US rockers LoveSick Radio “bring a distinctive blend of unapologetic rock guitar coupled with pop melodies and a little hip-hop swagger, creating a fresh sound all their own. “ The words of their bio are swiftly backed up by a sound which infests body and spirit and a live presence which has had halls bouncing long before the likes of All-American Rejects, Bon Jovi, Dorothy, Bobaflex, Scott Weland of Stone Temple Pilots, Justin Bieber, Blue October, Kid Rock, Steel Panther, Three Days Grace, Hinder, Twenty One Pilots, Safety Suit, Paramore, Dead Sara and New Found Glory have followed the band on stage.
A short while back we had the pleasure thanks to the guys finding out more with the band, chatting about origins, their sound, songs, and much more…
Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.
Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started?
David (Guitar): Thanks for having us! We are LoveSick Radio & we play honest rock & roll with a touch of blues/punk. This line-up started when I reached out to Troy, our singer. I asked him if he wanted to sing on a track I had & he was game. Oddly enough we have known each other forever but can’t remember how we met. That song snowballed into bringing in Glenn & the Matts. We’ve been writing & touring ever since.
Were you involved in other bands previously? If so has that had any impact on what you are doing now, in maybe style or direction?
Glenn (Bass): All of us have played in a bunch of bands prior to coming together and doing this one. We’ve all brought a lot of what we learned in the other bands, as far as what makes a band work and what doesn’t and what we want out of music, to this band. Everyone’s past musical experiences have really shaped the way this band operates. Being in a band is like a relationship: you have to go through some tough ones to discover what you want.
What inspired the band name?
Matt B. (guitar): Our previous drummer was going through a breakup. Whilst on his way to rehearsal he kept hearing all these songs about heartbreak on the radio & when he got to rehearsal he made a comment about how the radio seemed lovesick & everyone thought it sounded cool so we went with it.
Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?
Matt S. (Drummer): I wouldn’t say there were any specific ideas about forming the band. We are just 5 guys who vibe well with each other musically, have an almost obsessive passion for music, and the drive to write and play day in and day out. All of us have differing backgrounds musically, but at the heart of it, we love rock and roll. The sound is a culmination of the individual influences of all of us, but more importantly, we just want to write good songs. A good song is a good song, regardless of the genre. Some might sound heavier, more twangy, or more soulful than others, but that’s all of our personalities coming out.
Do the same things still drive the band from those fresh faced days or have they evolved over time?
Matt B.: Essentially writing great songs that we get off on performing & connecting with an audience has always been the driving force within the band.
As the band evolves the drive to widen our reach & get our music out to the masses becomes stronger & stronger
Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?
Troy (Singer): “Early days” kinda makes me laugh as I still feel like we are in our “early days”, but as far as evolution I think that honestly happens from song to song. Not just in our sound, but as a band overall…getting more comfortable with one another and for me as a vocalist pushing myself to new places. I think evolution has started since day one for us.
Are those things, that evolution, something organic or more the band deliberately setting out to try new things?
Matt S.: We aren’t afraid to try new things or experiment musically. It just depends on the mood of the song and what makes sense. We don’t just follow a music equation, but obviously we want our music to be accessible to everyone. From the time that someone shares an idea, we build on it, we practice it, and we finally record it, the song could be almost completely different. I’d like to think it happens organically. When we get in the studio, that’s where the fun and experimentation begins. On the current album we are working on, we have instruments which we do not have live on stage (strings, keys, horns), the band plays kazoos and sings gang vocals, we stomp, we clap, we play instruments that we have never played before, just to get the sound and vibe that we hear in our heads..
Presumably across the band there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?
David: Yes everyone in the band love a million different things but I think the artist the inspire our approach are Aerosmith, AC/DC, The Stones, LED Zeppelin, Sex Pistols, The Rival Son & Stereophonics to name a few. These are all iconic bands & that’s what we strive to be one day. So we are constantly pushing ourselves to be the best we can be.
Is there a particular process to your songwriting?
Troy: There are always gonna be some variations, but music usually comes first…typically a killer riff. I’ll take a rough demo and live with it for a while…usually spend time driving around coming up with ideas and bring them to rehearsal where everyone chimes in. So in the beginning it’ a very “isolated” process but as we get things worked up, the band as a whole will bring in all the different influences.
Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?
Troy: Inspiration for me is always life…either something I lived or something I am watching someone go through. The only time it would vary is if I am asked to write for a specific TV or movie thing, but even then I have to draw from personal experiences…As an introvert I spend a lot of my time just watching people. I write what I see.
Please give us some background to your latest release.
Glenn: Our latest release is a song called “Young Hurricane”. It’s written kind of like a poem in the way the vocals are structured. Basically it’s just about sticking’ to your guns and doing what you know is right (kind of a metaphor for playing rock n roll in 2019). A lot of the really cool elements of the song came together in the studio when we had a chance to really sit down and play with different ideas to build the song.
Give us some insight to the collective themes and premise behind songs.
Troy: I think it is fair to say we have some pretty universal themes with all our tracks…def some self-reflection and overcoming, some rebellious middle finger flipping and of course love and loss. I’d say our next release “Bloodshot Eyes” falls in the self-reflecting/ overcoming category but doing the reflecting in some smokey bar if those still exist…haha
Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?
David: It happens both ways in the studio. But a lot of time we will have the music done to a certain point & start tracking before the vocals are finished. The bed tracks might influence Troy to do something different then what we had for the rough demo. We are never married to an idea. We are always changing or rewriting trying to get the best out of the song.
Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably the favourite aspect of the band?
With the live show we want to sound like a freight train going a full speed. So we work on dynamics, power & energy. We want you to feel it when you come to a show.
It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it your neck of the woods?
Matt S.: Like any other band, you have to put in the time. We have played for empty rooms, we have played for packed houses, and we have played festivals where you can’t see the end of the crowd. People seek out good music. The hard part is introducing it to them (luckily the internet exists). I feel that we have the sound and energy to lure people in, and to keep them coming back to shows. It doesn’t matter if it is regionally or worldwide. As long as you connect to the crowd, you will build a following. Whether it is a home show or something across the country, we put on the same game face each night and try to win over every crowd we play for. We have found that people like the resurgence of good old fashioned rock and roll everywhere we go, so everywhere feels comfortable and like our neck of the woods.
Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands and talking of the internet how has social media impacted on the band to date?
Glenn: Absolutely. It all comes down to a band’s desire and willingness to push themselves and go outside of their comfort zone to grow and do something cool and original. Social media and the internet are a great thing for bands because it allows us to reach people all over the world as independent artists. Without the internet, we might not have the opportunity to do this interview!
Do you see it as something destined to become a negative from a positive as the band grows and hopefully gets increasing success or is it more that bands struggling with it are lacking the knowledge and desire to keep it working to their advantage?
Troy: I think there will always be both negative and positives whether being the “underdog” band on the come up, or at the top trying to stay there. I think the internet and social media will always have the ugliness and trolls looking to tear you down, no matter what your status….however, the positive of how many people can be reached is hard to argue. Honestly with this band being started in the “new world” of technology, it’s really all we’ve known so is kinda our new normal.
Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?
David: Thank you again for having us!!
If you would like to check out us & the music you can go to these links. See you on the road!
AppleMusic: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lovesick-radio/203509719
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/feels-so-good-single/1436316245
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7zca83vBdFEDg0119J8thJ?si=4bw6zx7-RL-fbpKajO1aHw
YouTube: Youtube.com/lovesickradio
Instagram: @lovesickradio
Twitter: @lovesickradio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveSickRadioBand/
& anywhere else you stream & download music
Pete RingMaster 03/04/2019
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
You have just released your debut album, Care Plan For The Soul. From its first breath it shares a multi-flavoured, refreshingly dirty and just a little salacious roar of sound and intent; a mix which suggests a varied range of inspirations to the band and individual members. Who particularly stands out as having an impact on your approach to making music?
Give us an insight into the live side of the band?
Hinted at in the last song, a great 999 flavouring invades next up Soho Hotel, an essence which accentuates the virulence of the song and its fiercely catchy demeanour led by the swinging bass groove of Timmy and Stevie’s rousing delivery. Bish’s beats equally make a lively impact throughout as sonic flames escape the strings of Luca. The song is another step up in power and adventure within Freakshow more than matched by the album’s outstanding title track. Taking best track honours, it is a bad boy encounter; defiant in heart and aggressive in bearing stirring up all the punk rock/rock ‘n’ roll instincts within itself and the listener.
The excellent start continues and hits another level with Egyptian Sunrise, the song a sultry tango of exotic mystique upon the driving throaty bassline of Matt McGuinness and the swinging bait of Sweetman. Impossible to resist getting physically involved, the song leads the body a merry dance with the imagination caught up in the creative tones and lyrical incitement of Karlost. Also swathed in the equally suggestive invention of Gareth Frederik Ellmer’s guitar, the song is a mouth-watering exploit soon matched in creative theatre by Provocative Cat. Funky with Parisian hues, the song flirts and dances with ears as the bass masterfully groans and Karlost paints the imagination like a vaudevillian showman.
The album’s title track keeps the grip on pleasure and appetite just as tight, its bruising weight and cantankerous intensity carrying an air of Pigs and Discharge to its irritable storm. It too is a song which twists through a host of inventive changes and detours, leaving a lingering psyche infesting dark presence and tempting which carries on into the likes of the emotively and sonically cancerous Kreative Center and the stalking animus of Pig In The Pen. The first of the two chews the senses with its nagging riffs whilst hooks and wiry grooves vein the scything swings of Zyon which cross another bestially toned bass trespass by Shanks. It is an unrelenting pressure of sound matched in its individual way by its successor whose initial doomy prowl soon expands into tar like sludge voracity interspersed with frenzied canters of energetic animosity.
Whilst The Lost Refuge was a rousing tempest in ears from the first roar, Box of Chaos takes its time to build and entice even greater greedier reactions. Certainly its first play and touch is a potent lure but each listen reveals greater depths and imagination at the heart of the release which only adds to its strength and drama. There is also seemingly richer old school punk and rock ‘n’ roll hues this time around, essences no doubt bred from inspirations to Honey-Jones and Courson such as Sonic Youth, Hole, Sex Pistols, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Iggy and the Stooges, and David Bowie. One band which our thoughts most leaned to as a reference across the new album though is Penetration; a similarly evocative nature and tone to the great County Durham band spicing the band’s adventurous sound from the off with both Nice n Sleazy and its successor Never Want It Again. The opener emerges on a sonic shimmer with waiting riffs quickly stirring into predatory life as ears continue to be enveloped in that initial mist. Rhythms are soon just as pressing as Coulson’s magnetic voice seduces, her tones a smouldering caress within the rising fiery heat of the song. It is an increasingly virulent protagonist grabbing swift involvement of the listener, setting them up for more riotous stroll of Never Want It Again. It is a tenacious canter though superbly twisted with ska/like asides as rhythms and vocals flirtatiously swing with mischievous intent within the otherwise busy attitude loaded rock ‘n’ roll of the song.
It opens with Just Like Hollywood, a track careering through ears from second one upon a charge of punk riffs and battering rhythms driven by the instantly strong tones of Barnes. As Clash/Sex Pistols like chords and ferociously lined punk roars erupt in sound and voice, the song quickly brews an aggressive virulence with its own line of contagious hook littered enterprise, and an adventure unafraid to embrace hardcore and harsher metallic spicery. Tenaciously and bruising, the track provides a gripping and thrilling start to the EP, but sound wise, it is just one shade to be discovered within Sorrow And Cyanide.