We interview Lockeland, fresh off the Rhinestone stage, at Long Road festival to talk all about their new single ‘Drive’ and more.
Who’s most likely to fall over on stage?
Michael: That might be me, because a lot of times when I’m playing drums I lean back and there’s been a few times I’ve nearly fell.
Who’s most likely to forget their part?
(laughs)
Kyndon: The least likely person is Michael, but on the bright side it doesn’t seem to happen at the same time.
Who’s most likely to say something they shouldn’t in an interview?
Mark: It’s absolutely me, but that’s just because I don’t think before I speak.
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So you guys have just come off the Rhinestone stage at The Long Road, having opened the festival. What were your expectations coming into the UK?
Mark: I didn’t have any expectation really, I mean we were very excited that we were here.
I think what makes it so great is going to these crowds and they know all the words, especially as a new band that’s unbelievable. It’s so surreal, I mean all of this right now is so surreal. I don’t think it’s even hit me yet that we’re playing the Long Road festival in the UK and people are singing back our songs.
I mean your first single was only released in March – it must feel like a whirlwind. I mean, obviously, what people don’t see is all the work that’s gone into getting here. It’s so easy to assume with new bands that they’re an overnight success.
(laughs) Kyndon: I mean, we’ve all been in Nashville ten plus years, we met probably 8 years ago roughly. I actually met Mark, we did a lot of music together writing and singing together. He met Michael through a mutual friend, and he introduced me to Michael…. Then when I was doing my solo stuff, Mark would play guitar and sing harmonies and Michael would come and play and sing harmonies as well. We were just working on one of my EPs and the harmonies just sounded so good, we just thought ‘man, we should do something with this.’ Really, none of us had to think about it.
Mark: – It was a pretty quick decision.
It should be though. Did you all come from very similar musical backgrounds?
Michael: We are completely different musical backgrounds. We all are lovers of music in general and we love all genres. In summary, I come from a more classical, rock background and then Kyndon’s 90s country and Mark’s like –
Mark: – 2000s pop/emo background. If you were to put all the musical backgrounds we grew up with in a show, you’d be confused.
You say that but I do hear all those elements coming through in your music.
Mark: You go into the studio and we come up with all this stuff, and Michael’s been co-producing a lot of these songs, a lot of the stuff that comes out organically we think sounds great and just roll with it.
Kyndon: But we do it naturally, it just comes out and we’re so ourselves.
Michael: Yeah we’re not trying to be like anyone else for commercial reasons. We’re just going to write the music that’s in our hearts, produce it in the way that’s in our hearts.
Obviously, it has been a completely insane year, are there any moments that really stand out?
Mark: I think the response to ‘Cows’ is one of them. The fans are latching onto that song and we kind of didn’t expect that.
Was it an obvious choice initially to lead out with that song?
Michael: That’s a great question.
Mark: It wasn’t an obvious choice, we did sit around and think what’s the first one going to be, you know the introduction to ‘Lockeland.’
Well it’s such a big statement of who you are as a band…
Mark: It’s a fun-loving upbeat kind of tune – I think that really showcases who we are. We’re here to have fun but I’d say we’re pretty down to earth dudes. That’s our music, that’s what it is. When we released it, I think it showcased who we are. We couldn’t be happier with the response to that.
‘Drive’ though is the new single. What’s the story behind that one and the inspiration behind it?
Kyndon: Mark’s been telling this story. I can say from the writing side of things, Mark and I got together with a girl called Susie Brown, she used to be part of Jane Deer Girls. Mark just started playing this tune.
Mark: – that beginning lick.
Kyndon: … And we just asked how does that make you feel? What do you think when you hear that? We all just started thinking about driving, I don’t know whether it was me or Susie who came up with that opening line,but from there it just wrote itself. We wrote it what six or seven years ago.
Mark: I remember that writing session though. I remember sitting in Kyndon’s apartment at the time. I remember sitting on the couch writing that song. We were all just hanging out, I don’t even remember what time it was – I think it was late I believe. We just started playing and then I think we scheduled a writing session after that to get the rest of the song wrote. So yeah, we didn’t write it all at the same time, but the words came out and it’s just about having fun in the summer with that person you want to spend that time with and just taking that roadtrip.
So I guess what’s up next in terms of your plans?
Michael: So right now it’s singles especially. We do have more music to release in the docket, so definitely be on the lookout for that. We would love to come back to the UK and develop that relationship with the crowds here. We desperately want to, but we’re going to be working really hard on that and getting more live shows. There’s so much strategizing and so many angles to hit from. We’re just going to keep plugging.
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Complete the sentence…
Music is…
Mark: our whole lives.
Kyndon: I love that quote that music is the universal language.
Michael: it’s super simple but music is life.
Country music is… the same, all of it.
Lockeland is: funny, awesome (all laugh).
