I always thought I was good with words, able to describe what I saw, heard, or imagined. Absolutely wrong. Hearing Lyons latest single honeydripper for the first time it’s difficult to classify it to a genre, because it is a joyful jambalaya of several fun ones.
On the search of a new genre
Simply put, the melodies always come first and the rest of the song is built around that. I like to make earworms, and if a melody is stuck in my head I know it has potential to do the same for others. I notice a lot of people base their songs around a “riff” or an instrumental, but I veer the other way from that.
It seems like a very “rock music” type approach to songwriting and I try to make sure that the Lyons’ brand of rock ‘n’ roll is differentiated from the genre known as “rock”. Therefore, it is never a challenge to find melodies because that is always the first step.
On artist inspirations
My influences go on and on, and in terms of blues I absolutely adore Wynonie Harris, Howlin Wolf, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner. I also love the interpretation of the blues that was done by the White Stripes and the Black Keys. All of that is heard on our latest track “honeydripper.”
In general, my biggest influences are Dion, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Wynonie Harris, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Frankie Valli and all the doo-woppers from the 50’s/early 60’s. No matter what I’m writing, those 50s influences always shine through.
Picking crayons of funk, rock, blues & anything else that could be specified within these genres, Lyons melt it into a candle & explode it with a dangerous amount of TNT. Honeydripper carries laces of the Jon Spencer’s Blues explosion’s Jon Spencer being replaced with James Brown & a genre mashup of the most absurd kind. The instrumentals trade funky bass lines, ground up guitar riffs & drawling vocals to create an absolute delight of a mess, because I can’t stop listening to it.
The influence of jazz
Jazz mainly comes out in the form of my guitar playing. Most of the time I am playing guitar, I am unconsciously mixing rockabilly style with jazz style. It just comes from listening to hours upon hours of jazz as well as jazz guitar legends. There is some vocal influence there too, but it mainly shines through in my playing.
I usually do not go off into guitar solos too much in singles, but playing live is usually when I have room to show that side of the music. Jazz and blues are closely related, and so is every style of music I toy with so my influence from jazz always finds its way in.
Themes that matter
A theme that makes it’s way into many if not every song in the Lyons narrative is the conflict between Lust and Love and the Lust ridden society of today. This draws parallels to the 1950s, how in a generation so focused on “going steady” and “getting pinned” also turned wild with the creation of the devil’s music, “rock ‘n’ roll”.
There was “Earth Angel” and there was “Whole Lotta Shakin'” in the same span of a few years. With that said, Love seemed to have won the battle back then as even where there was lust, Love was prominent. This theme is also symbolic of the battle between instant gratification and delayed gratification, because Love is slow and lust is fast. It is the conflict between the spiritual and the physical, and the inner conflict that happens through coming-of-age.
And you, the faint of heart, the genre purist. This is for you. From the beginning of the song, to the end, you might wear a frown asking yourself what you just listened to. Let go of the snobby, upscale air around you, you need to get down to funk up & groove to this track if you like anything in the aforementioned genre list. This single smashes, offset by the success of their first EP, kiss of fire.
The future of the Lyons
Soon is a strong word. I’m definitely not rushing the progress of this group, as the development of the music and story is already occurring so fast. What we put out now has worked as demos for us, getting our name out there and getting us booked as well as catching the interest of very important people to us. There most likely will not be anything put out for a little while, as there is much work to be done behind the scenes.
Well of course I have a vision for where this group will be in 10 years, but it is for my list of goals and not for public acknowledgement. There is a lot more to say, plenty of holes to fill, and so much more to do. Most would say we are just getting started, but we haven’t even scratched the surface yet
What’s next
I’m definitely not rushing the progress of this group, as the development of the music and story is already occurring so fast. What we put out now has worked as demos for us, getting our name out there and getting us booked as well as catching the interest of very important people to us. There most likely will not be anything put out for a little while, as there is much work to be done behind the scenes.
Look, lets be honest. It was high time there was a serious mix-up labradoodle variant of music ready at the starting line, & Lyons seem to have taken the lead. Also, if you look around their sound is so unique, they might be racing alone.
Revel in bumbling, exuberant confusion here:
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
