Rock n' roll veterans Lotus Crush best known from The Voice, Driveblind, Candlebox and Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, released their sophomore album "Rabbit Hole", with great success. Frontman vocalist Terry McDermott discusses the album and some backstory on the band.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Terry: Pete and Scott are best known for being founding members of a multi-platinum American rock band: Candlebox. When I came to the US I was in a band called Driveblind from my hometown, Aberdeen, Scotland. We were on Geffen Records and I think we toured 10 months in 2006. Four of them were with Candlebox. That’s how I met Pete and Scott. We were kind of “Candlewho?” since we were from the UK and missed the fact these guys were selling millions and millions of records. When I saw these guys play for the first time when we joined the tour, I knew they were the real deal. Pete shared some demos he’d knocked together for another project he had going and I instantly heard overtones of The Verve, Pink Floyd and The Shore. We found a common love of these bands when we talked more and I guess that was the seed for Lotus Crush. Island Styles and Mark Mattrey have joined more recently but both are serious players. Real bad ass musicians. Mark played bass on all of Rabbit Hole and came highly recommended by the co-producer. He was so bloody good we asked him to join the band.
2. Why did you pick the name Lotus Crush?
Terry: We tossed the hand grenade of naming the band around FOREVER. I think all bands do, but when we recorded our first album Half Light Morning, there were all kinds of talented friends chipping in here and there to help move the record on. All with same attitude, all hopelessly addicted to making music and scraping by. We joked about the Lotus eaters of Greek mythology being a good analogy for the poor souls we counted ourselves amongst. A “crush” would you believe, is also a group of something. Hence, Lotus Crush.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Terry: The band was formed in Seattle, the label is based in Seattle and most of the members are from Seattle. Which I get a kick out of, because I never imagined when I was coming up in Scotland that I’d be in a Seattle band. I spend a lot of time up there and have done since Pete and I formed the band. It’s kind of like a weird second home and I have people there that I think of like family. I love the musical vibrancy of the city. It’s co-operative but with healthy competition. And of course it has a glittering history of producing great music. I’ve caught a few killer acts up there. I remember seeing Cody Beebe and thinking “ok….this place has got some players.” I think the best live rock show I’ve ever seen was in Seattle, but it was Scottish band Biffy Clyro at The Crocodile Cafe so my country gets that point not Seattle. Ha!
4. How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Terry: We’re half indie band, half space rock band. You can hear all the influences like Floyd and The Verve in there, and I think in more recent years I’ve personally been shaped by harder edge British indie bands. I’ve yet seen someone sum us up and thought “yeah….that’s it” so I love when people toss names out there.
5. What can people expect from Rabbit Hole, why should they be interested and check it out?
Terry: This is the best record I’ve ever been part of. It felt like it HAD to happen. Sometimes the timing sucks and you’ve got great songs but not the opportunity to make a great record. In this case we got both. I wanted to talk about the fucked up world we live in and the elephant in the room about the world turning to shit….and other such light hearted topics. I think the musical vision, coupled with the content is pretty damn concise and the way we wanted it to be. Oh….and it SOUNDS awesome.
6. Do you play live as well? What do you have planned in terms of shows and touring, if any?Terry: I’m typing this in between packing for our European tour. We’ll get a few weeks off and then we tour the US. We’ve got a second video coming out around then too (Death From Above). It’s going to be a busy year. The people in our team are all believers. They’ve heard the record. They know what we’re trying to bring to the audience out there. Have songs. Will travel.
7. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Terry: We’re a Scottish/American misfit creature of a band with a bizarre roller coaster past and these are real songs. This is a real album. That might sound obvious, but I’m tired of hearing style over content. I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with anything out there. I don’t believe we dropped the ball on a single song. There’s heart and soul all over them. If you don’t like it we’ll give you your money back* (*that last bit was actually a lie).
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Terry: We plan to be the Scottish/American touring equivalent of Cain from the TV show Kung Fu. We’re just going to roam the earth but instead of using martial arts to fight injustice, we’re bringing songs about how much deep shit we’re all in to people’s ears. That’s kind of the plan.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Terry: You need not roam the earth. We’re on all digital retailers, Spotify, Pandora etc. @lotuscrush for Twitter, Facebook.com/lotuscrushmusic for FB. You get the deal. Cheers!
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