Lois Maffeo has been putting out records on the infamous Olympia, Washington label K ever since 1992. In addition to her numerous releases on K, including four full-length albums, Lois is involved in various other side projects and collaborations as well. From her earliest days in a band called Courtney Love (no, that Hole woman was not involved) to her involvement with Dub Narcotic Sound System, Lois has been a productive and influential member of the independent music world.

Lois is supportive of the Temple of Sting ideal, the idea that new music must be continually made and sought out by people. She's into the concept of the way of the bees as well: "A matriarchal society!" Lois believes in making her own music, as well as being supportive of other people making music on their own terms. Many bands on the K label have influenced her sound and her ideas, from Beat Happening to the Beck release One foot in the grave. Some of her crop of favorite bands currently include: The Secret Stars, Bis, and Heavenly. But it's not just music that inspires Lois to write songs. Other sources have been influential as well.

"Books and movies offer a lot of inspiration for me," says Lois. "I put a line from a book into one of my songs on the new album, Infinity Plus. I read The English Patient, before it was made into a movie, and that had a big impact on me. I also get a lot of inspiration from my family. I come from a large family and I have a lot of older brothers and sisters. A lot of my songs that can be taken as love songs are actually about family relations and situations."

Yet, Lois has a reputation as queen of the unrequited love song. When asked by Temple of Sting on February 14 about her valentine, Lois responds, "Well, I write love songs. I have to love somebody," but she refuses to specify further about this muse for her songs.

How does Lois respond to the criticism that her work hasn't evolved since her first album? "Well, I would say that I'm very project oriented, and on each album I'm striving for something slightly different. On Butterfly Kiss, I was just really learning to write songs and play guitar." When asked for advice on the best way to learn how to play guitar and start writing songs, playing, and recording, Lois shares her experiences learning to play. "When I was in college I had a radio show featuring women in rock. And a lot of those people were really inspiring to me at the time. So I bought myself a guitar. It was a Harmony - I bought it because it looked like the Everly Brothers' guitars, although it sounded nothing like it. And then, in Olympia, there were a lot of parties where the admission would be a song or something like that. So I just started playing these songs."

And what's the best way to learn guitar? "Get yourself one of those stupid 'Teach yourself to play guitar' books and rip out the page with the chord chart. Then just throw the rest of the book away. I'm not advocating that self-taught is the best way, it's just the way that I did it. Some people need to be taught the skills that are going to enable them to write good songs. For me, I never really wanted to be a guitar player, I just wanted to be able to sing and write songs, and that's what I needed to do to write them. My guitar playing has definitely improved over the years, though. It would have to, for someone who plays as much as I do."

Well, if guitar wizardry wasn't the impetus for songwriting, then what was, and is? "I don't really have a formula," explains Lois. "Some songs I write the music first and then I come up with the lyrics. Other times, I'll write a set of complete lyrics, like five verses straight through, and then I'll come up with the music."

Lois' trademark sound is distinguished by her acoustic guitar and vocals, sparsely arranged with minimal drums and other instruments. Working within such a genre has its benefits and its limitations. Lois often finds that people have a preconceived notion of what a woman with an acoustic guitar should sound like. Playing at shows, she finds that "The sound people sometimes think of an acoustic guitar as a wimpy instrument and they don't mike it loud enough. I mean, I don't want to argue with these people, these guys probably went to some school that taught them how to mike guitars, and they know what sounds good in their club, but I find from experience that I know what sounds good on stage and what doesn't. You have to have patience, and just keep experimenting with what sounds good, and mike it yourself if you have to."

What is like recording and playing mainly as a solo artist, rather than as part of a band? "I try to play with different people, but I've never been in a traditional band. My songs don't really translate well into band songs, with bass and drums and everything. I don't really know chord structures and stuff, like I can't really say to someone, 'OK, this song is in the key of G' - so it has its limitations as far as being able to play with other musicians. It's sort of like when a bunch of people fold up a piece of paper and everybody draws something and then you unfold it and you have a picture made up of what everyone drew, or when people write a story where different people make up separate parts but it comes together as a whole. That's what my collaborations with other musicians have mostly been like."

So, the message behind Lois' music, words, and actions - don't let anything stop you, just get out there and make the music. Lois herself has proven that she's unstoppable. And don't think you can't get your message across with an acoustic guitar, a few chords, and a loud voice. We need more voices in this world, singing soft and strong.