blueberries, a ’90s band that took off locally and garnered national attention. The group signed with an agent, toured throughout the United States and Canada, and lit up local venues for a few years, amassing a solid catalog of songs that locals still clamor to hear when the band reunites for the occasional show. Otto’s newest project, a four-piece band named OTTO, has been playing venues around Lexington and building a loyal following both locally and on Spotify and iTunes.

Today, Otto and Christin are thrilled to watch their youngest daughter have the musical spotlight. Daisy hit the Lexington music scene in 2016 at the age of 16, playing covers of some of her favorite artists such as Bright Eyes and K.T. Tunstall (“Black Horse and A Cherry Tree” is still a favorite cover to perform), and composing her own music since middle school.

“I always loved singing, and I love writing, so I learned guitar so I could put all that together,” Daisy said. And “put all that together” she did – buzz abounded soon after People Planet started playing out, and requests to play locally rolled in soon after the band was established. This month, they will take the stage at Crave Lexington Food & Music Festival, one of the city’s largest music events.

“I never saw Daisy as a young adult pursuing anything else,” said Christin. “Her life to this point has been consumed by her love of music.”

Otto added, “There was always a steady stream of musicians at our house, and she always had access to equipment to experiment with. We realized she was taking that in and coming up with her own stuff really early.”

How does it feel to have parents who have traveled this road before? Daisy is quick to say it has been a plus. “My parents know so many people in music; they help out a lot with gigs and they understand the priorities I have chosen,” she said. “I don’t have to explain all that.”

Now, the primary songwriter for her band, People Planet, Daisy is enjoying a front seat on the roller coaster that is the music business. She admits the band has played to tiny audiences of three or four but has also played to large, appreciative crowds who know the words to every song – a fact that she admits she and the band still find astonishing. In addition to Daisy on guitar and vocals, the four-piece ensemble includes her good friends Charlie Overman on lead guitar, Madeline Farrar on bass and drums, and Jack Quinn, another “legacy” musician and teenage son of Lexington musician Billy Quinn of Ten Foot Pole and Rebel Without A Cause fame. (Quinn’s older son, Wils, is the drummer in popular Lexington band Johnny Conqueroo.)

Christin and Otto readily admit the music business is totally different these days than when they were Daisy’s age.

“It’s all about algorithms, likes, plays and downloads,” Otto explained. “You get an agent, producer or booker’s attention by having a certain number – it opens doors.

“You still have to do your time playing live in bars and clubs and festivals, but you are [largely] hired based on your social media presence across many platforms,” he added. “If a booker sees you have thousands of followers, or so many plays, you’re in.”

It definitely hasn’t hurt People Planet to not only have Daisy’s parents providing moral support – and access to a recording studio – but to also have the computer skills and social media acumen of fellow band parent and software engineer Billy Quinn to help the band navigate the necessary internet and social media platforms that today’s listener is dialed into.

“The days of printing some flyers, putting them up all over town and driving around in a van playing towns where no one has heard of you to try to get known are over. Artists can put out their own stuff now – and if you’re good, you’ll find an audience,” Quinn explained. “Now for $15 you can upload a single or for $60 dollars you can upload an EP and gain a worldwide audience in a very short amount of time.”

“Back in the day we spent more than that making copies of flyers,” he added.

Independent musicians are actually the fastest growing segment of the global recorded music business, according to a recent Forbes article, which goes on to say that technological advances and digital media are largely responsible for helping pave this new road in the music world for independent, entrepreneurial artists.

The numbers don’t lie. Quinn does a quick check of the analytics. “People Planet currently has followers all over the map: Chicago, New York, L.A, and Atlanta, as well as all over Europe,” he said. The group’s five-song EP, “Power Play,” which was released in December 2018, has over 150,000 plays, and the single “Rehab” has garnered over 90,000.

“Otto and I had no idea about the enormous power these platforms have,” Christin said.

“It’s been so fun watching a People Planet song hit the internet, catch fire and get played... a lot.”

Despite this all being pretty new and Daisy being very young – she just graduated from high school a few weeks ago – the young artist exudes such a confidence and comfort with this music thing that it’s hard to imagine anything will throw her off course. She seems destined to carry her parent’s legacy into the future. 

Writer Celeste Lewis recently sat down with Daisy, Otto and Christin Helmuth to learn more about the family’s musical history and current happenings.

Tell me about how each of you first got interested in music and performing. CHRISTIN: My mother and grandmother both played the piano, so I did too and I loved to sing. I could be found as a child at Pizza Hut singing along with the jukebox. OTTO: There was always music in my home growing up, be it my mother playing cello or my father playing piano or my brother John listening to music and playing guitar. DAISY: I can’t really pinpoint a moment. It’s more of just a constant memory of me dancing around my kitchen as a kid, forcing whoever was there to watch me! I do remember my dad once was in his studio and he offered me and my sister an opportunity to record whatever we wanted. I really loved it. That memory stuck with me.

Christin and Otto, what’s it like having your kid pursue a career in music – a life you both know so well? OTTO: I’ve enjoyed working with [Daisy’s] band in our studio and helping [People Planet] make a record. I am more like the roadie for her – she has everything else she needs. Daisy and the band are so much better than I was at 16 and 17 years old. CHRISTIN: I’m really happy for both of my kids [the Helmuths’ oldest daughter, Ella is a recent Tulane graduate and currently lives in New Orleans], that they have opportunities to enjoy playing music. It has been a comfort through a lot of teen angst. We do our best to arm Daisy with the best information we have – superficial and emotional –  and hope that she will be better equipped than we were to encounter pitfalls that are difficult to prepare for, but worth the risk.

How do you all think live music in Lexington has changed in your experience since The Blueberries and Born Crossed-Eyed? OTTO: It seems to be getting better as far as venues and other outlets – there are lots of really interesting young bands around. Now it doesn’t seem to be as important that you fit a mold. CHRISTIN: I felt like, back in the day, there were pretty strong barriers between listeners who prefer one genre or band over another. Now, thanks to the internet, music has become so universally social. Kids who love Miley Cyrus also love Marilyn Manson.

Daisy, tell me about your songwriting. What was the first song you ever wrote? What inspires you most when writing? DAISY: The first song I ever wrote was when I was about 5 years old and I remember it very clearly, but I will not be performing it! It’s extremely embarrassing. Around seventh grade, [my] songwriting started to take shape, and I started writing stuff I would play for people. My inspiration these days comes from the people around me and my relationships, as well as the music that I’m into listening to at that point in time.

How have your high school friends reacted to your band and your songs? What has being in a band meant to your high school experience? DAISY: My friends have been so awesome and supportive – most of them are at every show singing along to every song, which is really beautiful to see from the stage. As far as my high school experience goes, it hasn’t changed much, but it’s really cool to be this young and see people who you don’t really know walking around your high school wearing your band’s name on their shirt. It’s incredible how supportive the whole community has been. We’re really grateful for everything.

How did People Planet get started? What do you think about the journey with this band so far? DAISY: We started because I was asked to play at the MoonTower Music Festival 2017 and I didn’t think I could do it solo, so I asked some of my friends to play with me, and it turned into People Planet. The journey has been great, we’ve all gotten really close, so it makes everything a lot easier as a songwriter because you’re baring your soul to people in a super intimate setting.

Christin and Otto, do you dare give Daisy advice? What advice do you give her? OTTO: I try not to give too much advice. I think it’s important for them to figure some things out on their own, but one piece that I got and believe wholeheartedly, is to keep on trying, keep writing, keep singing – don’t stop. Don’t waste your talent. Work, work, work. CHRISTIN: We constantly revisit conversations about the inevitable party culture that can imprison musicians. We talk a lot about drinking, smoking, drugs. Daisy has impressive self-discipline and I think she recognizes that while it’s difficult to segregate playing and partying, it’s necessary if you want to fully invest in being a meaningful musician. We used to talk a lot about practice quantity and quality, but that’s all on her now. She’s a pro.

What are each of you listening to a lot these days? OTTO: NPR and the bands I work with. DAISY: I’ve been listening to a lot of artists like Vampire Weekend and sort of the indie pop vein of things. CHRISTIN: I love Lizzo. I’m trying to get Daisy to buy into some Blondie and the GoGos, so that might play sometimes. My go-to music tends to hover around Motown or some of the artists who are performing at Railbird, like Tyler Childers or Lucinda Williams.

What’s the funniest thing you each remember from a gig? DAISY: I once fully started a set off with the capo on the wrong fret. Very embarrassing. OTTO: I was playing in Richmond, Kentucky, years ago in a country cover band, when in the middle of a song a man ran onto the stage with a pistol in his hand and stopped next to me and said, ‘Great set!’ and then ran out the back. We kept on playing! CHRISTIN: There was this guy whom I never knew by name who used to make me these beautiful paintings and embed gifts in them. Like a seek-and-find.

What are your career goals, Daisy? You’re about to start college. What impact will that have on the band? DAISY: We’ll kind of just see what happens. Two of us are leaving for college this fall. We’ll probably play together over breaks and things like that. Beyond music, I’m not sure what I want to do with my life, but I definitely want to try my luck at being a professional musician.

What’s it like to see your music being downloaded and making playlists on Spotify and iTunes? DAISY: Songs that I wrote are being listened to by literally tens of thousands of people all over the world; it’s insane and so beautiful and cool. It’s the craziest thing in the world to me. What’s coming up for People Planet? Otto? OTTO: We, the band OTTO, are playing at The Burl on Aug. 22 and Moondance Amphitheater on Sept. 6. Other than these shows, we are writing and recording the new album at my studio and at Barrick Recording in Glasgow, Kentucky. DAISY: People Planet is playing at Crave in August! We’re also currently working on a new project that will hopefully be out before summer is up.

Daisy, what have you learned from watching your parents? DAISY: I’ve learned to be as confident as I can be onstage and to always remember to laugh at myself before anyone else has the chance to. Christin and Otto, it’s only fair that I ask what you have learned from watching Daisy? OTTO: I have learned to keep an extra capo around. CHRISTIN: That it’s blissful to see your kid express anything with such intensity and soul.

People Planet will perform at Crave Lexington Food + Music Festival Bluegrass Fairgrounds at Masterson Station Park Saturday, Aug. 24, 12:30 p.m.

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