Lords of Altamont Interview: SXSW 2010

Altamont: What does that bring to mind? A speedway, tragedy, motorcycles, big bands, power, thrust, or Long Live Rock 'n' Roll? For the Lords of Altamont, it's all of the above. Listening to the music of the Lords, you find it's rock and it's roll, punk and garage. Spinner interviewed lead singer and keyboardist Jake "The Preacher" Cavaliere prior to the band's SXSW appearance.

Describe your sound.

Our sound is a garage band jamming together with punk, psychedelic rock 'n' roll. I mean, it's rock 'n' roll, the original garage sound, without all the marketing hype. It's not commercialized, as in, say, Miley Cyrus or the Hansons. Not that I am saying they are wrong or bad -- it's just we wanna make our own. We are totally hooked on the 1960s sound of the "real" garage bands. What works is what you are.

What are your musical influences?

Well, MC5, Stooges, punk rock, Ramones, garage, acid-y. I believe that the garage sound is a music genre in itself. It's a style all its own. My parents weren't really musical, just hanging-around people, like a drummer hanging around musicians.

How did you come about the band name?

Well, Altamont, the whole thing, the rock 'n' roll, the power, the music performed there, the history of it. Everything changed that day, the whole world of music changed. It became something other than just rock 'n' roll. It spread to other ideas.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure?

I'm not sure if it's musical, but I like to watch 'Family Guy' in my hotel room when I am on tour.

Beatles or Stones?

Well, Stones of course. Altamont, hey?