Lo-Star Interview: SXSW 2010

Hailing from London, Lo-Star already has the United Kingdom buzzing about their riveting live performances. At SXSW this year, the five-piece rock band hopes to win over American crowds with a sound that has been compared to U2. In anticipation of their scheduled performances and debut album release, bassist James Sanford and singer Adam Harris recently spoke with Spinner about what they love most.

Describe your sound in your own words.

James Sanford: For me, it's quite a classic sound. It reminds me of great British rock bands of the past, like the Rolling Stones. A more modern comparison would be Kings of Leon. It's quite a big sound.

How did your band form?

Adam Harris: I started at a very young age playing in bands. I met Ric when I was seventeen, at our first year of college. We met Brett along the way, and Joel was one of the top drummers on the London circuit. It's just this thing that happens where once it clicks, it clicks.

How did you come up with your band name?

AH: No one really knows where the name came from. I'm sorry we don't have an exciting story--I'm still trying to come up with one.

Who are some of your musical influences?

JS: I just try and listen to all the classic bass players. John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin is a massive, massive influence just because he's so solid. We all listen to a lot of everything really, from really old stuff to really modern stuff. But only certain things get pulled out of the other side of the Lo-Star filter, when we're all together in a room playing.

AH: For me, I listen to quite a bit of classical and I know Ric does, too. I was brought up on a lot of jazz, people like Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, obviously, and Coltrane. I think Led Zeppelin is one of those bands that I remember, probably more so than when I heard my first Beatles record. I remember when I heard 'Rock and Roll' for the first time and the impact that it had on me, and playing it in bands at twelve. You never forget that sound, and Led Zeppelin are one of those bands that managed to do that very, very well.

Beatles or Stones?

JS: Hands down, the Beatles. They revolutionized the recording studio as a tool. Whereas before, everyone went in and you play live on the floor, record it, and it was capturing a performance at a moment in time. When the Beatles went in, it started with 'Revolver' and then really on 'Sgt. Pepper's,' they just opened the floodgates for using the studio as something totally different and creating sounds that couldn't be done live, or couldn't be played by players in a room. You had to layer it up and reverse things, and put in all these effects, and I think that totally revolutionized music. Although the Stones are an amazing band, and they've got some absolutely killer songs, they just didn't, for me, have that kind of impact on everything that followed.

AH: I agree totally with James. I think for a recording band definitely the Beatles, and for a live band definitely the Stones. Different bands for different things.

What's in your festival survival kit?

JS: Jack Daniels. Because, it's a great drink, it's like an antiseptic in case you get cuts or anything, you can brush your teeth with it---it fulfills a number of roles. And, to be honest, as little else as possible--I've had stuff stolen at festivals before. I try to take as little as possible and concentrate on having fun instead of having millions and millions of things.

AH: When we went to Glastonbury, we were given a great teepee, and that's got to be in my festival survival kit. It's got big flowers on it, so no matter how drunk you are, you always remember where your tent is. Also an iPod. I like to zone out before we go onstage.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour or at a festival?

JS: I can't tell you one of them. The other was very Spinal Tap: getting lost on the way to the stage. It was Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics' venue, and he'd spent so much money on this beautiful venue but the dressing rooms were three or four floors from the stage. We were due to go onstage, and we actually got lost. Quite badly lost, maybe five minutes into our set time.

AH: There are far more rock 'n' roll moments, but we probably couldn't say them to you.

What's your biggest vice?

JS: Probably that I work way too hard. I never take any days off. That's a really boring answer, but I that's the truth. I'm a workaholic. Oh, and girls.

AH: I can go along with that. I love work, and I probably do it too much. I think when you're as passionate as we are about the music we make and what we do, it's quite hard not to become obsessive about it. As soon as you get the taste of doing what you love, of making music and playing music and doing it all the time, you just want to do it more and more.

JS: That probably sounds like we're a really boring band, but you know, we love to drink and everything!


Allison Davis is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.