Utah Concert Review

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Rick Diamond

Styx returns to USANA Amphitheater on Monday, June 4 with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Tesla.  They credit Utah as one of the first regions to truly embrace their music.  Because of this, it’s always a good time when they come to town.  

I had the opportunity to interview Keyboardist/ Lead Singer Lawerence Gowan.  When I think of his contribution to Styx I generally think of his influence in the live show.  I also think of him as a newer member of the band, but as you’ll read, he’s actually been in the band for quite some time now.  We talk about that as well as the band’s new album The Mission.  He was really fun to talk to.  Enjoy!  

Utah Concert Review:  The first time I saw Styx was in 2000.  And I think you had joined up with them a couple years before that.  You should be close to your twentieth anniversary with the band, yeah?

Lawrence Gowan:   Yes! I’m about a month into my twentieth year.  Time flies.

UCR:  I just wanted to congratulate you on that.  I think you’ve been great as a member of the band.  I know it was probably a weird situation to come into and I think you’ve been so gracious with everything.  

LG: Thank you very much. It’s a great band to be a part of and it always was a great band before I got into it so it’s something I always want to acknowledge.

UCR:  Now I’ve always felt like the past drama with the band is not really part of your history with the band.  So we don’t need to get into all of that. But I am curious, you’ve replaced a principal songwriter, a founding member, and a vocalist that people love and associate many of these songs to, was there ever a transition period initially that you noticed the fans not being sure about you yet? And was there a moment/tour where you felt like the fans accepted you as an official member of the band.  

LG:  It’s funny, I have to go right back to the very first show I did with the band.  There was only one moment in the entire twenty years when I felt anything but 100% worthy of being with these guys.  The very first show we did together we opened with “Grand Illusion”.  Actually, they had just done an album called Brave New World so they did a short piece from Brave New World that segued into “Grand Illusion”.  And after the “Grand Illusion” intro I drew breath to sing that first line “Welcome to the Grand Illusion…”  and just about five seconds before I hit that first line I realized “Oh, there are a few thousand people here that are about to hear someone else sing this song that they’ve never heard before.”  And at that moment it all kinda flashed in my mind that “in about four or five minutes from now I’m going to know if this is going to work or not.” Because we hadn’t really considered that. We really were quite confident that it would work out because we had rehearsed it and everyone had smiles on their faces.  But by the time we got through the song I remember Tommy and JY walking forward and nodding and there were people with their arms in the air and it was all high fives. It’s kind of been that way since that time. And that’s something that has been inspiring to me that this was a good move.

The other thing I would always clarify is, right from that first show to this very day I have never looked upon the idea that I replaced anyone in the band.  It’s an easy thing to say, and I used to just accept it. But it really is not that. It really is that the band’s life was extended because they got another new guy.  Similar to what happened to them in 1976 when they got Tommy Shaw into the band after they had made five albums. Similar to what happened in the 90’s Todd Sucherman came in when original drummer John Panozzo could no longer do it.  It just so happens that because there was all the backstage brooha drama and all of the gut-wrenching emotions that go along with that because that preceded my joining the band, I think there’s a heightened sense of gravitas of it being a weighty situation.  But my time in the band has always been playing to a fantastic audience of Classic Rock Styx enthusiasts. And they always leave with a lot of smiles on their faces.

UCR: That’s a great way to approach it.  I enjoyed the band’s new album The Mission.  I believe it’s only the second album of original music you’ve done while in Styx.  Is that right?

LG:  Yes. We’ve only done two albums of brand new music.  There have been a good number of live albums and DVDs.  There was the covers album and of course the Regeneration album which were re-recordings of the classic hits with this lineup.  So there are a good number of records, but only two brand new records. That’s really a testament to how much we tour. The band never toured to the extent that we have over the last twenty years.  We have yet to play less than 100 shows in a year and then you add in all the travel that entails, and the distances. We’re in an era of the music world now where the live show, the live performance is at the center of what people gravitate towards because we’re in a different time.  We’re in the internet era where everyone gets their entertainment from their laptops. So when they go and see a live rock show it’s even a bigger seismic shift in their lives because they’re actually living something in real time in the real world. Even if they are holding up their cell phones for most of it.

UCR:  I’m sure with this much touring, not only is it the number of shows and travel, but I’d imagine that you need to spend your off days on vocal rest.  So there probably aren’t many off days the band would be able to spend in the studio laying down vocal tracks take after take.

LG:  It is exactly that.  It really is. You’ve got to stay focused on the most important thing that’s going to have the band continue on.  In the 70’s it was obviously “Let’s get an album out as quick as we can while people are noticing. Let’s make sure it’s really high quality, and then let’s get out and play some shows to support it.”  Now the creativity, for the most part, has been in how the myriad of ways we can improve the live show. And that’s something we’ve really worked at.

Now when we made The Mission, we just set aside the time.  That’s how it got accomplished.  We cut back on shows, we set parameters of how much time we had to work on it.  It took us well over a year to actually pull it together. And that was with some really creative maneuvering around the schedule, but it got done.  

UCR:  When I saw you back in January at the Eccles Theater it seemed like the album was well received.  Which I thought was great. Generally speaking, bands that have been around for 40 years don’t really get to enjoy that.  

LG:  The beauty of being in a band with great hits to play is, you’ve got great hits to play.  The detraction is so often the audience doesn’t want to hear anything but that. However, if you give them just the right thing on the right day you might be surprised.  It seems with The Mission that’s what’s unfolded.  The audience was ready for it, they were ready to hear something that after all these years this lineup could accomplish in a studio setting with the writing and the culmination of our lineup.  I know what you’re saying, “Radio Silence” and “Gone, Gone, Gone”, and “Khedive” those songs are going over as well as many of the classic hits. I think it’s because they slot into the show in an effortless fashion and the audiences are digging it.  

UCR:  And for you, as somebody who had success as a solo artist how has it felt to get to create music again, and with this band?  

LG:  Really satisfying.  I thoroughly enjoyed being a solo artist, but there were times where I was kind of jealous or envious of the idea of creating with a band and having a collective voice that still sounds like one entity.  There aren’t all that many solo artists that I listen to compared to the number of bands that I listen to. I enjoy listening to Elton, and a few others but really the list of bands is far greater. Maybe it was the “grass is greener” idea, but the idea of the collective and what happens when the creative friction comes into the room and something emerges that really doesn’t sound like one guy but very much like this outside entity that no one can claim as their own because it exists as the sum of the parts.  

UCR:  Do you remember the first time you ever performed live?

LG:  I was in grade 2.  I grew up in Toronto.  I can even tell you the date!  It was February 10, 1964. I remember that because The Beatles played on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on February 9, 1964.  When I went to school the next day, I don’t know why but everyone was asked to sing or perform something in front of the class.  I had nothing prepared but I already kind of knew “All My Lovin’” and “Love Me Do” because I had heard them on the radio prior to seeing them on Ed Sullivan.  So basically I got up in front of the class and stood there and I pulled up three other unsuspecting guys and showed them where to stand, and belted out “Love Me Do” in front of the class.  What I remember is the rest of the class looking like “What the hell is he doing?”, but my teacher Ms. Davis had this big grin on her face. I know now what it was. She was probably in her early twenties, and she was obviously a big Beatles fan already.  Or had seen the show the night before. So I was basically doing what a whole generation of musicians have been doing ever since. Trying to figure out “How do we put a band together that looks as much fun and artistically satisfying as that band?”. It was an entire generation of musicians that were affected by that night.  I think I might have beat them all to get in front of an audience with that schtick (Laughing).

UCR:  Do you remember the first concert you attended?  

LG:  I do.  It was in Toronto.  It was a Canadian band called “The Guess Who” that people, of course, know for their biggest hit “American Woman”.  I was 14 and they sounded exactly like the record. They were just so good live. It really had an impression on me.  Whenever I see a band live, if they don’t come up to or surpass the quality that they do on record they kind of lose me forever.  I was branded with that way of judging an act. If I’m on the fence with an act or indifferent to them and I see them live and they just slay the audience I’m forever devoted to what that band can do.  And vice versa, I’ve seen acts where I actually like their record but they’re subpar live they kind of lose me for good.

UCR:  It makes a difference how they sound live, doesn’t it?

LG:  Yeah!  I’ve tried to figure it out over the years.  Ultimately music is communication. So in the live arena, that’s where it’s the most real and visceral and intense, or the opportunity is there for it to be that.  And a great rock show is the best form of entertainment I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I don’t think anything is going to surpass it. I know what it can do to you, and when it fails to do that it’s disappointing.  Fortunately, that hasn’t happened all that often because most of the bands I like are phenomenal live.

UCR:  I think that’s something that could be attributed to Styx.  I’ve seen bands where when they take the stage it looks like they are going to work.  But with Styx, I’ve seen you at the beginning of tours and at the end of tours and it looks no different.  Every time you guys seem excited to be out on that stage. That goes a long way for fans.

LG:  I’m glad you perceive that because I can tell you it’s genuine.  It’s funny that you say that you’ve seen bands that “look like they’re going to work”.  We’re only doing this so that we can avoid going to work! (Laughing) The last thing we’re doing is working!  We’re basically just trying to create this great vibe in front of a few thousand people. When you leave the stage seeing this sea of smiles on faces as far as the eye can stretch, that’s a pretty good end to a satisfying day.  You should really drink that in and be happy to suit up again the next day. I’m lucky that I’m in a like-minded band in that regard.

UCR:  You’re really giving people their escape for a couple hours from their work week.  So it’s good that you guys have that approach.

LG:  The effort it takes to get out to a show, and park, go through a crowd, and that whole ritual, they deserve the best possible performance.  And we’ve jumped through a few hoops of fire to get we are so we don’t want to let ourselves down either.

UCR:  Is there a particular Styx song that no matter how many times you’ve played it, you still get excited?  

LG:  Every night I look at “Renegade” on the setlist.  It’s always towards the end if not the very end of the show.  I embrace that moment every time. It’s great too because I don’t have to sing lead on that one!  I get the opportunity to take the temperature of the audience and every time it’s at a fever pitch.  So I get to observe it and enjoy it so I love seeing that that song is coming up on the setlist.

UCR:  Do you have an experience or two as a performer that you might say are your very best?

LG:  A couple pinnacles come to mind.  First I’ll go back to 1985 prior to joining Styx.  In my hometown Toronto, my second album went to number 1.  It wasn’t released in the states which was a terrible frustration, but it did get to number 1 in Toronto the very week I had the biggest show I had ever done to date which was about 9,000 people. That was one of the highest moments for me personally because I had played all the little clubs around the area and then suddenly to have that happen, it was like, it’s what you’re dreaming of but yet it hits you like “Wow!  That was an unexpected thing.  That was great!”.

The next one I would say, in joining Styx I think we played twice at the Super Bowl.  Funny enough it was the second time, which is weird, I don’t know why, but it was the second time we did it.  I had been in the band for five years at that point. We were still reaching to see what was achievable. The show in San Diego that day was really spectacular.  I remember feeling like I was at the center of the universe. It was just astounding. That was an obvious giant thing. But, there are other moments that I can mention along the way.  Like the first time we played at Red Rocks in Colorado was a phenomenal moment. You’re looking up at this gigantic natural amphitheater a mile or so above the city, it’s almost like you’re in outer space playing there.  It’s an unbelievable spot. And then there are surprises along the way. Like playing the Eccles Theater there in Salt Lake back in January where you don’t know what to expect. You’re playing a new venue, you don’t know how it’s going to go. You’re playing some new material in this case.  And suddenly that’s just as rewarding as anything you’ve ever done. So the answer to your question has become a real moving target over the years.

UCR: Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Gowan.  I really enjoyed this!

LG: Me too!  We’ll see you out at USANA with Tesla and Joan Jett!  It’s gonna rock!!!

For tickets to Arrowfest: Styx, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, with Tesla on June 4 click here.  

To purchase Styx new album The Mission, click here.

By: Kevin Rolfe

                                                                                              Photo Credit: Mark Weiss

For as long as I can remember Poison has had a really strong fanbase here in Utah.  On May 22,  they bring their Nothin’ But a Good Time 2018 Tour to USANA Amphitheater with Cheap Trick and Pop Evil.  I had the opportunity to have a really entertaining and informative conversation with bassist Bobby Dall.  Enjoy! 

Utah Concert Review:  Your last couple times playing here in Utah I believe you opened for Def Leppard at USANA Amphitheater.  This time you’re headlining the show. Which means a longer setlist, your staging, etc. Was there a determining factor to tour as headliners again?  Or did things just play out that way?

Bobby Dall:  It was definitely a mixture of things.  We have headlined USANA before, several times.  We’ve played there with Def Leppard, and I think Motley as well.  This time around we’re headlining with Cheap Trick and Pop Evil. Lovely guys in Cheap Trick.  The guys in Pop Evil, great music, I don’t know them personally, but soon we’ll get to know them very well.  I don’t know, I guess it’s just the natural correlation of the next step in our career. We’ve spent several years not headlining, although we had a few headlining dates last year.  But this year we’re headlining the whole tour. It’s always more fun when you have a little more control. You get to play longer and controlling the show and the environment. But you also have more responsibility as well.  

UCR:  I’m sure one of the nice things about headlining out at USANA Amphitheater is you won’t have to perform while the sun is setting.  It’s a great venue but I always feel bad with the openers at that venue because the sun is right in their eyes!

BD:  Yeah with the amphitheaters it’s always better to play when the sun goes down! (Laughing) But you know, in different situations you have to deal with it.  

UCR: So it seems like the thing to do these days is package a few bands together and send them out on tour?  As a fan, I love it. But I have wondered what that was like for the bands.

BD: Well since the beginning of Rock and Roll bands have been packaged up.  In fact, in the 70’s, my first concert was Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, Rush, and about ten bands.  It was the Florida Jam. That was the first time I saw Cheap Trick, who’s with us on this tour, and I fell in love with them.  I think I was 15 or 16. You are right that bands are packaging up. But they always have. I believe in value for the fans. And the more bang for the buck is the best way to describe it.  Having three bands on a package and going out and playing, give the fans more value for their money. And what I think is great about our tour this year is you’re getting a band from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.  So we really are covering three decades of fans. And our band itself, we’re always getting new fans each tour.

UCR:  So when you look at the bands of your era, they’ve become really fragmented.  Sometimes there is only one original member of a band touring as the band. Or in the case of RATT, I think there are two versions of the band circling the globe.  And while we don’t need to get into the history of it all, Poison has had their drama, but the original guys are still together. How have you done that? Do you just have to turn off the relationship aspect and make it about business?  Or have you just figured out how to make it work?

BD:  Truly the secret is, we have a saying in the band “If you can get all four of us in the same room or on the stage we get a free pass.”  It really does seem to work out that way. There are bands like you said that aren’t all the original members and there’s nothing wrong with that.  It just is what it is. But I believe it’s important for us to be together. So hopefully the four members of this band will keep going for another ten, twenty, thirty years together.  But as you get older it gets harder and harder.

UCR:  Now you’ve played thousands of shows over the years.  But is there a song that no matter how many times you’ve played it, you’re still excited, and still enjoy playing it every time?

BD: I love playing them all.  But “Ride the Wind” is one of my favorites.  Every night it’s always based on the audience reaction on any given evening.  It isn’t about me, it’s about the fans. That’s the best way to answer it. But I do particularly love every time we play “Ride the Wind”.  It never gets boring. None of the songs get boring playing them again and again. It’s great to have a such a deep catalog as we have. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been around so long.  And I think it’s important to play those songs for the fans. But that’s just me. You can vary a little, but if you don’t give the fans the hits they won’t be happy.

UCR:  Are there certain cities in particular that you go to where you know without fail it’s going to be an awesome Poison show?

BD:  I love every city we play.  And I won’t diss any city we pay.  But you surprisingly get the most audience reaction from the cities that the least shows.  We’ve never not been well received though. I’ve never had an experience where I haven’t been happy with the audience.  

UCR:  Do you remember the first time you performed live?

BD:  I do.  It was in Pennsylvania, and it was in a fire hall near Mechanicsburg.  It was the first show we played as a band. It was Poison, but we weren’t called that yet.  We were called Paris.

UCR:  What was that experience like?

BD:  It was incredible.  Frightening, terrifying, amazing, wonderful, and the rest is history.  Rock and Roll history. But before going on absolutely terrified anxiety.  Mortified might be the best word. (Laughing)

UCR: Does that feeling still exist?  Or have you performed so much that you’re just excited to get out there now?

BD:  The first show of every tour, my anxieties are a little high.  But that’s typical and just the way I’m built. But once I hit the stage it all goes away.  The second we’re in front of the audience I’m just part of this energy between the fans and the band.  And if that initial anxiety goes away, that’s probably the time to stop doing this.

UCR:  Is there a band you make a point of seeing whenever they tour?

BD:  As far as a show that I’m not working on, I’ve seen the Rolling Stones about 7 or 8 times. Now I’ve seen other bands a lot more than that, but that’s usually a band we’re touring with.  But as far as a band that I’ve gone to see, the Rolling Stones are my favorite band and the band who I’ve seen the most.

UCR:  Again, I know you’ve played a ton of shows, but is there a particular show, or maybe tour that you would say stood out as the best?

BD:  It’s so hard.  Paul Stanley (of KISS) coming up and playing with us, all the bands we played with.  I grew up on Aerosmith, I grew up on Cheap Trick, I grew up on Van Halen, so any interaction with any of those bands has always been exciting.  I don’t have a particular favorite though. There’s just too many.

UCR: Well let me ask you this in closing. Do you remember that feeling where you realized this was happening for you?  

BD:  I think in the very beginning, it was us, RATT, and Cheap Trick on tour in 1987.  And we were originally scheduled to tour for three weeks. It was when Talk Dirty To Me took off.  We ended up staying, and Cheap Trick ended up leaving.  And that particular stretch playing with RATT of all the times was one of the most exciting times.  But it’s a hard question to answer. It’s like answering “If you could have anything in the world what would you want right now?”  

UCR:  Thank you so much, Bobby!  See you at USANA!

Poison will be at USANA Amphitheater on Tuesday, May 22.  Click here to purchase tickets!

(Photo Credit: Kristin Barlowe)

Lots of good energy, charisma and a unique sound that blends rock, country, folk, Irish, and roots music. (Oh and lots of fiddles…from yours truly   

I love “Ballad of Jacob Marley”. I look around on stage while we’re playing it and I can literally SEE how much fun everyone is having. Plus there’s banjo  

I had the opportunity last week to spend some time with L.A. based band Kolars. In preparation for my interview I with them I downloaded their 2017 self-titled album and their new single “King of Carrot Flowers”.  I immediately fell in love with this band. Their music has been on constant repeat ever since. I was a little nervous that I would be overly praising upon meeting them. No one likes a kiss up! But I think any artist would like to hear if someone likes their music.  I really enjoyed spending time with Rob and Lauren. They were really laid back and gave some really insightful information on the interworking of Kolars. Enjoy!

Utah Concert Review: How did you to come together as a band?

Rob Kolar:  Well we’ve been doing music and arts and theater for Lauren for a long time.  This thing kind of came out of the ashes of heartbreak with other projects. So we were in another group that toured for a long time and people just sort of wanted to go their different ways.  People didn’t want to tour anymore. And we were kind of like man, maybe this is over. So I was thinking ok well maybe I’ll do a solo album or something and Lauren was focusing on other things and directing some plays and then it was like well, we can still have a band with the two of us.  What if we just…

Lauren Brown:  But it was a scary prospect too because it was like, ‘Is two people enough?  Is it interesting enough? how do we fill out the other sounds? We still want to have a bass.  We still want to have all these other things. And I was always drumming and tapping in the background with this other band and with this I would be in the front and everyone could see what I was doing.  In a positive way, but also in a negative way where I felt exposed. So that was scary.

RK: And before I was co-fronting, and now I’m the only singer.  So there’s these of like, ok all these things are going to be a challenge, but it’s what we want to do.  

LB: (Laughing) Now we just have to get better at it.

RK: Yeah, so we got lucky because our first tour was with this band called The Revivalists.  They have a single that’s become a hit. But at the time they were just breaking. So we got on the road with them and we were just honing in on what we do…

LB: Our first show was a sold out 600 person show.  And I remember being petrified because our first show was in front of all that instead of being a small show in front of Mom and Dad and our friends.  So that moment was Sink or Swim. I always felt like look, if I could do that first show in front of all those people and be that scared and get through it and then think I did well at it, you feel like you can do, well not anything, but you’re definitely more confident.  

UCR: I really enjoyed listening to this album.  Each time I listened to it, I would notice something new in each song.  There were a lot of layers in this album.

LB:  That’s this guy right here!

UCR: I can tell that you put a lot of work into making this album.  Some people love getting in the studio and making the album, others want to make the album simply to get out on the road and perform because performing live is their preference.  Which do you prefer, the studio or the stage?

LB: That’s a good question man!  We’ll probably totally different on that!

RK:  That is a good question.  I think I’m right in the middle where it’s both.  I don’t think I’d be satisfied if it were leaning one way or the other.  But there is something I really adore about being in the studio like a scientist tweaking things.  I love exploring and making the song come to life in the studio. There’s something really special about that.  But I love being on stage. Especially with Lauren because she really gives it and pushes me to go even further with my performance.  

LB: I’m not somebody who likes the studio. I like the performance.  I feel like I learn the most from the performance. And not even because people are watching.  I escape in what I’m doing in that format. It’s my meditation. I’ve been a dancer since I was a little kid so that’s what I’m drawn to.  I hate rehearsals. I like talking about ideas. I like directing shows. But no, the studio is not really where I’m at.

RK: That’s accurate.

LB:  But I’m still there!

UCR:  So how did your part tap, part percussion come about?  Was is born out of necessity? Or did you think “Well, I dance, and I play rhythm so…”?

LB:  No, I didn’t play any rhythm.  I was a dancer and I was tapping with one of Rob’s earlier bands along with the drummer and then the drummer quit so Rob’s idea for me was to learn all the drums and keep up with the tap.  So I created this whole thing based on necessity. Based on we didn’t have a drummer. We didn’t want to hire a new drummer. Ok, I’m going to figure this out. So I started with one drum, and Rob would play the kick drum.  And I would just split a kit with him. And he’s already playing rhythm guitar so we were really splitting the rhythm section. And then I took the kick. So now I play the kick, the tom, and the snare, and I do the tap at the same time.  

RK:  It was definitely an evolution.  Even the tap box itself started with just an old plank of wood with a mic.  Then we nailed apple boxes together. And now we’ve converted a kick drum into a platform.  So it just keeps evolving every couple of years. She either enters a new phase with her ability as a drummer.  And the kit evolves with new elements and new drums.

LB:  I just want to keep getting better.  

UCR:  Isn’t that cool though?  How long has rock n roll or popular music been around?  Seventy years? You start to feel like everything has been figured out or done.  And then this comes around. I don’t know if anyone else is doing anything like this.  

LB: I think it’s just me.  

RK:  It’s really exciting.  Also as a songwriter, because she doesn’t have a lot of cymbal use, and the beats and rhythms are simple and kind of guttural but still have a pulse, as a songwriter that’s what you want underneath your songs.  Because that’s what’s propelling it. Because a lot of times you’ll see bands and you’ll see drummers who are using different elements and cymbals and sometimes that’s competing with the vocals and other things.  But in this case it just kind of fits right.

LB:  And we’re creating rhythms for dancers because I’m a dancer.  So I want to create a rhythm that I want to dance to because I’m actually dancing to it.  So I can only go so fast or do it so slow because I’m actually dancing.

UCR:  Well and as you already know, with dance, it’s all timing, so while the transition to percussion might not be easy, it does make sense.

LB:  And I was keeping time with my feet and doing fills with my feet.  So it’s just trying to figure out what to do with my hands.

RK:  It’s inverting the kit.  Because she plays the kick drum with a mallet with her hand, where usually a drummer would play it with their foot. And her feet are doing what a drummer would usually do with their hands.  

When I first heard of how Lauren does percussion I have to admit I was extremely skeptical.  A tap dancing drummer? I don’t know, sounds kind of gimmicky. But I was wrong to be so cynical because it was awesome!  Not only is it a huge part of the visual aspect of the show, but the driving style of her rhythm removes any thought of it being a gimmick.  As you read, it was born out of necessity, but now it’s essential to their sound and live performance. Click here to get an idea of what tapping and drumming looks like.  Ok back to the interview!   

UCR: I want to preface this by saying that you definitely have your sound. There is definitely a Kolars sound.  But as was listening to the album I heard “Turn Out the Lights” and thought ‘Oh, I can hear elements of Joy Division or early New Order.’  

LB: I love that. Thank you!

UCR: But then I’d hear “Bullet on the Run” and I recall thinking, ‘I wish Johnny Cash was still alive because I could totally hear him covering this song.’ So it caused me to wonder, who are your musical influences?

RK: Amazing. Those are some of our biggest influences.  

LB: Totally! You nailed it, dude!

RK: We love 80’s New Wave whether it’s New Order or Echo and the Bunnymen, or The Cars.  But we also love Eddie Cochran, Elvis, and Johnny Cash. We love that early country, rockabilly blues style.  But we also love glam rock like T Rex and stuff like that.

LB: I always want drums to sound like Gary Glitter.  Fat, Dead, Big.

RK: So we kind of pull from every era.  That’s what we always wanted to do. And how do we do that without making it sound like a weird collage?  Like how do we do it to where we honor it and it gels. That’s what we’re hoping to do, but you kind of roll the dice a little bit.  

UCR:  That’s not easy to do but I think you’ve done a great job blending elements of different styles with your own sound.  

UCR: Do you remember the first concert you went to?

RK: Yes.  Definitely!  Mine was Rancid at the Palladium in Hollywood.  And it was mind-blowing! I was like 12, and my mom just dropped me off with my friends for my birthday present.  So I get dropped off, and of course, I was still growing and I wasn’t super tall and I just remember looking around and seeing all these mohawks and chains and leather jackets and these real authentic punk rockers.  I was thinking “I think I need to change my hairstyle”. Because I had that 90’s parted in the middle cut. So got into the show and I had never seen a mosh pit and I’m watching this spiral of people and looking to my friends saying “I just gotta do it.”  So ran in and I was like a sock in a washing machine. I was just thrust around all over but it was thrilling! I mean, I’m a young adult, and there are my idols at the time on stage rocking out.

UCR:  The floor at the Palladium is huge.  That must have been an enormous mosh pit.  

RK:  There were actually three separate mosh pits!

LB: I’m going to go a different direction.  My grandma took me to see Gregory Hines (tap dancing legend).  He was alone and did all these solos. And if we were tap dancers we were told to bring our shoes.  Then we were invited to go on stage and dance with him. My grandma was very much like “Get up there.  Get on up there.” I was so scared and so embarrassed, but I went up. He has since passed but he was brilliant.  So yeah, that’s what I remember. Polar opposite of Rob’s.

RK: But it’s sort of formed where we are now to a degree.  Like we’re somewhere in the middle of that.

UCR: What was your best live experience as a band?

LB: That’s so hard.  

RK:  We did this festival in Germany.  We didn’t know what to expect. It was wild, there was this line down the block.  It’s this festival put on by Rolling Stone. Spoon and some other cool bands were there.  They put us in this smallish club where you can fit a few hundred people.

LB:  We had never played there before! We had never even been to that part of Germany.  

RK:  Yeah, never played there, very little publicity there, but the crowd went wild.  And on the last song, we have this section where we try to get the crowd to clap along with and literally everybody in the crowd was clapping along to the point where the claps were louder than our playing.  So there was this feeling of everyone being united in this moment and experiencing it with the band to where they were almost as much of the band as we are.

LB:  I think I started crying a little.  It was just kind of mind-blowing.

RK:  Yeah I think I did afterward off stage.  You just felt the emotion in the room.

LB:  And I think we just felt like, if there were just twenty people in there we would have been excited.  But then you see a line to get in and you’re like “What? Is this a dream coming true?”

RK: And we’ve had some rough shows along the way.  Then you have a show like that it makes everything feel like “Ok, keep going. There’s more of these in front of you.”  

I sincerely believe the best is yet to come from this band.  As I mentioned, I fell in love with this band right when I heard their first song “One More Thrill” on their self-titled debut album.  However, there is nothing I love more than when I see what a band can do on stage.  It’s just the two of them up there.  They have a little help with some pre-programmed baselines and synth, but that’s it. Rob’s voice sounds great live. And he has all the charisma and stage presence necessary to be a frontman all on his own.  His signature guitar style meshed with Lauren’s one of a kind percussions, they’re a band you will see on the rise from here on out. I told them it wouldn’t be long before they’d be moving from 200 person Kilby Court to selling out The Complex which holds about 3,000.  Not only do I believe they’re that good, but they clearly have the work ethic to make it happen.  Click here for more information on Kolar’s music and tour dates.