Published: March 20, 2010 3:48 AM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight March 2010 Edition
Where's Lawrence?
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Where's Lawrence? Photo by John Butler
Several weeks ago we had an online conversation with one of the members of a band that goes by the name Where's Lawrence?. Brian Kupillas of Where's Lawrence? reveals in this online conversation some fun and fascinating facts about the band and where they are heading musically. Our Webzine loves the band's sound and how each member blends nicely together in this seven-piece progressive folk-rock band from Northwest Arkansas. Another strong point to this band's magic is their unlimited energy and youth that help to form the overall cool vibe of Where's Lawrence?. Make sure to read what all Brian Kupillas of Where's Lawrence? reveals in this wonderful feature. Enjoy!
Isaac: I just listened to several songs off your new EP/CD. What was the inspiration for making your new album?
Where's Lawrence?: The only thing that hand a hand in all parts of the album was the work of Joseph Campbell. I took a class on mythology in high school and it blew my mind how amazing it all was. So, naturally I dove into it deeper, and I wanted to create my own myth. That's what the record is. A myth.
Isaac: Who were your influences?
Where's Lawrence?: Strong influences come from The Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen and Neutral Milk Hotel.
Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?
Where's Lawrence?: Highlights...well it hasn't been such a long career as of yet, so I can't say the high points are too high or the low points too low. But to answer the question, I'd say that a high point would be our tour to New York to record the album in ten days, and then the low point would be the time immediately after the recording when we just didn't do much for a while and even cut a member of the band.
Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.
Where's Lawrence?: Well there's seven of us, and each comes from a different background. It's really a band of misfits. I'm not sure if we were in a band together we'd ever think that the others could be our friends. Just because what we like and dislike can be so different sometimes and the way we all carry ourselves is pretty distant from the next one in the band. Some of us were in punk bands; others metal bands, some never in bands, and some orchestras. But now as a whole we play passionate rock music, it's progressive, it's folk inspired, but it's also inspired by all those years in metal and punk venues, orchestra recitals and drug dens.
Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?
Where's Lawrence?: The hardest part about getting gigs for us is the size of stages. Not every stage can fit seven people and all their equipment comfortably. For example, we play at a local bar in Fayetteville and two of our members have to stand on the ground in front of the stage with a few amps of ours. But I wouldn't say it's hard to get gigs, though lately there has been a dry spell. As for the music scene in the area, I like it a lot. Fayetteville has a lot of awesome talent, and awesome people who love to come out to shows and support each other. Great town to be in for sure.
Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?
Where's Lawrence?: I have this fear that indie music is losing it's depth more and more. It's more about the sounds that escape the speakers. But that's only half the equation I think. I can listen to a cool sound for a while but then I start getting bored, it's the message and the things the sound makes me think and feel that keep me interested and entertained longer. Nothing wrong with dancing from time to time, but there's more to do, isn't there? I don't listen to the radio too much, if ever. I lost my mp3 player last year and I have just been on CD's since and every now and then I can't stand to hear my CD's so I turn on the radio and just listen to 90's rock or talk radio. Then there's the Internet which is hurting the bad parts of the music business and helping the good parts, in my opinion. Mainly, because artists can do whatever they want and just put it out there immediately and there's no one to tell them what they can or cannot do. Because there's nothing standing between them and their listeners.
Isaac: This is so true!
Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?
Where's Lawrence?: I'm pretty sure most bands like this actually suck. I've never really heard of an all-star band creating anything all that great. So I just asked everybody in Where's Lawrence? to say one person they'd want to see live: Dan Sartain, Zach Hill, Jesse Lacey, Regina Spektor, Dave Davison, Noah Lennox and Derek Trucks....what a terrible band that would be.
Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?
Where's Lawrence?: We just released our first album entitled "The Boy in the Well" and it's available on iTunes, and CDbaby.com . You can buy the actual physical CD on CDbaby and just the digital tracks on iTunes.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?
Where's Lawrence?: We're on MySpace (www.myspace.com/whereslawrence) and Purevolume.
