As years go by, more and more rock bands succumb to an overproduced sound which allows them to hide their small imperfections. However, there are some bands that have nothing to hide. Lullwater is one of them. The Athens, Georgia, based rock group prefers the raw sound that only tape can give you from day one. That sound has carried with them through their latest album, Revival, that was just released.
John Strickland (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Brett Strickland (Lead Guitar), Roy “Ray” Beatty (Bass) and Joe Wilson (Drums) are the four musicians who joined their forces, and with their raw, yet provoking, rock managed to build a solid fan base not just in their hometown, but nationwide.
Here we speak with John Strickland about their decision to record only on tape, their brand new album, and of course, their thoughts about the future of the band.
I would like to take you back in 2007 when the band was formed. Tell us about your relationship back then and how you wound up with the idea to name the band “Lullwater”?
Back in the day, the early version of the band got together in our drummer’s basement in a house on Lullwater Drive, so yeah, it’s a pretty original and awesome name. Lots of thought went into that one. Nick, our old drummer, and I started the band and pretty quickly brought on Brett. After a rotating door of bassists, we finally found Ray in 2009. Later on, when Nick left, we already knew Joe, so we called him up, and the rest is history.
You prefer recording on tape. Why?
We feel like it keeps us in touch with the human element of recording music. We want our sound on the record to reflect how we sound live, so we tend to stay away from overproduction, and we find ourselves always coming back to tape. It also gives you a very warm, organic overtone that you don’t feel in a lot of recently produced albums.
Your latest album, which was also recorded on tape, is called Revival. Why did you choose that name?
We feel like right now, there’s a lot missing in the rock genre. Revival is… Revival is a lot of things. It’s a representation of us being reborn together as a better band, more cohesive. We’re using older recording techniques that have been neglected for the most part in modern music, so that’s somewhat of a revival. In an interview with the Foo Fighters once, Dave Grohl said that when he sticks his head out of the foo bubble and looks around, he can’t find any new rock bands. This album is our statement that rock is not dead; it just needs to be revived.
What is the difference between this album and your previous one?
Longer hair. Actually, though, almost everything. Joe is a huge difference from the last one, too; now it’s the full band as it should have been from the start. You can still tell it’s our signature Lullwater sound, but I think it’s a much more cohesive effort. We recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, TX, (Instead of LBS in Seattle), and this time we brought on the engineers (Dustin Justin Davis, Stephen Hogan) from the self-titled as full-on producers. I could go on with the minutia, but overall, I think the gist of it is that it’s Lullwater squared. It’s just a better representation of us as a band now.
Do you feel that you’ve grown artistically over the years?
Oh yeah, definitely. We’ve been constantly touring for over six years now, and playing that much together will definitely tighten things up. We know each other a lot better now musically. One thing about our shows is that we don’t play with in-ears, or a click, or tracks, or anything other than four guys just rocking, so our live show is constantly evolving and morphing into new things. We’ll do jams, experiment with parts we haven’t tried before, all the fun things like that, and we can do that now because we’re synced in together.
How did you start playing music? Was it a childhood dream?
I started playing guitar when I was 12-13 years old, just hanging out with my friends. I wanted to be Eddie Vedder. Music has always grabbed me, but once I got that first taste I just dove in and started writing as many songs as I could. Yeah, it was definitely a childhood dream. What kid doesn’t want to be a rock star?
Where do you draw the inspiration for the songs you write?
Life, relationships, touring, struggle, the world around me. All the songs we write are basically from what the band and I are experiencing at that time in our life, but I try not to be too overt about the meanings. I want people to be able to hear the songs and take their own meanings out of it. The emotions behind most of the songs are universal, so I want the listener to be able to take away from the song what it means to them, not necessarily what I wrote it about. At the end of the day, that’s what counts – that emotional connection.
Who are your musical influences?
I grew up listening to oldies via my mom, and then came southern and classic rock. A little later on, my older sister corrupted me with all kinds of music, but most notably she blew my mind with Pearl Jam’s 10, and the whole Seattle movement soon followed. My writing style is heavily influenced by the Seattle bands of the early 90’s: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, the list goes on.
You are currently on a national tour with Amaranthe and Butcher Babies. Tell us a few things about your experience so far…
The tour has been great so far. Both bands and crews have been so amazing this whole run. It’s not always the case, but on this tour every single person is down to earth and friendly, just class acts all around. The tour package is definitely unique, but I think it’s been going over really well having such a variety in the music every night. We were initially worried that maybe the metal fans might not take to our sound so much, but the reaction has been outstanding, and we’re very thankful to be here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1fYJO2-Hkg]
If I’d ask you to describe me the weirdest thing that ever happened to you during a live, what would it be?
On our last tour with Theory of a Deadman, we played at First Avenue in Minneapolis, and during their show, the roof caved in, and the whole venue was evacuated and flooding. That was pretty crazy, but luckily the fans and everybody ended up being okay. Here’s a more fun one: last year on the Flyleaf tour, we played a show in Portland, Oregon, on Halloween in drag (as sex workers). After the show, I literally got roofied by somebody at the bar next door, and then we drove eight hours down to San Francisco. That was definitely one of the craziest and most stressful nights we’ve ever had, but it’s hilarious in retrospect.
Oh geez! Sounds like a crazy time! Are there any musicians out there that you are anxious to work with and not get roofied with?
As far as collaborations, working with Eddie Vedder, Jim James, Dave Grohl, and Chris Cornell would all be dreams come true. As far as touring bands, we realistically would love to link up with Wilson, Monster Truck, or Crobot. Our dream tour would be Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam.
What are your future plans? Maybe started already planning your next album…?
We’re planning on touring heavily on Revival for this upcoming year, and we’re looking to hit the road hard in February. In our downtime, we’ll be writing and demoing new songs, perhaps for an EP a little ways down the road. Nothing specific on that front yet. Follow us on the Internet if you’d like to keep up with tour dates and other fun things, though! We run our own Facebook, so fans, feel free to interact! We love you guys. Thanks for this interview, and I hope you enjoy listening to Revival as much as we enjoyed making it!
