| Traveling With L.P.: Urban Sprawl & No Alcohol The IndieTude Interview Words and Photos By: Sandra T. Molina |
Navigating the chaos that is Sunset Boulevard on a Friday evening especially during
summer is not for the timid. So, it is no surprise that musician L.P., is found walking in
the middle of traffic on the famous strip where rock luminaries throughout the past four
decades have made history. With her catchy brand of rock ‘n’ roll, L.P. fits right in place.
Not surprised to see her talking easily on her cell phone just minutes before our
scheduled interview, I pull into the parking lot of the Chateau Marmont Hotel Bar
thinking we both have good timing. Wrong. Nothing is that easy. The bar is closed.
There’s definitely been a mix-up somewhere along the line. She is not in the patio
or the lounge. So, after about 20 minutes of searching for the lithesome performer
wearing blue jeans, white T-shirt and a denim jacket, I go back to the strip.
There she is leaning against a 7-Eleven sipping on a Slurpee (cherry, by the way).
After introductions and apologies, we settle back into the lobby of the hotel. Leaning
back and then forward as she pleases, L.P. (yes, according to her bio those are her
real initials) answers questions about her latest release, Suburban Sprawl & Alcohol,
the supporting tour, the state of the independent music scene, image and those
pesky vocal comparisons to Gwen Stefani.
“It’s going real good,” she says about the tour that has taken her from her native
New York to Southern California, where that night she and her band will be playing
The Viper Room. She is more low-key in person belying the high-voltage energy on
her CD, but her sexual aura is purring along. This is after all, the woman who told
an interviewer that all her songs are basically designed to get women into her bed.
In fact, throughout the interview, eye contact is broken not because of the brown
curly locks that fall into her eyes, but one woman or another has caught her eye.
“This is a \good place to hang out,” she demurs with a sly smile at one point.
L.P. has been joined by her full band (guitarists Tony Finn and Josh Flagg, bassist
Scott Kelliher and drummer Scott Campbell) at this stage of the tour for a full rock
show. She has played several venues as an acoustic act, which she says can be a
lot harder. “With a rock show, you can fall back on these grandiose rock moves,”
she laughs, “but with an acoustic show, it’s more about the songs.”
In either format, she is comfortable onstage, no stage fright for this performer,
whose stage presence is reminiscent of Mick Jagger in his heyday. It’s not just the
androgynous appeal, but a certain charm and aloofness that come with knowing
that the audience is the proverbial putty in hand. She is quick to point out that
although she is the lead singer and songwriter, she is part of a band.
“These guys are great,” enthuses the woman whose first CD was produced by
Cracker front man David Lowery. “I can’t believe how lucky I am to be playing with
them.” Sharing the same intense passion for the music helps, she says, especially
since no one is getting rich off of the experience. “Everyone is in it for the love of it,”
she says, “but there are times we ask ourselves, ‘Are we fucking crazy?’.”
Traveling on the road doesn’t allow for a steady day job – L.P. sings jingles and
writes for other people to make a living – but they are paying for themselves as a
band. “We’re surviving, making enough money on the road. Maybe not enough
money to buy a car, but enough to live like this.”
L.P. says being a touring band is essential to any type of success, so it needs to
be done. It’s like anybody in any profession trying to get ahead,” she says leaning
forward to emphasize her point. “You have to do the legwork to get ahead.”
Whether you are on a major label or an indie artist, the road and performing is
where you prove your mettle. “With indie bands…you got to get your own shit
going because no one is going to do it for you. Touring is a win-win situation
‘cause you always have that; no one can take it away.” It’s all about building
a strong foundation for L.P. (the band) performing night after night proving
themselves and earning a strong fan base.
And this band has the musical chops to do just that. She is not boasting when
she says there are not a lot of bands that can do what they do. And that is to
somehow improve on the very radio-friendly rock and roll on Suburban Sprawl
& Alcohol and make them sound even better live. The raw, from-the-gut playing
and vocals are riveting. L.P. is the perfect front-person whether behind the guitar
or with microphone in hand.
Her vocal style, which is more Pat Benatar than Gwen Stefani, is powerful. “I
know what song (“Never Was”) they are talking about when they say I sound
like Gewn Stefani,” she says with a cringe about the comparisons in the press
to the No Doubt frontwoman. “If I had a few more days to sit with it, I’d rerecord it.”
Don’t get her wrong, L.P. thinks Stefani is a good singer and performer, but she’d
rather be compared to someone like Benatar, whom she grew up admiring and
has a connection with since both studied opera at one time in their lives. It’s more
about Steafani’s cover girl platinum blonde bombshell image that bothers her.
“When I think of Gwen Stefani, the whole girlie thing, I’m like, ‘uck!’. It’s not really
about being compared to her vocally,” she stresses. “I think she’s a fuckin’ great
vocalist, but it’s just that whole persona…That whole package – I couldn’t be
farther from that,” she says with a roll of the eyes. “I look like I feel, I can’t get
away from it,” she says of her sexy androgynous look.
But what they do have in common is writing catchy pop songs, and that L.P.
doesn’t back away from in no uncertain terms. “I literally try to write something
that’s catchy; I’m not trying to do something arty.” And what she is doing is
working. L.P. packs clubs in cities around the country, has earned critical
acclaim for the CD and is receiving more and more notice in the press all
with little or no airplay. But this acclaim comes on her terms and style as
demonstrated later in the evening at the Viper Room. Watching L.P. and her
band perform and reflecting on her words earlier, it's not about art – it’s
rock ‘n’ roll.
To find out more about L.P. and hear the music and locate the shows near
you, please visit: www.lprock.com.
summer is not for the timid. So, it is no surprise that musician L.P., is found walking in
the middle of traffic on the famous strip where rock luminaries throughout the past four
decades have made history. With her catchy brand of rock ‘n’ roll, L.P. fits right in place.
Not surprised to see her talking easily on her cell phone just minutes before our
scheduled interview, I pull into the parking lot of the Chateau Marmont Hotel Bar
thinking we both have good timing. Wrong. Nothing is that easy. The bar is closed.
There’s definitely been a mix-up somewhere along the line. She is not in the patio
or the lounge. So, after about 20 minutes of searching for the lithesome performer
wearing blue jeans, white T-shirt and a denim jacket, I go back to the strip.
There she is leaning against a 7-Eleven sipping on a Slurpee (cherry, by the way).
After introductions and apologies, we settle back into the lobby of the hotel. Leaning
back and then forward as she pleases, L.P. (yes, according to her bio those are her
real initials) answers questions about her latest release, Suburban Sprawl & Alcohol,
the supporting tour, the state of the independent music scene, image and those
pesky vocal comparisons to Gwen Stefani.
“It’s going real good,” she says about the tour that has taken her from her native
New York to Southern California, where that night she and her band will be playing
The Viper Room. She is more low-key in person belying the high-voltage energy on
her CD, but her sexual aura is purring along. This is after all, the woman who told
an interviewer that all her songs are basically designed to get women into her bed.
In fact, throughout the interview, eye contact is broken not because of the brown
curly locks that fall into her eyes, but one woman or another has caught her eye.
“This is a \good place to hang out,” she demurs with a sly smile at one point.
L.P. has been joined by her full band (guitarists Tony Finn and Josh Flagg, bassist
Scott Kelliher and drummer Scott Campbell) at this stage of the tour for a full rock
show. She has played several venues as an acoustic act, which she says can be a
lot harder. “With a rock show, you can fall back on these grandiose rock moves,”
she laughs, “but with an acoustic show, it’s more about the songs.”
In either format, she is comfortable onstage, no stage fright for this performer,
whose stage presence is reminiscent of Mick Jagger in his heyday. It’s not just the
androgynous appeal, but a certain charm and aloofness that come with knowing
that the audience is the proverbial putty in hand. She is quick to point out that
although she is the lead singer and songwriter, she is part of a band.
“These guys are great,” enthuses the woman whose first CD was produced by
Cracker front man David Lowery. “I can’t believe how lucky I am to be playing with
them.” Sharing the same intense passion for the music helps, she says, especially
since no one is getting rich off of the experience. “Everyone is in it for the love of it,”
she says, “but there are times we ask ourselves, ‘Are we fucking crazy?’.”
Traveling on the road doesn’t allow for a steady day job – L.P. sings jingles and
writes for other people to make a living – but they are paying for themselves as a
band. “We’re surviving, making enough money on the road. Maybe not enough
money to buy a car, but enough to live like this.”
L.P. says being a touring band is essential to any type of success, so it needs to
be done. It’s like anybody in any profession trying to get ahead,” she says leaning
forward to emphasize her point. “You have to do the legwork to get ahead.”
Whether you are on a major label or an indie artist, the road and performing is
where you prove your mettle. “With indie bands…you got to get your own shit
going because no one is going to do it for you. Touring is a win-win situation
‘cause you always have that; no one can take it away.” It’s all about building
a strong foundation for L.P. (the band) performing night after night proving
themselves and earning a strong fan base.
And this band has the musical chops to do just that. She is not boasting when
she says there are not a lot of bands that can do what they do. And that is to
somehow improve on the very radio-friendly rock and roll on Suburban Sprawl
& Alcohol and make them sound even better live. The raw, from-the-gut playing
and vocals are riveting. L.P. is the perfect front-person whether behind the guitar
or with microphone in hand.
Her vocal style, which is more Pat Benatar than Gwen Stefani, is powerful. “I
know what song (“Never Was”) they are talking about when they say I sound
like Gewn Stefani,” she says with a cringe about the comparisons in the press
to the No Doubt frontwoman. “If I had a few more days to sit with it, I’d rerecord it.”
Don’t get her wrong, L.P. thinks Stefani is a good singer and performer, but she’d
rather be compared to someone like Benatar, whom she grew up admiring and
has a connection with since both studied opera at one time in their lives. It’s more
about Steafani’s cover girl platinum blonde bombshell image that bothers her.
“When I think of Gwen Stefani, the whole girlie thing, I’m like, ‘uck!’. It’s not really
about being compared to her vocally,” she stresses. “I think she’s a fuckin’ great
vocalist, but it’s just that whole persona…That whole package – I couldn’t be
farther from that,” she says with a roll of the eyes. “I look like I feel, I can’t get
away from it,” she says of her sexy androgynous look.
But what they do have in common is writing catchy pop songs, and that L.P.
doesn’t back away from in no uncertain terms. “I literally try to write something
that’s catchy; I’m not trying to do something arty.” And what she is doing is
working. L.P. packs clubs in cities around the country, has earned critical
acclaim for the CD and is receiving more and more notice in the press all
with little or no airplay. But this acclaim comes on her terms and style as
demonstrated later in the evening at the Viper Room. Watching L.P. and her
band perform and reflecting on her words earlier, it's not about art – it’s
rock ‘n’ roll.
To find out more about L.P. and hear the music and locate the shows near
you, please visit: www.lprock.com.
Copyright S. T. Molina 2005
Copyright S. T. Molina 2005
Copyright S. T. Molina 2005
Copyright S. T. Molina 2005
Copyright S. T. Molina 2005
Copyright S. T. Molina 2005
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