You may remember a couple of month’s ago I posted a Record of the Day with Light Beam Rider, “A Song About Some Byrdz”. You may also remember looooooving that song and wanting more. Well, it is my pleasure to give you the more you absolutely crave. Light Beam Rider is making Nashville their home away from home, coming from the good ole state of Mississippi to introduce us to a sound all of their own. Quoting Faulkner and wanting to give the world another view of the south they grew up in, they caught my attention. The sound of something better than southern and alternative rock, this is the sound of what comes next. This month they will be releasing two singles off of their highly anticipated full album that is due out February 12th, A Place to Sleep Among the Creeps. The band is planning to tour nationally in support of this latest album. Here is a preview of the first single released on the new album.
This is what Thomas Sweat, lead singer and guitarist, had to say about Light Beam Rider…
-Who is Light Beam Rider?
We are some boys from Mississippi, who enjoy making loud music together. It’s nice having 4 people who are wholeheartedly chasing this idea of making great art together that we can experience in wild high energy shows. Playing to highly engaged crowds is what keeps me doing this.
-How would you describe your sound?
The sound of riding light beams.
-The hard alt-rock, jam band sound seems to be the theme with your songs, is that the sound you are going for? Staying away from a more southern rock feel?
Yeah. We definitely grew up in the dirty south, but I was a skate rat and was heavily influenced from the music I heard on skate videos growing up. I definitely loved all the early emo stuff as well. However, learning Allman brother songs are what taught me about guitar harmonies, which we use a lot in our stuff.
-You reference your home state Mississippi so much, and the love for the place is very evident. Are you trying to be the Faulkner of your day for the great state of Mississippi?
[Laughing] That’d be tight. I actually lived in the woods behind Faulkners house in my last year at Ole Miss. However, I’m more concerned with showing the rest of the world there is a thriving music scene in Mississippi, and that we’re not just a bunch of dumb rednecks. When we travel I feel that a lot of people have a negative outlook on Mississippi and I’d like the help change that.
-Working with Winn McElroy on your latest album, A Place to Sleep Among the Creeps, what was that like?
It was great. We recorded in the woods of Water Valley, where we felt very comfortable and at home. The studio is great. Modest Mouse has rehearsed there and The Weeks did a few albums there so its cool to record somewhere that has put out some stuff that we listen to.
-Do you think your genre of Post-Rock, Prog Pop is being pretty well accepted in Nashville?
In a way. There’s just so much new stuff here. Living at the coyote Ranch with some of the Diarrhea Planet guys really helped me meet people and get our name out when we first moved here. However, The Lo-Fi stuff seems to be king here but this emo revival crowd has seemed to taken a liking to us and we are super stoked about that.
-Touring consistently in the last couple of years, do you miss home or do you love being on the road and meeting new fans?
Around 3 weeks into a tour I begin to miss home, but after I’m home for a week I’m ready to go again.
-What is a live show like for you?
Kinda drunk, wild, stumbling for something clever to say in between songs, gettin light-headed from headbanging, running into Jesse a lot.
-Who do you listen to and who influences you?
The majority of the stuff I’ve been listening to are bands my friends are in, like Free Throw, Diarrhea Planet, and Heyrocco. But Modern Baseball’s new EP has been on repeat on my phone for awhile.
-If you could play with any artist in the world, who would that be?
Michael jackson, during the “Smooth Criminal Era”.
Light Beam Rider is Thomas Sweat, Jesse Sutton (Bass), Brad Savage (Lead Guitar) and Avery Dilworth (Drums).
A huge thanks to Thomas Sweat for answering my questions and allowing me into his brain for a bit! Follow these guys on Facebook and Twitter.
