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Thanks to everyone who came down to Underbara Bar last wednesday. Had a blast. Felt great to play some of the new songs prior to going into the studio.
Planning to record a new single at Helter Skelter studio in a couple of week’s time. Should be out sometime in June, if everything goes to plan. I’ll keep you informed.
Hey Stockholmers,
I will be playing live with the band this Wednesday 20th April at Underbara Bar in Stockholm. We just had a completely kick-ass rehearsal and expectations are high that this might be a classic gig. Don’t miss it.
Doors open from 17.00.
Onstage 21.30 sharp.
Address: Östgötagatan 33.
Closest tube: Medborgarplatsen.
Our beloved drummer, Richard, joined us in the rehearsal studio last night for the first time in a long time, having taken some time off for some other projects. The sparks flew immediately (in a good way) and after about 5 seconds it was as if he had never been away. We were all smiles and nervous giggles after the rehearsal.
Richard will be with us at our next gig at Underbara Bar in Stockholm on the 20th April, and I am hoping that he will be with us for the foreseeable future, especially as we are looking to record a new album some time in the coming months.
Hey. I’m playing at Underbara Bar in Stockholm on April 20th. Come down and kick off Easter a day early! Click here for more info.
Thanks to everyone who came down to the Southside Cavern last friday. We had a great time and it was fun to finally be able to incorporate Nicke’s guitar-work into the more intimate gig structure. I have just posted a little discussion on my new/old facebook page regarding the future use of drums or not. Go check it out and feel free to leave a comment reflecting your own opinion. Follow the link here.
Next booked gig is on Wednesday 20th April at Underbara Bar in Stockholm. Hope to see you there.
Hey!
Come down this friday to the Cavern at Southside, Zinkensdamm. I will be playing, as will a couple of other bands. Go the gig page on this website for more details. Hope to see you there!
Thanks to everyone who came down the show at Hemma hos Fanny/ Pet Sounds Bar on thursday! I really like playing these intimate acoustic shows, and am always so pleased to hear from people afterwards how much they are appreciated. The minimal approach with bass, vocals and piano/trumpet seems to be a bit of a winner for many listeners.
A common question after these shows is whether I prefer the minimalistic acoustic format or whether I prefer to play with a full band. My answer is usually that I prefer both, which may be a disappointment to those listeners who would like a definitive answer. I am not trying to be coy with this response. I love playing acoustic gigs. The naked intimacy they generate is beautiful and delicate, and there is a subtle power in it. My voice is given a very central role and I am one of those who finds the human voice to be the most emotive of all the musical instruments. At the same time, I find it is more fun, musically, to play with a full band. The feeling of several individuals who are able to unite and express a common theme is powerful, to feel the band working as though one single unit is one of the most powerful feelings I have experienced in life. A band also allows for a greater depth of nuance in the music, where hidden meanings and alternative interpretations arise.
All of this sounds a bit wishy-washy perhaps. Possibly I am not explaining it as clearly as I would like to. In the final analysis, I will continue to play in both formats, because I enjoy them both and feel that they allow me to explore different aspects of musical expression.
Also, it is not really possible to play all of my songs in the minimal acoustic format, as not all of the songs are suited to such a bare interpretation.
I will also add that it can be pretty fucking scary to sit alone in front of a group of strangers and pour your heart out through a song. Exhilarating but frightening. It can be more difficult to turn off all of the other thoughts rushing through your head: ‘Does this sound right?’, ‘Am I in tune?’, ‘Did I forget a line?’, ‘Is there too much bass in the mix?’, ‘I can’t see what I am playing because of the angle of this chair’ etc. The art of playing live, in my experience, is being able to turn all of these thoughts off and only feel the song, the moment. This can be difficult, and the nakedness of playing solo can make it more difficult sometimes because of the knowledge that all rests upon you, and the fear that some catastrophic mistake will occur imminently. But that is the art. I am not the master, but only the disciple.
At any rate: the Pet Sounds gig was great! Thanks to everyone who came along and to all those who bought records afterwards and said so many nice things.
love
Lucas
Hej!
I am really looking forward to playing an acoustic set at Pet Sounds Bar on Thursday 23rd September. Sven should be there playing piano with me, and I am trying to convince Calle Ekerstam to take some time out of his busy guitar-playing schedule to play a few songs with me as well.
Hope to see you there!
Lucas
Hi!
just posted a few songs up on the triple j unearthed site. Go in there and write a review for me! Make it a good’un.
You can also request any of the songs from my recent record – Another Way to Say Goodbye – for airplay on triple j (I reckon ‘Goodbye’ is a great little triple j song…). Do it and make my day. Always fun to get airplay in Oz.
take it easy
Lucas
Last night’s gig at Klubb Springfield in Stockholm was super, despite a rather stressful start. I haven’t played there before, but club promoters Jimmy and Marie made both Sven and I feel super welcome right from the get go. Apparently it was Jimmy’s birthday and I can tell you he was in a mighty fine mood from the start.
It looked a bit shaky when the electronics in my bass died suddenly about 30 seconds before I was to go on stage. The audience – and especially Jimmy – looked pretty anxious as I borrowed a screwdriver and started digging around in the bowels of the instrument in front of everyone. In the end it was a member of the audience who made the gig possible. A random sound engineer having a night out called Jonathan came to the rescue and sat down by the mixer box and sorted things out. A big shout out to Jonathan – good work dude.
It was great to see so many new faces at the gig and it was fun to be able to premiere a few brand new songs. Thanks to everyone who came down. Sven and I had a great night. There will hopefully be a couple of new gigs, both acoustic and with the full band, in the near future. There have been some rumours that my current drummer might be leaving the band, in which case I will need to find a new one, but hopefully it won’t be too difficult.
Lucas
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