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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Lost Ocean Interview: Dr. BLT interviews “Bakersfield’s Beatles” on the heels of a projected summer CD release Ironically enough, Lost Ocean is one of those bands I’m not out looking for, but always seem to find. <http://www.tollbooth.org/2007/features/losto.html>http://www.tollbooth.org/2007/features/losto.html Every time I find them, I find myself thrilled at what they are doing musically, and I find a story behind every song. Most of the time, their stories inspire me to write stories of my own and put them into song, like this one, inspired by their courageous determination to press on, even after their emancipation from EMI: Said
Good-bye to EMI
There is another song that was inspired by the interview you’re about to partake of. It’s called "Beatles of Bakersfield," but I’ll save that for the end so that I can get off the stage and make way for the band. Go ahead. Don’t be shy. Step up, and listen in to our latest conversation. Eaves-dropping is allowed when it comes to these sorts of interviews, in fact, it’s encouraged! Dr. BLT: Is the song you ended with from your forthcoming CD? Skyler Johnson (keyboard player): Correct. That one’s "Every Word She Said," and that’s up on our My Space right now. It’s one of the one’s we recorded early last year. We will be recording the rest of the record over the next couple of months, and we plan to release it over the summer.
Sky: Writing, recording---rehearsing the heck out of the songs. We’ll be laying them down ourselves---doing everything ourselves again. It’s fun, it’s refreshing, and it’s completely different. It’s great for us. Dr. BLT: What are you guys doing here today? Jeff Grey (lead singer/guitar player): Well, we’re just doing an event--they’re re-opening Solomon’s Porch. It’s a fun event for families to come and enjoy some music. There are some worship bands here today as well. We’re just helping to support that, and just having some fun in the community. Dr. BLT: You know, my wife actually started Solomon’s Porch, so it’s good to know that it’s still going on after all of these years. Jeff: So, what’s the story. I’m a little out of the loop. Dr. BLT: Well, this was way back in the early 90s. Her and a friend got together and came up with the idea and then got it off the ground. It wasn’t located here, it was actually just around the corner, and it was smaller. Jeff: And then it was closed for awhile? Dr. BLT: That’s right, and you guys are helping to bring it back. So, can you tell me what type of music you’ve been getting into as a band? Jeff: Songs that we love: Verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge sort of stuff. We’re making sure that we love every part of it. We’re done with the writing, so now we’re working on more exciting intro’s and more intricate playing parts. The songs are there, and we’re ready to record our next CD. Dr. BLT: What’s giving you inspiration these days? Jeff: You know, life is changing a lot. I’ve been seeing my friends grow in Christ, and my relationship with my wife is inspiring me a lot lately. Let’s see, musically, I just got the new Fray CD, that’s a really poppy CD, and I’m still listening to and enjoying bands like the Arcade Fire and that kind of stuff. Dr. BLT: You guys seem to me to represent a new wave of music in Bakersfield---not new wave style, but on the cusp of a new local musical movement. First we had the Bakersfield sound, then, years later, it was Korn, and now it’s sort of a Bakersfield post-British invasion emerging, with you guys taking the lead. Jeff: Yeah, there’s a bit of a British influence in there, and we also focus in on Sky, our piano player, making sure his parts are able to stand out and be unique. A lot of bands have pianos and maybe the lead singer plays piano and real simple chords, but in our band, I play simple chords on the guitar, and Sky will take over with more complex parts on the piano. Dr. BLT: Well, let’s talk for a moment about the nu Bakersfield sound underground, and how you guys tie in with the whole Kccrocker movement or Nu Bako sound. You guys kind of remind me of Buck Owen’s favorite band---the Beatles. Of course you have your own, unique and new sound, but there are certain aspects of the band, and of the music that contain that Beatlesque quality. Jeff: I’ve always been very influenced by them, there was something about seeing their comraderythey were such great friends. The four of us have that. It’s coincidence that we all have the same hairdo though. But we all get along really well. BLT: Well, that’s why I’ve nicknamed you guys The Beatles of Bakersfield. Jeff: (laughter, then…) Hey, that’s okay with us! Dr. BLT: Hey, great talking with you, thanks for taking the time. Dr. BLT: And, Bret, how are you doing today? Bret Black: Super! Dr. BLT: So tell what you’ve been doing with your band mates.
Dr. BLT: Would you give me a little sneak preview of what to expect about the new CD in terms of the style, and the flavor, maybe a description of one or two of the songs? Bret: We have 2 songs on our My Space---"Good Morning" and "Every Word She Said". I’d say the stuff is somewhere between that and the first CD that we put out. It’s not quite as poppy. I would say those two are the poppiest out of all of the songs. It’s not as dark, and moody as our last CD. It has some cool stuff in it. Dr. BLT: You guys sound really great, really vibrant today. Bret: Thank you. Dr. BLT: You’ve got some awesome stuff. Good to see you and good to hear you play once again. Dr. BLT: So, how’s it going for you today, Chris? Christopher Short (drummer): It’s good. Dr. BLT: I want to thank you for inviting me here today. It was kind of like a divine intervention, or a divine appointment, the way we met up at Starbucks early this morning. Christopher: Absolutely! Christopher: That’s the place where I’m working on my CD, and that brief encounter that led to this may actually be incorporated into a song I’m working on. The CD is about my experiences and encounters at that very Starbucks on Rosedale Highway near Calloway. (laughter…and then…) That’s awesome! That’s absolutely awesome! Dr. BLT: Well that brief encounter led to this, and I must say, you guys are doing a great job up there on that stage. I arrived a little late. What songs did you play before I got here? Christopher: We played several off of the upcoming record, scheduled to be released early this summer. We played one called "Lose Your Love Like That," and "Good Morning," the ones on My Space---<http://www.MySpace.com/LostOcean>http://www.MySpace.com/LostOcean, and we played some off of the old record. We now have an online merchandise store and we’ve added a couple of other plugs on there. Dr. BLT: (Knowing that losing one’s label can be a sensitive subject with bands and artists, I wasn’t sure how to bring this one up, so I just threw it out there, up front and center)..Are you still signed with a major label, or are you independent? Christopher: We are independent now. EMI… our Credential recordings, kind of went under, a lot of the bands on the label kind of imploded, and…we’re doing this new record ourselves. Dr. BLT: I like that independent spirit. That’s what the Bakersfield sound underground is all about---that and the whole idea of the old and the new coming together. You guys certainly are all about that as well. As I’ve mentioned to some of your band-mates, I call you guys the Beatles of Bakersfield. I think you guys are going to start some kind of Bakersfield post-British invasion or something, you and acts like Boasting Weak, you’re really onto something with this refreshing approach. Christopher: Possibly. Hopefully. Dr. BLT: I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. ------------------------------------------------- Well… there you have it, another classic interview with another classy band, possibly one of the classiest acts to surface in a long, long time). I wonder where I’ll find Lost Ocean next time, and what they will be up to. I know this: It will be something worthwhile and worthy of praise. Beatles
of Bakersfield
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Dr.
BLT: What have you guys been up to lately?
Bret:
Well, we’ve been writing since last year, and we’ve kind of just decided
the songs we want to record. So we’ve been transitioning from writing
to recording. Since we’re planning on recording, we plan on doing
any touring out of town until the CD is complete. It’s a really normal
lifestyle for the time being.