You ever hear something that really defies a label, you dig it, but it's so completely different, there is truly no way to classify it? Well if you haven't heard of Leeches of Lore before, we kindly introduce you to something completely different.
With a number of influences that clearly come through on the bands self-titled debut album, Steve Hammond, lead singer, guitarist and bass player took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with Neutronium Core about the debut album, what inspires the band and what is coming up.
The Core: Let's start from the beginning, who inspired you to pick up a guitar and start playing?
Steve Hammond: Well, I don't think it was any one person or band. I have two older brothers who I discovered a lot of classic rock through when I was a kid, but I think the big thing was when I started skateboarding at about 10 or 11.
This was the late 80's and thrash was huge, I had a subscription to Thrasher Magazine and they had a music section in the back. This got me into a lot of thrash and punk bands, as well as underground stuff like Sonic Youth and Melvins.
Then I would seek out tapes of the bands I thought sounded cool, although I'd have to either steal or buy them in secret because there was no way my fundamentalist Christian parents would let me have most of that stuff. In fact, they went through a tape burning phase.
I grew up on a farm in Kansas and would stash shoe boxes of tapes in various barns, grain bins, wood piles, etc. in an attempt to hide my growing collection from my folks. Inevitably, they would find them, and I'd have to watch them burn my precious collection in front of me. I think that just fueled it for me though.
I talked my folks into getting me a guitar and amp at 12, and immediately started recording albums that I wrote myself. I have a musical record of myself from that point on. I still have the first album I conceived and recorded, very badly performed thrash and punk. It just went downhill from there.
The Core: Given that you are a multi-instrumentalist, what was the first instrument you learned how to play?
Steve Hammond: Guitar. Anything else I play I wouldn't really say I have a good handle on. I picked up steel guitar when we needed one for the traditional Honky Tonk band I was in. I love playing steel guitar, but I wouldn't say I'm good at it. I am very talented at the Kazoo, though.
The Core: Where does the name Leeches of Lore come from? Any insight on its meaning?
Steve Hammond: It's really just some silly sci-fi shit I made up. I wrote the song "Leeches of Lore" first, and thought it would make a decent band name. Most band names are stupid, "Leeches of Lore" is no different.
The Core: Leeches of Lore really has a unique take on music, how would you describe the band to someone who hasn't heard you before?
Steve Hammond: That's a hard one. We always get comparisons from people who review us, and I would say most of that isn't too far off. Things like "The Ween of Metal", or "Country Western Thrash" or what have you, touch on a part of what we are.
We started this band with the idea of doing whatever we wanted. We listen to a lot of different stuff, so that comes out in what we do. But we aren't in this to be just a novelty, and we try to do something that's a little more timeless than just the current metal scene or whatever. If you look at two of the most popular bands ever, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, these were bands that had all kinds of influences and were experimenting all the time.
Now I'm not going make the mistake of comparing us to these timeless bands, but I think our approach is similar. I feel like we could release anything and it would still be Leeches of Lore. So I guess the answer to the question is: "I don't know".
The Core: How did you get hooked up with Andy Lutz (drummer) and start playing together?
Steve Hammond: Andy and I worked at a coffee shop together. He heard me listening to the Melvins one day, and told me he loved them. I asked him if he played drums, he said he used to, but it had been about eight years. We borrowed some drums, we "jammed" and that's about it. He really gets better all the time, even though he's kind of a dick.
The Core: Who do you see as your target audience?Steve Hammond: I think everyone should like us, but it seems like the heavier, stoner, weird, whatever crowd likes us the most. If we are targeting someone, I don't think there should be any limits.
The Core: Where do you find inspiration from for creating songs? Any specific songs you would like to call out and give some background on?
Steve Hammond: I spent a lot of time in bands writing songs about getting fucked up, getting laid, the usual rock and roll topics. I also have written a substantial amount of country love songs. I find all of this very boring.
There is a huge untapped reservoir of subject matter, whether it be biology, physics, history, or the massive amount of projected fiction that goes along with these kind of subjects. The song "Macrochelys Temminckii" for example is about the alligator snapping turtle, one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world. "Why, Toe-Bot?" on the other hand is about a robot toe killing people.
The Core: Any plans on playing outside of New Mexico in the near future? You know we have Tiki Lounges in California that would welcome you too...
Steve Hammond: We've been together for about a year and a half and in that time have had two tours, mostly in the Midwest. We will be hitting the West Coast this fall, probably October, for an extensive tour. We can always use help, so if you are reading this and can hook us up with a show, please contact me flyingmidgetrecords@yahoo.com
The Core: Anything else?
There is recent live video of Leeches of Lore and even more recent audio, which can be found here
We are recording the second album this summer, and will probably shop it around for awhile.
You can download free tracks from our now out of print EP and a couple of my solo albums, and also buy albums of previous bands I've been in at www.flyingmidgetrecords.com
"Leeches of Lore" (the album) is available at All That is Heavy
Thank you very much for having me.
Thank you Steve, we really appreciate your time in responding. We are hoping to catch you live when you make it out to California.
We hope to have our review of the Leeches of Lore self-titled album up shortly!
Posts
