In this interview spotlight, I chat with Left Hand Lions about their new single, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We hail from all over the country. I’m from Philadelphia, Will (our guitarist) is from Tennessee, and Dylan (our percussionist) is a local Santa Barbarian. We jokingly classify our music as “Wild Americana” with elements of rock and folk intertwined with a classic Americana sound and feel. Our covers also reflect this blend, as we’ll do a Bob Dylan song, then a Dave Matthews Band song, and can follow with some Rolling Stones.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
Great question, I have to remind myself of this every day…
I like making stuff. I cook, I mess around with LEGOs, I even made an axe the other week. But nothing gets me in the zone like songwriting. I started making music when I realized that it was a great substitute for journaling (which I’ve never had the patience for). It’s a form of expression that allows me to show my true self and creates a nicely EQ’d snapshot of a time in my life.
What motivates me to stay the course is the idea that I’ll one day be able to have an entire biography written in music. Pretty cool, eh?
How is “California Flames” different than previous releases you’ve been a part of? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Releasing “California Flames” has been a way for me to recognize and honor the Santa Barbara community that has allowed me to create and perform music ever since I moved out West. The song is also a tribute to a friend of mine who died during the most recent wildfire and resulting mudslides in our city. It’s different from our previous releases in that it stands for our strength in the face of something tragic.
Do you face challenges as a musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
At times, I actually wish I started making music during analog times. While it’s exciting to be able to put yourself out there and distribute your music at the speed of light across the world, it’s also daunting to recognize and see daily that you’re just one fish in a crowded ocean. But the tools and networks that technology brings certainly help create the highest quality musical product in history, so it’s an interesting trade-off.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
We have a website! Check us out at lefthandlions.com
We also do the SoundCloud thing, so you’ll probably see new stuff there first.
We also, also do the other socials (albeit we could post silly things more frequently): Instagram and Facebook is @lefthandlions
Anything else before we sign off?
Just a brief quote that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately that has given me direction as a musician: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Keeping my priorities straight as a musician is incredibly difficult when I’m pulling myself in a thousand different directions. Do I put more time into rehearsing, do I sit down and book more gigs, do I create more content for social media—it’s hard to keep focus on the stuff that’s truly important.
But then I realized that I’m a musician because I love music…ing. I love the feeling of writing a song and performing it for the first time, of recording scratch tracks, of thinking through parts. It’s why I grind and why I want to do this forever.
