Today we have a “Meet The Band” with LUMPS who are working on some new tunes with our friends at King Pizza Records. Very cool tunes that rock throughout, well written and the music is killer. The Album is tight and it keeps you glued in waiting to hear what’s coming up next. Good stuff, give a listen and tell your friends about LUMPS….
Hi our name is….
LUMPS (all caps)
our sound is……
Sam- I’d say that we (on a good day!) sound like what would happen if
Wire were into comic books and wrote an album of girl group songs,
which was subsequently covered in its entirety by… not drive like
jehu exactly, but some band that REALLY loved drive by jehu. The songs
are pop songs, with choruses and everything, but the parts that make
them up are a weird mix of the really repetitive and the totally non
repetitive, and while they certainly fit together, they never quite do
it the way that you’d expect. It’s all Aaron’s fault. He spends months
and months and writes these intricate songs that are like 2 and half
minutes long and incredibly confusing to play. Believe me, because I
have to play them.
We are….
Aaron Hester (guitar, lead vocal)
Ara Arnn (bass, back vocal)
Rory Fortune (drums)
…and until very recently, Sam Backer (guitar, back vocal)
We are from…….
Aaron- Brooklyn, NY with roots in San Diego, CA. However, originally
the band formed in San Francisco, CA.
Who are some that have an influence on you
Aaron- Hot Snakes, The Monks, Thee Oh Sees, Talking Heads, Beehive &
the Barracudas, The Music Machine, Wire, Tanner, Neu!, Unwound, The
Kinks, Barry and the Remains, you get the idea
Sam- I like Devo and Chuck Berry
How old were all of you when you started to play and who plays what in the band
Aaron- I started playing music when I was probably about 8 or 9. I
started with keyboard and very briefly violin before I began playing
saxophone. I still feel I’m more of a saxophonist but I’ve been
teaching myself how to play guitar since I was 10 or 11. Now I guess
I’m a guitarist.
Ara – picked up guitar in high school and I’ve fiddled around since.
Never played bass until I joined LUMPS about three years ago.
Rory- Started playing drums when I was 10 or 11 and stopped playing in
my mid 20’s. Have picked it up again recently.
Sam- I started playing clarinet when I was about 8. Started playing
guitar at 14.
Can you tell us about the process you use, from writing the songs all
the way through getting the songs out
Aaron- Well, so far LUMPS has been mostly my project. I write all the
guitar, bass and vocal parts with a drum machine and records demos of
new songs for the others to learn and adapt to their own playing
styles. We’ve been playing these songs live for quite awhile as a full
band and have just recently started working on getting them recorded
as a four piece. We did the drum and bass tracks live at The Seaside
Lounge in Park Slope Brooklyn. Everything else we did ourselves in my
basement. As far as getting them out, as of right now we’re planning
on putting some of them out on cassette with King Pizza Records here
in Brooklyn.
what are some of the challenges you face as musicians and how have
you overcome those challenges
There are always challenges. To overcome all the challenges would make
it less interesting. Therefore we are a very interesting band based on
that statement. We all have conflicting schedules so it’s very
difficult for us to schedule time for practice. It’s not completely
uncommon for us to play a show as a one, two or three piece band at
the last minute because something has come up with a member that keeps
him from making it. This approach is definitely one way to keep
audiences on their toes as far as knowing what to expect from us.
Also, booking can be a difficult task. Mainly because when you set up
a show, you’re dealing with a lot of musicians and trying to get them
to commit to something that wasn’t originally their idea. This
situation works completely against the nature of typical musician
behavior, which is really the crux of our art.
1st rock concert you went to and age….
Aaron- My first concert was not a “rock” concert but the first
somewhat all “rock” line up I attended was Agent GDC, Blink (before
the 182), Buck-O-Nine, and Voodoo Glow Skulls at age 13.
Ara – probably when the Beach Boys would play after Padres games when
I was little. It was the sad 1980s version without Brian Wilson. My
first “real show” was No Knife.
Rory- Slayer and Morbid Angel on the Seasons in the Abyss tour in
1990. I was 13.
Sam- Rory, that’s super rad. My first show was Dinosaur Jnr’s reunion
tour in 2005.
coolest band t-shirt you ever bought…
Aaron- that’s a tough one. How do you rate the coolness of a t-shirt?
I would have to say my Drive Like Jehu shirt because it’s the only
band t-shirt I’ve bought twice.
Ara – the Rocket from the Crypt one with just their band logo. Classic design.
Rory- In Junior High, I had a Fear Factory tee shirt with some stupid
quote about how every minute someone dies in America from violence and
everyone thought it was really hard core at the time.
Sam- my LUMPS shirt, which I finally just got, and which will stay in
mint condition because it’s fucking disgusting.
the most insane concert you ever went to or were a part of….
Aaron- That would have to be an Oh Sees show. There are 2 that tie.
The first was a free show at Serra Bowl just outside San Francisco
with Sic Alps, Fresh and Onlys, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, and
Thee Oh Sees. There was no stage and all the bands played in the
arcade/snack shack of the bowling alley. There were just way too many
hot and sweaty people. My buddy Jay and I were right up front trying
to dance and keep people from pushing us on to the drum kit. It was
complete mayhem. The other was the first time I saw Thee Oh Sees after
moving to Brooklyn at 285 Kent. I ended up being John Dwyer’s human
mic stand for his amp through most of the show. Between the people
swarming around the band onstage and crappy venue equipment, it was
definitely necessary. See their Pitchfork +1 episode for visuals.
Ara – Crash Worship. Look them up on Youtube and you’ll understand.
Rory- A soul band in San Diego played on the 4th of July and the organ
player got in a fight with the other band members on stage. It was
pathetic.
Sam- This battle of the bands in Katonah when I was 18. There was this
band, and the guitar player was all chill like- “I don’t need to solo”
and the drummer sang high back-up harmonies, and the bass player had a
shaved head and was laying down these super fast super flea like lines
and the singer was this dramatic theatre kid. And they ended their set
with a “give everyone some” song where all the band members took
solos. And it ended with the drummer and the bass player trading solos
back and forth and back and forth. and then the singer, he just jumps
to the front of the stage, and motions for them to stop. Dead Stop.
Total Silence. And then the motherfucker started tap-dancing! And I
turned to my friends and was like- “guys- I don’t think we’re gonna
win this battle of the bands”
If you could open for any Band right now who would that be and why?
Aaron- Rocket from the Crypt. I learned how to play guitar to their
records and would go see them every chance I got while growing up in
San Diego. They had a huge impact on my musical life and now that
they’re playing again, why not? It’s totally possible, right?
Sam- Rod Stewart because I want to meet rod stewart and thank him.
My youngest son is 13 and in a Band, what advice would you offer him…
Aaron- Do it for yourself. Not to be like, “DIY or die dude!,” but
kind of. Play music because you love what you’re doing. If your band
mates aren’t quite on the same page as you, that’s okay. Sometimes
those situations of compromise can be inspiring. It helps to set rules
for yourself and have goals, short term or long. And if playing with
your band isn’t making you happy, find another band or try to create
music on your own. Technology allows for that much more so than when I
was a teenager.
Rory- Listen to good bands that are heavy. 13 is such an
impressionable age for music. The best drummers and guitar players
play in heavy bands. Let that influence you when you’re young and lay
the foundation for your playing. Then you can expand into other music.
The worst thing you can do at that age is be influenced too much by a
mainstream band that will be dated and cheesy in a few years.
Sam- learn the names of the notes on your guitar. I didn’t, and it
still sucks. If I learnt one string a god-damned year, I’d have had it
by now. Also- MAKE YOUR PUNK ROCK RECORD. there’s a lifetime to play
heavy shit that’s difficult, but if you don’t make your punk rock
record before you’re 17, it’s just not gonna happen. Time’s ticking
little man!
your thoughts on the state of rock ‘n’ roll in 2015…..
Aaron- Emo grunge. Living in Brooklyn for the last four years I’ve
noticed that all the stuff I was into growing up in the 90’s is super
cool with younger musicians now. It’s weird to feel old and outdated
around kids whose idea of cool is the same that I had when I was 12.
Now I’m not cool because I’ve already done that and refuse to revert
to my teenage self. Anyway, if trends continue, 2015 rock will be very
inspired by Limp Bizkit and other rap rock. And for the record, that
was never my thing. Or maybe another ska revival. That was more my
thing. I like to dance. Not too into the silly outfits though.
Our plans for the rest of 2015…..
LUMPS will be finishing a recording to be released on cassette by King
Pizza Records. Our second guitarist, Sam Backer is moving to Baltimore
this Summer to begin a doctorate program at Johns Hopkins so until we
find a fourth, we will be existing in the old LUMPS three piece
formation. Hopefully we will either find a new guitarist or, if we can
find a new drummer, Rory may switch to guitar. When such a change
happens, either way, we will start working on new material and ideally
a new recording soon after. Keep em peeled.
Until the new music arrives…give a listen to this cool album..
