Long Island-based indie pop songstress Theda performs at The Meetball Place Tonight

Long Island’s Theda Sings of Life’s Struggles

By Mark Dawson

Theda’s music is raw, but inspirational. It’s filled with heartache, but strength. And it’s always nothing but the truth.

In her recently released debut EP, Heavy Hitters, the Long Island-based indie artist puts her heart on the line and sings songs that whisks listeners on a journey through life, love and death. Each track offers a glimpse into the singer’s life yet reflects the struggles and battles we all face. Theda will perform many of the songs from Heavy Hitters tonight at The Meetball Place (54 W Main St) in Patchogue.

“I feel these songs are like reading the pages in my journal,” Theda says. “It’s a side that anyone who knows me hasn’t seen yet and people who don’t know me now understand. My music is a reflection of who I am as an artist and that artist is Theda.”

Born Brittany Fusco in Long Island, Theda, whose name was influenced by the 1920’s movie star Theda Bara, began writing when she was 16. Growing up she says she was closed off from the world and was unable to express what she was feeling. Today as Theda she is no longer timid and wants the world to hear and relate to her music.

Through all the ups and downs, Theda has always been surrounded by music. From Eminem’s rap and hip-hop to the pop sounds of Christina Aguilera to the alternative rage of Nirvana, the songs on Heavy Hitters take elements from all her inspirations and brings them together in a sound she calls a “dark twist on alternative rock.”

The title track has a rock/country vibe and talks about the pain that is felt after feeling dehumanized by someone you’re supposed to trust and rely on. Theda says that same theme flashes its way through all the songs, so it was only fitting to name the EP after it.

“Many people enter into relationships without truly knowing who they are as a person,” Theda says. “They don’t mend their wounds from their past relations, causing a repeat of destructive patterns. I think this eventually effects a relationship and causes a person to lose his or her identity. I’m trying to grow as a person, and that entails letting go of the past more each day.”

Each song is significant to Theda, but in the haunting “Liquid Poison,” she says was finally able to articulate every raw emotion she was feeling at that moment in time.

“We all feel obligated to family or society to do the right thing, whatever that means, and we get trapped in miserable environments where we feel suffocated and in dire need of a way out,” she says. “We eventually find an outlet, whether it’s good or bad, but it’s our way to escape.”

With the lyrics, “Washing away my sins with liquid poison” and “Cut me open, cut me down,” it’s obvious that Theda is the kind of artist who doesn’t hold back.

In “Thinking of Me,” she speaks of letting go of something that was never meant to be and allowing someone you love to be happy in a new chapter in life.

Perhaps the most revealing track is “Picking Up the Pieces.” Inspired by a true story, the blues infused song came out of a family member’s suicide and the impact it had on the people closest to Theda.

“When someone commits suicide you bury the body, but you can’t bury the pain or the guilt,” she says. “It’s like a trail of breadcrumbs that they leave behind. The constant questions that follow and the always searching for the answers that will never disappear.”

Theda is confident that her music will reach the people it’s meant to reach. In addition to her Patchogue gig, she regularly performs at Port Jefferson venues as well as the iconic nightclub Stephen Talkhouse in Amaghansett.

“Five years from now I see myself performing in bigger venues around the country and continuing to share my music with people wanting to listen.”

Theda performs The Meetball Place (54 W Main St) in Patchogue on Thursday, Dec 3rd 6:30pm. For more information, visit www.thatmeetballplaceli.com.