Features / One Question Interviews

Alan O'Keeffe (Last Man Back)

SPB: You’re a solo musician but you choose to go with a band-like name. Why use Last Man Back instead of your own name?

O'Keeffe: You know, good question. I think with the type of music I’m making it just felt better to use a band-like name. There’s also two or three other musicians involved …

Mark C (Live Skull)

SPB: Technology has drastically changed touring since the 1980s, often making it easier. What is something you miss about the pre-internet days?

Mark C: I always liked paper road maps, large in scale and laid out precisely in colorful detail. I remember Live Skull’s first tour of Europe, unfurling crisp Micheline maps on the hotel room …

Paul (Long Relief)

SPB: What inspired the seemingly baseball-ish name?

Paul: I was an enormous nerd about baseball as a kid, and pitching long relief is a weird kind of purgatory for a pitcher to be in. It’s usually either someone who used to be a starter but can’t pitch for that long/well anymore, or someone who’s younger and isn’t …

Jake (Lightweight)

SPB: You just released The Next One’s on You, the third in a series of EPs. What inspired the trilogy concept with these (and what will follow it up)?

Jake: So the answer to this question is really two fold: there’s the creative answer and the practical/promotional answer. 

The creative answer is that, when we wrote these songs …

Daniel (Love Forty Down)

SPB: What is the meaning behind the band name?

Daniel: Our band name is quite obviously a reference to a Frank Turner song. Love Forty Down is the score in a tennis match (0:40). It means, that our opponent is only missing one point to win the game but we have not lost quite yet. The …

LonelyTwin

SPB: What venue is your favorite to play and why?

LonelyTwin: I haven’t played a lot with my project yet unfortunately but I’ve played guitar with a lot of other artists, mainly here in Stockholm and I think my favorite is Debaser Strand. It’s one of the oldest spots here and it just has a really great vibe and …

Jason “Lumbergh” Lundgren (Little Lebowski Urban Achievers – bass)

SPB: What is your favorite “deep cut” quote or scene from The Big Lebowski?

Jason: Just one, wow it’s impossible to even choose but I’d say this is my favorite “deep cut” back and forth between Walter and The Dude…

Walter Sobchak: Also, let's not forget - let's *not* forget, …

Taylin Wills (Least - bass/vocals)

SPB: What is the furthest you’ve ever driven to play one show?

Wills: We haven’t been traveling much lately because of Covid and only starting to play shows in August 2021, but the furthest we’re about to drive for one show is at the end of February to play in Brunswick, GA (6 hours north …

Lamp of Murmuur

SPB: You covered a Dead Can Dance song on your record: Why this band and this song in particular? What is it about them that you feel links them to your style of black metal?

Lamp of Murmuur: Starting with the notion that music is some sort of "universal language," it is quite obvious that some bands/groups …

Matt Muffin (Lollygagger)

SPB: Have you ever forgotten lyrics or the music for a song while playing live? How did you recover?

Muffin: The best story I have is....

A few years ago, Mike and I played in a band called The Peekaboos, which later pretty much became rebranded as "Lollygagger" when Kinsey joined. One of our favorite places to play …

Mike Marchant (Lightning Cult - songwriter, guitarist and electronics dude / also of Steady Circuits)

SPB: Tell us about your guitar/synth setup.

Marchant: I’ve used the same guitar setup for many years. It’s simple, and it sounds great. I use a Fender Telecaster and a Vox AC15 amplifier. I like low-wattage tube amps, because I can turn them up loud and …

André Foisy (Locrian)

SPB: From when you were starting Locrian until the present, what parts of your setup have really helped voice your sound over the years? 

Foisy: That’s a compliment to say that I have a sound so thank you.

My rig has remained fairly consistent over the years. Primarily I have used the same guitar and amplifier, which …

Larry Livermore (Lookout Records founder)

SPB: What studios played a role in defining “the Lookout sound” of the label’s early years?

Livermore: All the early Lookout releases were recorded in one of two studios. The first was Dangerous Rhythm, in Oakland, CA, run by Kevin Army and Matt Wallace (by the time we began working with Kevin in 1987, Matt was …

Chris Rest (Lagwagon – guitar)

What model guitar do you play (and how did you choose it)?

Check out Chris' answer below:

Ian Cory (Lamniformes)

SPB: Lamniformes is a one-man project, of sorts. Have you played in groups where you weren’t the primary songwriter and, if so, what did you like or not like about that dynamic? 

Cory: I haven’t been the primary songwriter for any of the musical projects that I’ve worked on outside of Lamniformes. I am a drummer by …

Ian Cory (Lamniformes)

SPB: Did you experiment much with different drum sizes, cymbals, or drum heads in the studio when making Sisyphean, or did you have a set approach when you went in? 

Cory: I experimented with the kit much less than I expected before going into the sessions. Having spent more years than I should have working over …

Dries (Loud Love-vocals)

SPB: Is the recently released EP reason for extensive touring or are you more focused on releasing more material soon(ish)? 

Dries: Well yes and..no :)

The aspect of bringing your music on a live stage: the aspect of connecting with your peers and audience, the sense of community and togetherness created during a live performance is a …

Lazerbeak (Shredders / Doomtree)

SPB: To you, what is the most important element in your setup to get the best live sound?

Lazerbeak: By far it's the MPC Rennaissance. I grew up making beats on the MPC 2000XL and it's really all I know as far as production is concerned. When AKAI released the Renaissance it was a game changer …

Chris Mason (Low Culture/Macho Boys – guitar)

SPB: What guitar do you play and how did choose it? 

Mason: A few years ago I bought a 1969 red Gibson SG and that's been my go-to ever since. It is far and away the most expensive piece of musical equipment I own, and I only bought it at the insistence of my …

Rainer Fronz (Learning Curve Records)

SPB: Besides music, what other arts interest you?

Fronz: Besides releasing records with Leaning Curve Records and searching the internet/basement shows for new dirgey bands, I have some other things I like and love.

First off as far as a huge interest and effort go to my kid. She is the best thing ever. I …