Some more good old rock for your Sunday listening, excellent guitar work and I’m picking up on those LA 70s vibe going on as well. Reminds me of Promised Land Sound and that’s a good thing. give a listen to Heartwood, today…. from their soundcloud
Heartwood is an Alternative Indie Rock band from Downtown Los Angeles. After meeting in 2013, they quickly realized that their musical energy and camaraderie was undeniable. Their influences include rock legends such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Led Zeppelin and The Beach Boys, as well as modern acts like Radiohead, The Arctic Monkeys, and Green Day. Based on a deep-rooted appreciation for their heroes of the past, the band creates their own stamp on Rock n’ Roll with a fusion of pop-oriented hooks, creative soundscaping and in-your-face trombone solos. Heartwood is on a mission to bring rock back to the forefront of music, and with these new elements they are sculpting a rock and roll of the future.
Hi our name is….
Heartwood
People say we sound like…..
The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, and Radiohead combined
We are….
Michael, James, Pat, and Chris
We are from…….
Sunny Los Angeles!
Who are some that have an influence on you
Some of our heroes are CSNY, The White Stripes, Radiohead, and Pink Floyd
How old were all of you when you started to play and who plays what in the band
Michael plays guitar, trombone, and sings. He’s played trombone since he was 8.
Chris plays bass and sings. He’s played bass since he was 14.
Pat plays guitar and sings. He’s played guitar since he was 11.
James plays drums and sings. He’s played drums since he was 10.
Can you tell us about the process you use, from writing the songs all the way
through getting the songs out…
It started with just Michael writing the songs, but pretty soon Chris started
bringing songs in, and honestly we all hang out very often and songs kind of just
get written when we’re together. Michael’s kind of the lyricist and Chris is kind of
the melodic guy, but no position is absolute by any stretch of the imagination.
Regardless, once we have chords, melody, most lyrics, and a basic form. We’ll
bring it to rehearsal to test out the instrumentation, what we want each section of
the song to sound like, etc. It’s all very collaborative; everyone usually has at
least one idea realized on every song. Then we have a live version of the song
completed. Whenever it comes recording time, we usually get down the live
version first, with the basic 2 guitars, bass, drums recorded, then we move on to
see if there’s anything we’d like to add to spice it up as a record. That’s basically
the whole process.
your thoughts on the state of rock ‘n’ roll in 2015….
It’s hibernating a little bit at the moment. When it comes down to it, Rock is a
feeling — a very guttural feeling. There are plenty of ways to make that happen,
but at the end of the day that’s what Rock is. Right now there aren’t very many
people creating that feeling, but it comes in waves. There’s no doubt in our minds
that the next wave is coming soon.
what are some of the challenges you face as musicians and how have you
overcome those challenges
This industry is very difficult, and there are inherent aspects of it that can easily
demotivate you. It’s very hard to get your music heard and cut through the noise.
But we strongly believe in the music we make, and we’ve begun to realize that’s
all the matters in the end.
A few albums that you can’t go too long without listening to….
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco (Michael)
American Idiot by Green Day (James)
13.0.0.0.0 by This Town Needs Guns (Chris)
Abbey Road by The Beatles (Pat)
If you could pick any time to travel back to for music, where would you go and
what year would it ….
I think we’re split on this one, but the late 60’s were awesome, as well as 92-98.
Who are all of you currently listening to ….
Staple Singers – Michael
The Robert Glasper Experiment – James
Meshuggah – Chris
Kendrick Lamar – Pat
If you could open for any Band right now who would that be and why?
Hm… Probably a band like Cage the Elephant or Arctic Monkeys. We strongly
resonate with their music.
My youngest is 13 and in a band, what advice can you give him….
Practice smart. If you really love it, keep doing it and don’t be afraid to look at the
areas you need to improve in. That’s how you get better the most quickly.
Our plans for 2015..
Release these new singles we have lined up and play as many shows as
possible. We’re really trying to get our music out there and if we get enough
support we’ll try to get a tour going by the end of the year.
you can keep up/follow Heartwood….
