Q&A with Lovedrug

Lovedrug

While they have been on quite the hiatus, Lovedrug will be bursting out of the seams pretty strongly in 2010 with a wagon-load of new material– some of which The Blue Indian shared with you HERE. While they were on break, I got the chance to chat with Jeremy from the band. We talked about everything from Audrey Hepburn, The Militia Group (their former label), and their plans for the very near future.

Blue Indian (Luke Goddard): Hello. Thanks for chatting with The Blue Indian! Who do we have here? Your role in the band?

Lovedrug: Hello Hello. My name is Jeremy and I play guitar and synthesizers.

BI: I must say we’re massive fans around these parts. In the most non-homosexual way possible, I sort of fell in love with Michael’s vocal abilities when I first listened to you guys. It’s seriously sick what he does.

LD: Thanks…we appreciate the support! And yes, I agree. I’ve always loved Michael’s voice, even before we played music together. He’s great. I’m jealous of his abilities for sure. Maybe I’ll steal them while he’s sleeping at night.

BI: What’s it like being on The Militia Group. We recently interviewed Denison Witmer (yet to be published). He’s a nice guy. Ever worked with him? If you guys did a stripped down, raw acoustic EP, that’d be an interesting fella to collaborate with.

LD: Militia Group….ha. Hmmmm…what to say. I’ll just say that we are VERY happy to be free agents right now. Anyways…on to nice things…we have played shows with Denison Witmer in the past…good stuff.

BI: Tell us about yourself. What’s something hardly no one knows about the guys in Lovedrug?

LD: Not many people know that I arm wrestled a prostitute in Germany. Also, we all grew up in pastors families. Michael was a security guard at a mall once.

BI: You guys on break from touring right now? Also, is it pretty tough to manage two lifestyles: the indie rock-star life and whatever you guys do from 9-5?

LD: Indeed. The last tour we did was in Europe in June.  I miss being on the road. I start to freak out if I’m home for more than 3 weeks. I’m pulling my hair out now. When we are home, we write a whole bunch. We’ve been recording our own demos lately. I love doing that. It’s very exciting…but at the same time, I love traveling and playing live. I guess it’s nice to be home for a bit. After we record, we go bowling. I score a 300. Not a huge deal.

BI: Is Canton, OH a hot spot? Any bands around that area that we need to check out?

LD: We actually live in Alliance, Ohio..which is smaller than Canton. It’d be a ghost town if it wasn’t for the college here. We do have a castle in Alliance, but it was taken over by the school. So no more princesses. There isn’t really a music scene here. I mean, the Black Keys started in Akron which is 20 minutes away. That’s pretty cool, but no scene here at all.

BI: You guys did a song called “Thieving,” released on the 2007 record, “Everything Starts Where It Ends.” Dude, that song may be the greatest thing that’s happened in the indie-rock circuit in the past 5 years, at least. Seriously, beautiful.

LD: Ah thanks man…that’s very kind. I enjoy playing that one.

BI: What song gets the biggest response from fans at a Lovedrug show?

LD: People seem to really enjoy when we play “Blood Like and Doomsday” and “the Echo.” Or maybe that’s me just enjoying those ones and assuming everyone else is too. “Blackout,” too.

BI: So, let’s say you’re getting ready to plan a massive tour. You can choose any band in the world to tour with. Who is it?

LD: Oh man…It’d be hard to pick just one. If Jeff Buckley was still alive I’d say him. Pearl Jam would be awesome. The Cocteau Twins…and Chris Isaak..hearing wicked game every night would be heaven. Ok ok…we’d play then Cocteau Twins then Chris Isaak then Pearl jam. Sounds good to me.

BI: What’s keeping you inspired these days? I mean, we’re  in a recession, economically. How do you escape from this reality? As a band who have to sell records, do you embrace this situation or find ways around it?

LD: We just love writing and playing music. I don’t know what else I’d do if I didn’t have music. No one buys records anymore…we make our money from touring. But it’s ok….like I said we just love music. We are willing to work day jobs when we have to… Especially with these new songs we’ve been writing. We are so excited to share them with everyone because they are our hearts. Nothing will stop us from doing that.

BI: Musically, who are you really into these days?

LD: “Band of Skulls” is probably my new favorite band. I am seeing them in a couple of days…very excited. I really dig the newest “Yeah Yeah Yeahs” album. I’ve been listening to “the Animals” a lot lately too. I love them.

BI: What’s been your favorite band that you’ve toured with so far?

LD: When we went to Europe this past summer, we played with “Eagles of Death Metal.” Those guys are awesome. One of the best live bands I’ve seen.

BI: We’re in the process of interviewing Joel Hamilton from The Working Title. He’s a truly great experience live. Are you familiar with who I’m talking about?

LD: I’m not familiar. Maybe some of the other guys are. I must be out of the loop. I’ll check it out.

BI: Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn?

LD: Audrey Hepburn…or actually, Judy Garland?

BI: You plan on releasing your next record with The Militia Group?

LD: Nope.  We are very excited about the things to come.

BI: Any hot news off the press for Lovedrug fans that you’d be willing to leak right now?

LD: Good things are coming! We are very excited about the new songs we’ve been writing. We have a whole bunch recorded. No specific release date…everything is still being worked out. As for now, we are happy to give some of our demos away for free on PureVolume and iLike.

BI: Man, thanks for answering our random questions. We enjoyed it.