Barstool Stories: Lauren Ruth Ward at Harvard and Stone

Walking into Harvard and Stone is like stepping back into a 70’s rock documentary. It immediately felt like there was more to experience than an award-winning cocktail.  Dim lighting and eclectic decor fed a rebellious ambiance that swept over the room, almost coercing me into doing something spontaneous and slightly reckless. As many “chic” dive bars come and go in Los Angeles, this one just felt special; a “secret” spot that I could already tell would keep me coming back for more.

The warm welcome was due, in large part, to the bar’s manager Aaron Polsky. Aaron walked through the doors & immediately stepped behind the bar. Although he’s off the clock and no one’s really around, it just felt like his natural place. It’s no surprise either - Aaron has spent quite a while with Harvard and Stone. So much so, he tells me he used to live right across the street.

The bar is unlike most in Los Angeles with it’s homey feel yet intricate cocktails and design. The first thing you’ll notice, if not the burlesque dancers, is the small intimate stage pushed to the front corner. It’s often times host to some of LA’s favorites, like Lauren Ruth Ward.

Lauren walked in and her presence was felt immediately. This is her home too. Lauren, who moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, has had many iconic moments in music here at Harvard and Stone from a successful residency, to filming music videos, and even meeting her now guitarist and co-writer, Eduardo. It couldn’t have been a better location to reminisce about the birth of her career.


Lauren, what’s your significant first here? What brought you in the door?:

L: I lived right here on Harvard back in the day. And so did he *points to Aaron*

A: Right around the corner.

L: I was playing at another Houston Brothers establishment bar weekly, Dirty Laundry. Trying to build kind of an audience.  My partner, LP, had known about this place forever and said, “Why don’t you play at Harvard and Stone?”. It seemed like a natural next step, and I was very nervous but I said to myself, “Okay, I’m gonna play there”.

So Aaron you said this was just your 3rd year working here?:

A: Yeah, I moved to LA actually to open a different bar. I was sort of toiling in the basement of this other bar during the day and then getting off of work at like 6pm and would come here. Before I even lived nearby, I’d still come here all the time to drink.

What’s the significance of Harvard and Stone for you?:

A: For me it started off as a place I would come to relax at the end of my day and have fun - see all my friends working.

L: Always live music. Every night and for free.

A: Always live music. I was coming here often and made friends with everyone very quickly. They sort of became my family in LA. 6 months in, after covering a few shifts I started working here.

A: This bar has been an industry beacon in the cocktail world here in LA. It opened in 2011 and before that the leaders in the cocktail business were places like The Varnish, and The Edison. Harvard and Stone became the bar where everyone from out of town would go when they were visiting.

L: Bands traveling always stopped by. I’ve met so many bands I’d been wanting to see from Nashville, New York, everywhere. “Heck yeah! They’re playing a show at Harvard and Stone!” It’s awesome. This place is a checklist spot.

A: It’s awesome to see the bands and it’s so casual. There’s almost this built-in crowd.

A: In addition to the cocktail thing and the music thing, Harvard is a neighborhood bar. We have our regulars that live right now the street. If you’re not into music or cocktails but you are into $6 old fashions for happy hour…

L: or a Daytime Lagunitas in a can *laughs*

A: This is sort of a bar for everybody.


Can you give us a little history lesson from what you know, Aaron?

A: Well, before it was Harvard and Stone it was called Stone Bar. We actually kept the original sign. It was very much a trans hangout.

How has this bar affected the creative scene in LA?

L: So many things to say...There’s great music every night. You don’t always have to spend on a show but definitely want to see a live show. There’s a show here every night.

A: And on the weekends we also have Burlesque. Our house band plays deep rock and roll cuts.

A: Also from a cocktail point of view, It’s very much an industry bar and a meeting place for people in that cocktail/bar scene. We have this unique R & D bar in the back and every Monday it’s a guest bartender. They get to write their own menu and invite all their friends. It’s a fun place to show off your drinks or what you’re inspired by. The other nights our own bartenders get to do that. For us it’s creatively stimulating.

What are some of your favorite shows you’ve seen here?

A: Dead Sara, Lauren Ruth Ward!

A: New Years Eve. There are so many.

L: New Years Eve we had a Queen tribute night with everyone and confetti machine.

A: What band?

L: *Laughs* No, there was a confetti machine. That’s a good band name though.

A: Recently the Black Lips played under a different name

L: Bowie & Stones, so many shows.

What are some of your first here Lauren?

L: I quit my job, moved out here four years ago to pursue music. I came here (to Harvard and Stone) with my partner and her bassist Ryan, who’s a good friend. We saw this band, with the lead singer named Griffin. The band had just started a new project after a hiatus. I remember it perfectly, almost like the butterfly effect. I could feel my brain moving. I was just so inspired.

L: I also opened up for my partner LP here on September 21st 2015 and I love that song. “Do you remember? It was the 21st night of September” *singing Earth Wind and Fire*

L: I’ve played here 12 or 13 times. Loved the shows with just me and my guitarist Eduardo. We met at my EP release 3 years ago. He now plays and co-writes with me and we met right before a show here at Harvard and Stone.

L: I also had my 30th birthday here. We played Led Zeppelin for 4 hours and 20 minutes. 24 different bands and 30 different Zeppelin songs... and thank you guys so much for putting up with that. *laughs*

A: That was MEGA!

What are some of your favorite memories?

L: I got to play the 6th yr & 7th year anniversary show here.

A: You might get to play the 8th... are you around?

L: I am around.

L: The anniversary shows usually end up packed, with a line around the block.

L: Halloweens are so good here too!

A: This year was fun. I dressed up as Marilyn Manson.

L: It was really good.

A: Every Sunday is honky tonk night. We have some very memorable Sunday nights here.

L: One of my residency nights we covered basically an acapella version of Jeff Buckley’s rendition of Hallelujah and ... we got the bar completely quiet. For one day. *laughs* It was great. We thought “This is a really bad idea” going into it. *laughs* but it was great.

L: It’s very cool that you guys do residency nights on Tuesdays because places like The Echo, The Satellite, Bootleg; they all do residencies on Mondays. So thank you guys...for not making me drive across town on a Monday.

A: You got it. Won’t change.

Do you remember your first time playing here Lauren?

L: I do! I was really nervous. It was a three piece and it was really fun. I remember just being really nervous and when you’re nervous you just kind of don’t remember anything.

And it’s completely different now?

L: Yeah, really has. That’s why I wanted to have a residency here because I felt so comfortable and I knew that things were going to come out naturally. Natural goodies.

L: That’s another good band name. Natural Goodies. *laughing*

Can you give us any inside secrets?

A: So Lauren cuts my hair.

L: This has been a minute.. We were doing like a Marc Bolan thing. It was so good. When I lived down Harvard, I made a little salon underneath the clementine tree.

A: It’s true. It was magical.

What about notable guests?

A: I can’t really say a ton but I do have a Rod Stewart story.

A: So his daughter was playing a show and naturally, he was here. Our friend Steven found him inside the ice machine. Steven was like “What are you doing?” and he goes, “I was just cooling off man.”

A: IN THE ICE MACHINE!

A & L: *both laughing*

Lauren you mentioned a few music videos here? What’s the story behind those?

L: I did two music videos here. They were so great and polar opposites. The first one I was in like an experimental mode and I casted it, did wardrobe, directed it, and then starred in it. You gotta do that once. You know what I mean? Then you just really appreciate a team.

L: So many bands have come in for different projects whether they’re planned or not. It just feels comfortable. Like here’s new music, let’s do a live recording. It a friendly neighborhood establishment and it’s beautiful.

Sounds like you guys really love it here:

A: I don’t think there’s anywhere that’s this fun for me.

L: I like that I come here for a late night, for an early night, to listen to music, to catch up with a friend over in the alcove, everything.

For more from Harvard and Stone visit www.harvardandstone.com. Listen to Lauren Ruth Ward’s latest tunes and stay up to date with her upcoming events at https://laurenruthwardmusic.com/.

Dylan LeBlanc on Renegade

We’ve had a lot of good times with Dylan LeBlanc. His set in the Luck Chapel this past March was a few years in the making. He was set to make his Luck debut in 2016 but Mother Nature's rage got in the way. His set was cancelled, save for the few seeking shelter in the Luck Barn where Dylan played an impromptu set while the storm crashed around.  Dylan (with Rayland Baxter) was also involved in our inaugural Luck Mansion series. Today marks the release of his 4th record, Renegade. The title track is poised to be his biggest single yet, spending the past few weeks on the Billboard AAA chart.  We caught up with Dylan while he was on the road.

(LR) What’s happening, brother? Where are you, and what are you up to?

(DL) Driving through Atlanta at the moment, getting back to Nashville to rehearse with the Pollies. We will be hitting the road again soon to promote the new record. We are going to be meeting back up with Dave Cobb on a project. But just work, being as creative and productive as possible.

(LR) Let’s talk about the new record Renegade, which is out this Friday (June 7th). You were good enough to share it with us a few months back, and it’s been on a constant loop in the HQ. It opens up with the title track and from the hit of those first few chords, one gets the sense that you are taking us on a different ride this time. What should your fans expect from this 4th record?

(DL) Hopefully they like it right off the bat. But they might expect to have to tune their ears, in a different way, and keep an open mind. I love making music, I love acoustic instruments, they are so beautiful, natural wood on wood. I’ll admit it kind of throws me for a loop when one of my favorite artists does something totally different... but I just keep an open mind. I keep listening and something hits me and I’ll get it.

(LR) This is the first record with ATO -- tell us how you got together.

(DL) We were playing at the Mercury Lounge in NYC about 2-3 years ago. Jon Salter (General Manager - ATO Records) was at the show. We had started rocking these songs up a little bit and playing with a lot more authority, especially ones from Cautionary Tale (Leblanc’s 3rd LP) and our set just became way more electric. Jon reached out and said if that if I was willing to do that in the studio, that he would put it out. He told me that the band brought out a different side of me.

I’ve always wanted to make a rock and roll album. It was a part of me that exists and I wanted to explore it. A few days later I called Salter and asked if he was serious… we started getting contracts ready. That’s exactly how it went down.

Dylan in the Chapel at Luck Reunion 2019. Photo by Brooks Burris

(LR) We’ve mentioned The Pollies, a band of their own and you’ve been spending a lot of time with them as your touring band the past few years. Renegade is the first LP you have recorded with them, but you’ve actually been recording with members of the band since the beginning.

(DL) I worked with Jay Burgess on the first record. That's him on the guitar on “If The Creek Don’t Rise.” I’ve known Jay for a long, long time, and we’ve been in bands together. So I called him up and asked him to play on the song. He always plays on every song that becomes my most popular song… it’s always him on the guitar and at that time, that was a big song for me. Jon Davis played on my first two records. I’ve been playing with him since I was 15, and now we are almost 30, it’s so insane!

I knew Dave would have the guys he likes to bring in the studio. So I made a deal that if it wasn’t clicking after the 1st session, that we would bring in his guys. We had worked these songs up together -- I had written the lyrics and the basis of the songs and brought it to them, and I wanted it to be a live record. I wanted it to be a band record, to very much sound like a band in the studio. We are a band, every piece of them is in this record; blood, sweat and tears went into it. We had been hustling on the road for 3 years and I wanted to get them in the studio to flush it all out. We knew those songs backwards and forwards before we set foot in a studio. And it worked. I wanted that brotherhood, some guys just rocking out... I never had that before and I wanted that feel.

(LR) Let’s talk about the songwriting for Renegade. Can you tell us about where these songs came from for you?

(DL) I had written songs that were not for this album. I still have them, they are more like Cautionary Tale, and I will put them on my next album. This will probably be the only rock and roll album I’ll ever do, to be honest with you. (laughter)  These songs were a lot of hard work… with Cautionary Tale, I was going through so many changes in my life, getting sober and all that. With this record, I was stuck in limbo. I had to force these songs out of me, force the music out. It was the hardest work I’ve done musically. It usually comes a lot more naturally, and I wanted songs that would sound great with this band playing them. It was counterintuitive to how I usually work. It was a challenge and it was perfect; I wanted the challenge. 25 songs were in the running, and the up tempo songs made it. There are other great songs, really pretty, really lovely songs, and I’ll get those out on the next LP.

(LR) You end the record with “Honor Among Thieves.” How do current events impact your songwriting?

(DL) That song is my favorite on the LP. To me, that song applies to everyone. For me, being a white male in America, it’s already a privilege. I don’t have to worry about certain things that other people have to worry about. I try not to talk about politics. If I have something to say I try to say it in a song. I don’t like to alienate anyone, and I try to be very kind to everyone, no matter their ideology even though at times it can be very hard when we disagree. I believe if you have something to say, and you have the ability as an artist to write about it, you should. Music is more powerful than words can be on their own. It has the power to seep into the consciousness subliminally. Far deeper than just you and I conversing ever could. It’s like people with Alzheimers can recall how to play music, recall a tune. Music can get so deep into the subconscious that it can’t be forgotten.

(LR) On this record, you worked with Dave Cobb, who has worked with some of the most important artists of our day. (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton) What surprised you most about working with him in the studio?

(DL) Mainly, his focus & the speed at which he works. Also his openness to letting us be ourselves musically. Don’t get me wrong, he came in and rearranged a bunch of things, he definitely produced this album. He was firm when he needed to be but he also let us have what we really, really wanted. His bedside manner was great. He's such a good dude and you just want to be friends with him right off the bat. I can’t say that’s the case with everyone you work with in the studio, but Cobb is a gentlemen, for sure. He treats everyone with respect. He’s a purist. He doesn’t like to do anything that’s going to sound synthetic in any way. He wants the sound to reflect what you actually sound like. We had 10 days booked in the studio and all the basic tracks were done in 3 days. What little we did overdub, we did it in 2. So for the other 5 days we hung out and mixed. It was a lot quicker than I thought it would be and it was a good experience.

Dave is a good guy -- he's got a good ear, he listens to what you describe, and he’s able to paint that picture sonically.  I wanted this record to sound like those albums from 1977-1978, those classic Petty and Fleetwood Mac records, especially when it comes to drums and bass. He did a really good job of getting that. And… his gear is incredible! He had pre-amps from Abbey Road that Pink Floyd used for Dark Side of The Moon. Gear that the Beatles used. You are hearing the drum sounds through a Fairchild pre-amp and you can run mics through them to get that warm signature tone. Cutting at RCA Studio A was amazing. Chet Atkins built it in the 50s, and it still has tons of vibe leftover from everyone who’s created in that room and has made music in there. Dave is still so excited about music, you can tell that he really loves it. It was a great experience and I’m grateful.

(LR) Tell us a little about what being part of the #luckfamily means to you

(DL)  First of all, the way you nurture upcoming artists. I always discover somebody great at Luck. You feel lucky to be part of it. Making sure artists feel welcome, and absolutely giving them the space to do what it is that they came there to do, without any inhibition... it’s second to none really. Luck is a connoisseur of upcoming art. I’m so grateful to be a part of it and I hope you’ll have me for the years to come. I wear my Luck ring every single day, I love being part of this family.

(LR) You mentioned that you are soon to be turning 30, so what’s next for you?

(DL) I just hope I have some good songs left in me. That I have the opportunity to make music and a career of it. It's what I love to do more than anything else in the world. I’m 30, single… most people my age are married, have kids. I’m still on my own, that’s always a little disappointing, even though I know I’m probably hard to live with. (laughter) I dunno man, it's a little scary but I’m looking forward to seeing what comes and just have to keep an open mind. I’ll keep trying to write songs and do the best I can at making other people happy with music.  Every time I get a message that one of my songs helped someone get through something or made them feel anything at all... it lets me know I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. To me, our job is to give something to people that they can relate to. That they can feel. It’s who you're making it for. That's what I want when I listen to music, something that moves me, something I can feel.

You can catch Dylan Leblanc with The Pollies on tour all summer long. They will be back in town with #luckfamily Erin Rae playing Stubbs Jr on July 12th, and then making his Austin City Limits Festival debut in October. Renegade is available everywhere now. Listen here: http://smarturl.it/dylanleblancrenegade

Barstool Stories: Aaron Lee Tasjan & 11th St. Bar

We’ve partnered with Lagunitas Brewing Company to bring you tales from some of the legendary neighborhood dives that have been integral in their city’s creative culture - all from the perspective of the artists and bartenders who know them best. Read more from our Barstool Story with Aaron Lee Tasjan below.

all photos by Gabriel Barreto

It started in a bar...

It's a weekday afternoon, the bar is nearly empty. Aaron Lee Tasjan saunters through the nondescript doorway and takes a deep breath as if he's home. In a way, he is. Tucked away between Avenues A and B in the heart of New York's “Alphabet City”, the 11th Street Bar is evocative of the landmark spots that made the East Village a sanctuary for counterculture; the stomping grounds of the likes of Patti Smith and Lou Reed.

As other beloved neighborhood dives slip into memory – transitioning overnight into sleek coffee shops and craft cocktail bars – 11th Street Bar prevails as an ostensible living room for the creative community. Where artists can be artists. Where everybody knows your name.

One of many songs to come out of this bar is Tasjan's “12 Bar Blues” from his 2016 album Silver Tears: “There's four bars in this town I can't even go into // My friend Kenny used to tend bar at the 5th one // still tends bar at the 6th one, too.”

Kenny O'Connor is a legend. Ask anyone. Dan Sweeney – a former patron who took ownership of the bar last year – recalls, “Kenny was always the man to see behind the bar. And he had every bartender, musician and actress and waitress in the neighborhood here until 4:30 in the morning.”

Working at 11th Street since it opened in 1997, Kenny has been instrumental in giving musicians a sense of community: A space to shoot the shit or play a set; where patrons become friends, and friends become family. Aaron Lee Tasjan is family.

On the release day of Tasjan's latest album, Karma For Cheap, Aaron ended up back at the bar. Kenny poured him a beer, and the two old friends recalled their barstool stories.

Kenny O’Connor, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Dan Sweeney at 11th St. Bar

Kenny O'Connor: I remember that one night here, when we were blasting Tom Petty until 4 or 4:30 in the morning. I think that's the one that inspired James Maddox to write “Sunrise On Avenue C”

Aaron Lee Tasjan: Yeah, that's right, man. I guess the first time I ever came in here was to see James and Leslie (Mendelson). Weren't they playing here every week for a while?

KO: They were doing it here for a while. He played here last week – we needed a guy and called him, and he said, 'yeah!'

ALT: We all did that, man.

KO: It was a good hang – and you've said it before. There was always a good crew of musicians and sidemen hanging out. At that time, we all used to go down to that place on Houston. What was the name of that place?

ALT: The National Underground.

KO: Keith...

ALT: Oh, Keith Cristopher [current Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist; Georgia Satellites], man. I remember Keith walking out of the National Underground one time and he said ‘let's just keep this between the two of us' and I just remember thinking 'what the hell is this guy talking about?'. And he starts pulling – like a magician would – pulling this long scarf out of his pocket. But it's, like, toilet paper. Kind of wadded up. And he's unpeeling it, and I swear to god...he pulled it out, opened it up, and took a lit cigarette out; took a puff; flicked it away and walked back inside.

KO: Even at that time – how long had you been in town?

ALT: I got to town in 2005, I'd been here for about four years at that point.

KO: I remember when Aaron was starting to play and all these well-known side people – like Kelly (Looney) from the Dukes and Keith and the songwriters James Maddox and Roscoe (Eric Amble) were all fans of this guy – he was a nipper back then – and recognized his talent and wanted to play with him. And Frank Murray the old Ponies manager was there and also a big fan of Aaron's. And we saw that: 'This guy, ten years before that, wouldn't be looking for a record deal. He'd be snapped up.' But at the time record deals were, and still are, hard to come by. I remember Kelly saying 'I hope he's not too late.' The talent was there but the record deals weren't. It's a hard town to get noticed in.

ALT: This place...I met so many...I met Justin Townes Earle here. And that was great. You'd come here and meet these guys like Eric, Kelly, Keith. And they were encouraging of the young musicians. I've been to a lot of other places in New York where you kind of felt like you were bothering the musicians if you talked to them. And here, it was kind of like a family. They might give you some shit, but then you'd call your friend up from back home and say, 'man, Eric Amble just gave me some shit.' It was really cool.

We all grew up idolizing the same people, even in a different generation. Like, I grew up with the story of Bob Dylan coming to New York...finding Woody Guthrie and playing all these dive bars, and really figuring his thing out. And that's what the Madison Square Gardeners [Tasjan's former project] got to do here. To be a part of that community and know that there are other people out there that are tremendously talented...like Leslie Mendelson, who's now playing with Roger Daltry and Bob Weir. And it all started in this little place. This place is not meant to be overlooked, because so much time is spent in our culture now looking at these big things. But it's really the little things that the magic is coming from.

ALT: I think it's the fact that this entire part of town has changed – it's completely different than what it was. And this place hasn't changed a bit. And that's why I like it. You come in and they still play the same music on the stereo and Kenny still pours a great beer. In so many ways the world is changing now. And the changes we're making socially and, hopefully, politically are the right changes to be making. But there are certain things that are beautiful and don't need to change. And those familiar feelings and places that stay with you forever sometimes just end up in your memory. And it's nice to have an actual place to come back to where the people are the same; and the room looks and sounds the same; and the music is the same; the drink menu is the same. That makes it special, because that oftentimes in this day and age doesn't exist in a physical form.

KO: “Where everybody knows your name...”

The Reputations: Electric Power

all photos by Al Giesler unless otherwise marked

As with anything in life, dealing with triumph and tragedy can happen simultaneously. On the eve of their release party at Hotel Vegas, celebrating their second LP and getting ready to embark on their farthest reaching tour to date... sad news came in for the Reputations. Seth Gibbs, former bandmate, business partner and family member had succumbed to a battle with cancer that had just been diagnosed a few months prior.

But as the saying goes, the show does go on, and as such the Reputations invited us to stop by the home of Rockyanne Bullwinkel (vocals) and Jimmy Wildcat (drums) and hang with the rest of the band, Justin Smith (bass/vocals), Rudy Spencer (guitar/vocals), Erich Fraustro (guitar) as well as honorary members Jenny Carson (vocals) and Alex Kegulman (Justin’s wife and hand model for the LP cover) to talk about the new record, Electric Power, their second in two years and first on Nine Mile Records.  We spoke about influences, the segmented music scene that exists in the Live Music Capital of the world, a lively discussion on what the best super powers are and how this band will prevail when other projects the various members have come and gone. Oh, and we had a lot of laughs.

Luck: Congratulations on the new record! Electric Power follows up last year’s debut, Begging For More. You guys have been busy, tell our readers what’s been going on?

Justin Smith: We recorded the album in June 2017, four months after our debut and then we sat on it for a while. It took a couple months after recording for mixing/mastering. We recorded it  Memphis at Ardent Studios. So we were sending it back & forth to Jody (Jody Stephens of Big Star & GM of Ardent Studios) for him to listen to it and tell us what he thought. We tried to find someone to put it out and Nine Mile was interested, those conversations took the course of several months but we came to an agreement and its finally coming out.

Luck: We’ve heard the new record, it’s superb. Although there are elements of what we heard on your first record, this is a different beast, how would you describe the evolution of the sound?

Rudy Spencer: We started listening to different stuff from the 70’s…at one point [Justin] went thru a little Mungo Jerry phase. [laughs]

Luck: Wait a minute, so there is a deeper well than “In The Summertime”?

JS: Yeah its funny, I was in an advertising class and a professor brought up some poll they had done in the 1970’s. It was about how a hook in a song can raise endorphin levels to where someone will want to buy a product if you show it right after the hook. So the example was “In The Summertime”  and I was like...I haven’t heard this in forever and this song was so tight and I wondered what else he did. I went down the rabbit hole and there is so much stuff they did that is so good and I listened to a lot and wrote “Quite Alright” which is on the new record. But there are more influences than the 70’s…Mariah Carey is an influence on the record.

Rockyanne Bullwinkel: I listened to a lot of Mariah, a lot Beyonce - I love pop R&B, I really do  so that did inspire our song “The Exciter” a lot.

Luck: On both records you list songwriting credits to the band. How does that process work itself out, who brings what to the table?

RB: I think it's different for all of us, I tend to write chunks of songs and bring them to the band. They help me connect and finish it. That’s why it's very collaborative for songs I bring to the table. Lately Justin has been bringing full songs and then we all kinda work them out together.

JS: That’s why we want to credit as The Reputations. I may bring a song and it may be exactly how I want it sound and then when the band gets on and it doesn't sound like it was in my head, it's better. It doesn't really feel like I wrote the song, I had the idea but we all wrote the song.

JS: Sometimes we will bounce lyrics off each other, and sometimes I might bring a song where all the music is done, I’ve got one verse and a chorus and I’ll say, “Rocky you are singing this one and I can't think of a lyric for this second verse, come up with something and we will figure it out.” Jimmy has written lyrics on chorus and verses, we all just bounce lyrics off each other.

RB: I keep a journal and sometimes just like to look through it and will find lyrics that I want to come back to.

Luck: We took a look at the liner notes from both of your albums, the thank you section…. [laughs]

JS:  I think I know where this is going.

Luck: Well, it is a spectrum… on the first LP you shout out Discount Tire of Baytown, and on the the second one each member of Abba gets a nod. [more laughter]

RB: Yeah we wanted to thank ABBA, Frida, Benny, Bjorn, and Agnetha because they helped us pay to record that album!  We are also an ABBA cover band…

JS: Not anymore! We did that for awhile

RB: Not anymore! [laughs] and you know people will really dish out to see that… we had to thank ‘em.


Luck: You mentioned that the record is out on Nine Mile Records which is home to a lot of talented Austin artists. Why them?

JS: THEY SAID YES [laughs] It's that vicious circle. No one has ever heard of us so we aren't gonna get signed but then no one will hear us without a deal. But that's not really the case, bands hit the road for years to get a chance at this & were lucky that they took a shot on us. It was Sabrina Ellis (Sweet Spirit / A Giant Dog) who put us in contact with Rick Pierek. After a few conversations, he believed in us. He started catching a few shows.and I think fell in love with our live set and decided it was good fit and wanted to put out the record.

Luck: You recorded the ‘Electric Power’ at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis. The record was produced by Ardent GM Jody Stephens who gained notoriety as the drummer for Big Star. Considering his long list of musical accomplishments, producing records isn’t something he’s done, until getting with you.

JS: Slight mini correction. When Jody started to produce, we thought, and he kinda mentioned that he never produced before, but we later found out that back in the 90’s he produced some songs, maybe co-produced an ep or song of the record, As far as I know Electric Power is the first full length, from inception to completion that he’s produced.

Luck: We were talking earlier about the history of the band, there are a number of bands and projects that lead you all to here. What do you think gives this band staying power?

JW:  We definitely we work a lot harder than any band I’ve been in, everyone pulls together and keeps each other motivated to me that's the biggest difference that I see. Being serious and looking at as equally a job as it is entertainment for us.


RB: Also a very familial quality, Jimmy and Seth are brothers, I’m engaged to Jimmy. And then [there’s] our chosen family. Justin is like my brother, Auburn (Noel - Background Vocals and latest member) the other day in practice asked me if I had other siblings or just him… [laughs]

JS: Alex and I live just down the street so this is like a second home.

RB: We are all just really close.

RS: I think what adds to the dynamic, is that everybody in the Reptuations has fronted their own band and so I think that adds to the work ethic, something about fronting a band that you are leading… I think we have a band of collective front people which makes it easier to work together.

Luck: Makes sense, you know the role, the stress that comes with. Anytime you are building in your career, whatever that is... the more hats you can wear, the better you are, makes you more well rounded. Tell us about your ideal writing environments.

RB: The car.

JS: Yeah the car, all of my songs are basically written in my car.

RB: The same… we are similar in that all of our voice memos in our phone are all us singing into the phone in the car -

JS: ...humming, my notes are full of some very shitty fragments of lyrics and half melodies. But mostly it's listening to music and hearing a note in a song and pausing, and going on a tangent.

RB: We also spend a lot of time writing song very late at night together usually here or at the Studio.

JS: On the back porch drunk late at night… Electric Power is chock full of late night studio sessions, drunk… pick up this guitar, fight for 10 minutes on how it should go, work it out, hey it sounds great!

Luck: Tell us about the scene here in Austin. It’s got to have its share of pros and cons. What's the best part of being on the scene?

JS: Tough question.

EF: There are a lot of connections to make, whether or not you like a band.

JS: Most of the people are cool, it’s weird though…  but it’s a really kind of segmented scene, there's bands that play dirty sixth every night but I don't know one band we know that plays that, theres the Continental Club scene, Sam's Town Point...

RB: Obviously the Hotel Vegas.

JS: Sometimes there is crossover but that’s kinda what it is. But the scene we play in, is really a familial scene.

RS:  - It’s just people have been around for a long time, you have the old school, people that move here to play music. But like Erich says, it’s all about making connections and I think it's really easy to do here. There have been sometimes you meet people and it’s just like there are some bands that it’s harder to engage with than others…

JS: We all wanna talk shit right now… [laughs]

RS: It’s a tough question because… I came from El Paso, and it was lot more of melting pot. Metal bands playing with punk bands playing with indie rock bands and everyone got along.  Like Justin said it's a lot more segmented here.

JS: And not like a bad thing, it’s not a turf war…

RS: No it’s actually kind of cool, cause if you are music fan and looking for something specific, you know there is a venue for you. It’s really cool but its very saturated. There are a lot of bands.

Jenny Carson: I think when people get asked that question it's almost like a dark cloud over the question. Because the music industry is so hard. It’s like you are kind of drowning in it and it’s difficult to come up and see the light.

RS: Yeah Austin is this kinda weird middle ground between a small town with a really good music scene and a large city where there is an actual music industry like Nashville, LA or NYC.

JS: Yeah I was about to say, the biggest problem with this town in terms of music is that there is tons of talent in music but hardly [any] industry. You have SXSW but it isn’t an Austin industry, in that they bring band from other towns. Austin City Limits Festival will fill local act for their 11am slots … so there's not a whole lot of support for local austin band even from these major events. Besides that there's hardly any labels here, but they just opened a pressing plant which is really cool because we now have a really easy and cheaper way for bands to press their music and get it out there. And slowly, more stuff like that is gonna come as people notice all the talent, all the bands, it's gonna grow. But until that stuff is here it's more of a private scene compared to a city with industry.

JC: WIth this experience with these guys, Sweetheart Studios (started by Jimmy and Seth Gibbs) existing. These places are fucking wonderful because there are all kinds of artists, and the spectrum of artists…

JS: Who’s the worst band you recorded?? [laughs]

RB: I think you are seeing different kinds of artist but also different mediums. You meet so many visual artist. Jaime Zuverza who did the album design for both records. Jackson Montgomery Schwartz & Jon Chamberlain do a lot of our photos, You meet so many people that are so talented in different ways…

JC: Sara Ostovar (Modesty Hair Studio), who does our hair!  We’re kinda of a hair band! There's industries within industries

JS: I was telling Jackson the other day. Tons of people that like us…  I don't want to say our fans, cause I don’t who the fuck that is [laughs] the people who are into us at least part of that is because someone sees a really badass fucking photo from Jackson, and our hair looks good because of Sara. The flyer looks great because Ben Tipton did it (Ben is also in the band Trouble Boys with Jimmy and Erich) And finally, maybe somebody through all of those layers...  of us looking cool says ok, I guess i'll go listen to them. And then hopefully, we’re good enough for them to stick around

RS: It’s kinda awesome, it's such a self sufficient scene, all of our friends are so talented and they just kind of help us out and were just really lucky. Not a Lot of cities are like that, or you got to pay big money

Luck:  Luck Reunion is perceived as an americana festival but we don’t think of ourselves as such necessarily. It leads to an ongoing conversation in terms of what is Americana, is there gerne beyond good music? That said, is there a genre that best describes you?

JW: Powersoul!

RB: Which is something we invented.

JS: Rock and roll, it sounds lame and cheesy to say but I feel you like limit yourself, [you] create false expectations from others when you try to pigeonhole yourself. We made up powersoul to prevent that. When someone says, “I don’t know what the fuck that is,” we say, “Come on down and see it for yourself”.

Luck: What's next for the band?

We are talking with Adam Hill about working with him again. There is new studio opening in Memphis. We are talking about going in February to record. We’ve written a few, currently demoing and fleshing out other ones.  We want another record out by the end of 2019 to keep it rolling.

The Reputations are rolling through on tour right now; click here for their dates and listen to Electric Power below. For the record, we landed on Swamp Thing for the ideal superpower… who wouldn’t want the ability to grow psychedelic sweet potatoes from their body?