Who are you and what is your role in the band?
I’m Rob Parks and I sing and play guitar.
I’m Brian Staples and I also sing and play guitar.
How did the band start?
BS – Rob and I met in college, at Northeastern University in 2010. We became really fast friends, and shared similar music tastes, it wasn’t long after we met that we started making music together. We’ve played under a few different names and with different lineups for years, but Lost Sons was really formed at the beginning of 2015 when we decided to take our music in a new direction.
Where did the name come from?
BS – The name came from a book Rob stumbled upon called “Absent Fathers, Lost Sons”. The title really resonated with us on a personal level, we’ve both experienced difficulty in our relationships with our fathers, but it also matched the music we were creating. A lot of the subject matter we write about has to do with trying to find your place in the world, and the challenges that go along with that, so to call our band Lost Sons really felt like a perfect fit.
Who are your influences and how have they shaped your sound?
RP – Our influences stem from very different parts of music. I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock and art rock artists. Over the years my tastes evolved, and were broadened through the punk movement in the 80s, as well as the grunge/hardcore scene blossoming in the 90s into the early 2000s. Some of the artists/groups that have resonated with me from an early age are Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, The Band and Nirvana.
BS – Bands like My Chemical Romance, Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, and Thirty Seconds to Mars have all been big influences on my writing. I grew up around a lot of pop and Broadway music, so I’ve always been a fan of really theatrical and passionate sounding music. When I got introduced to rock and punk music as a teenager, that kind of flipped a switch for me, and led me to do what we do now. I’ve always liked marrying the melodies of pop music with the passion and energy of rock music.
Favorite city/venue to play?
RP – Over the years I was lucky enough to play a lot of amazing cities and great venues. My favorite venue (and show) that I played was at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT. Mostly because it was the venue that I grew up around and saw some of my favorite artists play at — the show I opened for was Anberlin and Acceptance on the main stage hall.
BS – I feel the same way about Starland Ballroom in New Jersey. I think it’s a real badge of honor for any musician to play at the venue you started going to shows at. Plus, it’s always something special to play in front of a hometown crowd.
Favorite song of yours you’ve written? To play live?
BS – I always like shiny, new things, so I think Light is probably my favorite one we’ve written so far. I always think the newest thing we’ve done is the best. Love Means Letting Go is definitely my favorite song to play live, we close with it a lot. There’s just a lot of energy and passion in that song, and it’s a lot of fun to go all out when it gets really heavy.
RP – That’s a tough one honestly — I think one of my favorite songs we’ve written and play live is American Gentlemen, mostly because of the lyrical content and the energy that we bring in that song. It’s got a different edge to it, with a political and sociological undertone about the state that our society is in. It’s something I’ve been wanting to speak out about for a while, but never found the right words for it, let alone the words that haven’t already been said.
What is song (by anyone) that you wished you could have written?
RP – Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. That’s one of my favorite songs, at least in the top 10 for me. The Smashing Pumpkins rendition is pretty incredible to listen to as well.
BS – Fix You by Coldplay, for sure. I can’t say enough nice things about that song. The instrumentation is gorgeous, the lyrics are incredibly passionate, the way it builds to it’s climax is just beautiful.
Meaningful moments or stories from being in the band so far?
RP – We’ve had the opportunity to play alongside some amazing bands as well as work with some incredible people. It’s been a culmination of everything we’ve been able to achieve thus far — it only feels like an upward momentum from here on out.
BS – The live shows are the most meaningful moments for me, seeing people come out and singing the words back to us is everything to me.
What’s Next?
BS – We’re shooting a music video for Light this month that will be out some time in October, and we’ll be releasing another new song in November.
RP – We’ll also be playing all around California this winter.
Anything else you want to add?
BS – You can listen to our newest single ‘Light’ as well as all our other music on Apple Music, Spotify, and our website. And thank you for supporting local music!
