Hello Lonnieclarie! Thanks for joining us in the interview lounge today. I’m told you are well-armed with some great “dad jokes” so grab a brew and take a seat. Let’s have a wee chat.NT
Q: What made you decide to start a band?
Lonnie: First off, let me thank you…
Rico: (cuts in) Why is freezing in here? Is this where they make Soylent Green? and why does the vending machine only take Drachma coins?
Lonnie: Sorry… As I was saying, we are excited to tell you our origin story. It all started back in the 90’s, we all went to this big arena-rock show – it felt like 3 hours of therapy for 20,000 people – and we were completely transfixed. It was like a powerful spell changed us, and since then we have been hooked on trying to give our followers that feeling. Follow us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5c9BixbPcmPYzgWIOak4gw — Twitter at https://twitter.com/lonnieclaire or find all our links at https://linktr.ee/Lonnieclaire
Drux: Rico, you want to tell your big joke now.
Rico: Nah. too early.
Introduce the band and give us a little of your history?
Sage: We built Lonnieclaire brick by brick literally in a garage in Washington D. C. We broke a lot of strings at the beginning, played some local gigs, and built up the band to the point where we had three guitarists! Fast forward to the present – currently, it is me on guitar, Drux on bass, Lonnie sings and plays guitar, and Rico is on drums.
What’s one question you’re sick of being asked when interviewed?
Rico: We’re sick of people asking about what happened to those peanuts in The East Village.
Drux: I didn’t hear about that. What happened to the peanuts?
Rico: They were “a-salted”! Ha, ha, ha, ha!
We set up RGM USA and many other countries in the world to share music with America and the UK.. Do you think this is a good idea?
Sage: (serious voice) Indie music survives only because artists, bands, DJs, small radio stations, promoters, influencers, curators ect. connect with each other and share ideas.
Rico: Boring. (exaggerated yawn) Don’t you hate it when someone answers their own question? I do.
Do you subscribe to any conspiracy theories?
Drux: Everyone knows Bigfoot is totally real!
Did the band buy anything you didn’t need during the pandemic?
Drux: I overdid the dairy a bit.
Rico: Me too, did you hear the rumor about butter?
Drux: What’s that?
Rico: Nevermind, I’m not going to “spread” it. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
What useless party trick does Lonnieclaire perform?
Rico: Making banana splits
Sage: I didn’t know you made banana splits? Interesting.
Rico: Yeah I learned it at “sundae” school! Ha, ha, ha, ha!
What was the most fun you have had on stage?
Drux: I enjoy the semi-awkward moments between songs.That’s the perfect opportunity to make fun of our drummer. Like when Rico brought that goat on stage and…
Sage: (cuts in) Boys… Relax!
What was the worst experience on stage?
Drux: We’ve had every possible thing go wrong from microphones dying, amps fizzling, ankles twisted, ungrounded electric (ouch!), gear stolen, our drummer playing with no pants… No matter what, you gotta just laugh it all off.
Tell us something about Lonnieclaire that you think people would be surprised about?
Sage: We have “day” jobs…
Rico: (cuts in)Yeah I just got fired from the orange juice factory.
Drux: Seriously? How’d that happen?
Rico: Yup, I was fired for lack of “concentration” Ha, ha, ha, ha!
If you had to describe Lonnieclaire’s music to an alien how would you describe it?
Rico: If your plan is to destroy all humans, I am the one human you should save!
Drux: (laughing) Yup, the aliens could learn a lot from you.
Lonnie: Yeah I hope the aliens like lo-fi garage rock because Lonnieclaire doesn’t sound anything like that synthy stuff from Close Encounters.
What makes Lonnieclaire stand out in the Indie-Rock Community?
Drux: We don’t try to sound different, but Rico’s drumming could make a tissue dance…
Rico: Wow… Thanks, that’s actually nice to hear.
Drux: Yeah you put a little “boogie” in it (laughs heartily at his own joke)
Right now, what’s troubling you? (It could be in life or music)
Rico: My dog keeps grabbing my remote.
Drux: Why is that a problem?
Rico: He keeps hitting the “paws” button. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
What’s your favorite song to play live and why?
Sage: ‘Flock o’ Fakes’ https://soundcloud.com/lonnieclaire-garage-rock/flock-o-fakes because the intro is killer!
Drux: ‘Cars, Bars and Broken Hearts’ https://soundcloud.com/lonnieclaire-garage-rock/cars-bars-and-brokenhearts because I get to play keyboards.
Lonnie: ‘‘Hotel Detroit’ https://soundcloud.com/lonnieclaire-garage-rock/cars-bars-and-brokenhearts because it has my favorite lyrics.
Rico: I love when Lonnie sings ‘Far, Far Away’. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
I hear you have new music, what can you tell us about it?
Sage: We were so lucky to have had the opportunity to record, mix and self-produce our new tracks at 2nd Avenue Sound in NYC, “Home of the Double-Driven Swell.”
Drux: That’s their bootleg version of the “Wall of Sound”… Thick and meaty mixes, init.
Talk me through the process of writing your upcoming album?
Lonnie: For me, the chords and lyrics come first. I’m trying to channel an elusive muse and any idea is fair game. This is when I order “everything off the menu” in search of ideas for lyrics.
What was the recording process like?
Sage: The opposite of songwriting. Instead of broad strokes we’re trying to boil down all our ideas down to get strong themes, lean arrangements and a natural groove
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the album?
Lonnie: Finding that sweet spot of contradiction. I want to write songs that are achingly prosaic, while still being searingly honest and…
Drux: (cuts in)You wouldn’t know the “sweet spot” if it plopped down on a table and started shaking it’s…
Sage: (cuts in) Careful boys, remember this is a family show.
Would you change anything now that the upcoming LP is finished?
Drux: Of course! When I listen to ‘Flock o’ Fakes’ now https://open.spotify.com/album/2bPCVGSgvE6zISre4HNe3F and it is sorta cringe. But we’re constantly evolving, or in Rico’s case: “de-evolving”.
Rico: Hey!
What are your plans for the year ahead?
Lonnie: Brand-new LP is coming out 4 November 2022. The pre-order for the release is up and running on Bandcamp at https://lonnieclaire.bandcamp.com/album/flock-o-fakes
Rico: When we get back to playing LIVE we’re going to be like an octopus going into battle?
Drux: Why an octopus?
Rico: We will be“well-armed”. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Sage: (groans)
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Sage: I hope our new followers will take time to go back and listen to our last LP https://lonnieclaire.bandcamp.com/album/lonnieclaire (self-released in March) because we are proud of those songs too… They have more of an Americana / Roots vibe.
Rico: Oh one last thing: Make sure you pay full price for your circumcision.
Drux: I’m not gonna touch that L.O.L.
Rico: Yeah, you don’t want to get “ripped off”. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Okay… Thank you Lonnieclaire!