Lights Resolve are quite the handsome and talented trio. Not only will they be headlining The Deli CMJ alternative rock stage on wednesday at Arlene’s Grocery for my “Se7en Deadly Bands” Showcase, but they were the winners of the magazine’s contest for free studio time at Stadium Red Studios!
Check out the blurb on LR, and for all you special RockerStalker readers, get a special look at my interview with lead singer/guitarist Matt Reich.
It is an exciting time for Lights Resolve; your first full-length record is being released. What challenges did you have to overcome to finally get to this point?
Matt: I don’t think any of us individually have ever, in our whole career as artists, wrote and recorded a full record. Whatever bands we have been in, we have always done EP’s. We don’t cut our fabric to this year’s fashion though, so we recorded an LP at the least popular time to do it in history. I am certain, though, that this body of work is the most cohesive unit I have ever worked on. Everything makes sense and was well thought out, though there are spastic moments of impulse on the record that keep things super fresh. Challenges to get to this point? Writing a lot of music and lyrics and making enough money to do this on our own terms without somebody’s voice in our ear; we saw our vision out to the very end.
Where do you get your lyrical inspirations? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?
Matt: On this record, I took everything from my personal life, as trite as that may sound, it’s true. There’s a lot of self-deprecation but also a little bit of hope thrown in there. You can only pray that people can relate to the record with whatever struggles they are personally going through; I know music and art have helped me through most. We also took the album’s title from an older song we have called “Dreaming of Love.” The words, “feel you’re different,” took on so many meanings since then to me (about feeling fearlessly, [being a] fearfully unique/individual, and also about your ever-changing general perspective of things).
How did each of you arrive at being a part of Lights Resolve? What are the benefits and difficulties of being a trio?
Matt: Neal and I started playing together when we were freshmen in high school. We started this band in 2006 with the bassist of our old band. When he dyed his hair rainbow and went off to tour with The Veronicas we found The Duke [Luke Daniels] hidden in a rat cave on the east nook of the Manhattan River. We had to convince his rat family that he was better off in a van touring the country than pretending to be rodent scum.
Having only three people on stage is a challenge because every note is heard very clearly. We tend to use this to our advantage to cover the frequency spectrum. I’m usually playing guitar up high while The Duke covers the low end, my vocal sits in the middle and Neal provides a map that brings it all together. I think if you use the negative space well and everybody connects, a three-piece can sound larger than a band with far more people.
You have toured with numerous platinum artists. What and from whom did you learn the most?
We’ve definitely taken something away from each artist we’ve shared a stage with. Whether it’s stage presence, flow of the set, technical ability, etc. we have been a sponge around every person we’ve toured with. I think the most we’ve ever been hazed was by Handroll, the stage manager and tech for The Used. He beat the rookie out of us, with love and daggers, of course…literally.
When you are out on the town, what characteristics do you notice make the most successfully memorable bands?
Matt: I think any band that steers away from the pack makes the most impact on me. Either that, or virtuosity always gets me and makes me think I have a long road ahead. This is good though because it pushes me harder, and what is art without struggle?
What is your funniest tour story?
Matt: I can’t go into detail, but involves an avocado, an ice pick and The Duke’s left phalanges.
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