Interview by Georgina E Robbins –
With three years of relentless gigging and an EP behind them, Los and the Deadlines have carved a name for themselves on the London Rock music scene as a unique, witty and energetic band with original lyrics and post grunge attitude. With a new EP due for release called ‘Part One : Bank’, I took the opportunity to speak with frontman Alex LoSardo about their music, writing process, inspirations and whether there were any particularly memorable fans that they’ve met on their travels…
So, Alex, what inspires the band when it comes to writing your lyrics? The first thing that stood out when listening to your music was that every day life heavily influences your music.
You are correct, there is a lot of “every day life” in there. I try to observe my surroundings and the environment in which I live. Not just experiences but conversations, interactions and moments that I’ve had or have seen before my eyes right here in London. I try to provide a little bit of narrative which I hope adds to the music being played.
Where would you say your journey began as band?
I’d say it started about 3 years ago. Although I feel “the journey as a band” really started once Niels and I started getting together more often to write music, which was during the time of preparing our first release “Metro Talk”.
Looking through your gig list I see you perform predominately in London, so do you have any hopes of going further afield? Is there anything coming up?
Yes, we are a London based band. We do plan to get out of London it’s just time, making it happen, and trying to get on some nice gigs. But yes, we want to get around a bit. I think in continental Europe and in the north of England our music could go over very well. So I do look forward to it.
Watching your video, it seems quite unique, and as I have recently given up caffeine I can appreciate the sentiment! How did you come up with the concept and what was it like making the video?
The lyrics are pretty self-exclamatory with some cheeky tongue but the message is pretty clear. I had the concept for the video. I wanted fast cuts of the city, people rushing, social pressure, FAST, GO GO GO. One more coffee please?!?! I wanted it to feel like it feels to live in a big city with “doing what you have to do” on your mind at all times. When I brought the idea to Ben Gregory (click here for website), who has done all of our album artwork and who I always try to call to bring us to life visually, he took it a step further. He read into the vibe of the song and the lyrics a bit more and incorporated some fantastic ideas. All the footage of the london streets was taken by him or myself on our phones. The rest was his creativity. Ben is an illustrator, a great artist, and super ADD. He is perfect for us.
Apart from getting to see some beautiful people in the crowd, what would you say you like most about performing?
The transmission of energy from what’s happening on the stage to those watching and listening, and them sending it back…. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what makes a great show. Beyond that, I really like listening to the musicians I’m playing with and interacting with them. We have a lot of fun up there and we don’t play reserved at all. One thing I try to remind myself and the others (when I remember too) is to “leave it all on the stage tonight”. If not, what’s the point? We play loud and energetic music. There is no reason for us to ever play reserved and I think that is liberating for all of us. There is also the suspense. I’ll always love the suspense of playing live. No matter how many shows I’ve done or how comfortable I feel, you never know what’s going to happen on a given night. That’s a fun comfort. I’m sure that’s why some bands can keep touring forever, it drives some people mad, but some live for it. Now if I could just get a van and a few grand so I can hit the damn road next week!
Has anything absolutely crazy happened at any of your gigs, like scary women appearing back stage hunting you down with their underwear, or crazed fans tearing up the stage? Obviously the most important question being . . What takes longer to prepare before a gig, your hair or your guitar?
If you’ve seen us you’d know the 5 minutes it takes for us to plug in our pedalboards and put the cymbals on the drum kit; you’d know that’s much more time than we spend on our hair. I don’t see that changing any time soon either, if ever. Crazy stories…. Hhhhmmm… The craziest thing that comes to mind is when Agostino and I got stuck in a time warp on the underground after a gig. This is for a separate interview entirely though and no one would ever believe it because it’s impossible. But that was crazier than anything that’s happened backstage or on the stage. We were sober too.
Lastly in 5 words how would you describe your sound?
Loud commentary upon awkward noises.
To find out more about the band head to losandthedeadlines.com and if you would like to hear their latest EP click here
Introducing: Los and the Deadlines
Interview by Georgina E Robbins –
With three years of relentless gigging and an EP behind them, Los and the Deadlines have carved a name for themselves on the London Rock music scene as a unique, witty and energetic band with original lyrics and post grunge attitude. With a new EP due for release called ‘Part One : Bank’, I took the opportunity to speak with frontman Alex LoSardo about their music, writing process, inspirations and whether there were any particularly memorable fans that they’ve met on their travels…
So, Alex, what inspires the band when it comes to writing your lyrics? The first thing that stood out when listening to your music was that every day life heavily influences your music.
You are correct, there is a lot of “every day life” in there. I try to observe my surroundings and the environment in which I live. Not just experiences but conversations, interactions and moments that I’ve had or have seen before my eyes right here in London. I try to provide a little bit of narrative which I hope adds to the music being played.
Where would you say your journey began as band?
I’d say it started about 3 years ago. Although I feel “the journey as a band” really started once Niels and I started getting together more often to write music, which was during the time of preparing our first release “Metro Talk”.
Looking through your gig list I see you perform predominately in London, so do you have any hopes of going further afield? Is there anything coming up?
Yes, we are a London based band. We do plan to get out of London it’s just time, making it happen, and trying to get on some nice gigs. But yes, we want to get around a bit. I think in continental Europe and in the north of England our music could go over very well. So I do look forward to it.
Watching your video, it seems quite unique, and as I have recently given up caffeine I can appreciate the sentiment! How did you come up with the concept and what was it like making the video?
The lyrics are pretty self-exclamatory with some cheeky tongue but the message is pretty clear. I had the concept for the video. I wanted fast cuts of the city, people rushing, social pressure, FAST, GO GO GO. One more coffee please?!?! I wanted it to feel like it feels to live in a big city with “doing what you have to do” on your mind at all times. When I brought the idea to Ben Gregory (click here for website), who has done all of our album artwork and who I always try to call to bring us to life visually, he took it a step further. He read into the vibe of the song and the lyrics a bit more and incorporated some fantastic ideas. All the footage of the london streets was taken by him or myself on our phones. The rest was his creativity. Ben is an illustrator, a great artist, and super ADD. He is perfect for us.
Apart from getting to see some beautiful people in the crowd, what would you say you like most about performing?
The transmission of energy from what’s happening on the stage to those watching and listening, and them sending it back…. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what makes a great show. Beyond that, I really like listening to the musicians I’m playing with and interacting with them. We have a lot of fun up there and we don’t play reserved at all. One thing I try to remind myself and the others (when I remember too) is to “leave it all on the stage tonight”. If not, what’s the point? We play loud and energetic music. There is no reason for us to ever play reserved and I think that is liberating for all of us. There is also the suspense. I’ll always love the suspense of playing live. No matter how many shows I’ve done or how comfortable I feel, you never know what’s going to happen on a given night. That’s a fun comfort. I’m sure that’s why some bands can keep touring forever, it drives some people mad, but some live for it. Now if I could just get a van and a few grand so I can hit the damn road next week!
Has anything absolutely crazy happened at any of your gigs, like scary women appearing back stage hunting you down with their underwear, or crazed fans tearing up the stage? Obviously the most important question being . . What takes longer to prepare before a gig, your hair or your guitar?
If you’ve seen us you’d know the 5 minutes it takes for us to plug in our pedalboards and put the cymbals on the drum kit; you’d know that’s much more time than we spend on our hair. I don’t see that changing any time soon either, if ever. Crazy stories…. Hhhhmmm… The craziest thing that comes to mind is when Agostino and I got stuck in a time warp on the underground after a gig. This is for a separate interview entirely though and no one would ever believe it because it’s impossible. But that was crazier than anything that’s happened backstage or on the stage. We were sober too.
Lastly in 5 words how would you describe your sound?
Loud commentary upon awkward noises.
To find out more about the band head to losandthedeadlines.com and if you would like to hear their latest EP click here