An Interview With Lochness Monster
Lochness Monster releases a brand new "Glass Jar" single and it's everything you could want from a damn good alternative rock song.
The single reaches into a late 90's radio rock sound bringing bands like Deftones, Far, and even some Pixies lurking beneath the surface of this theatrical and powerful romp.
Passionate vocals belt over anthemic riffs creating a different world to crawl into and explode with the swells of the songs' energy.
With such a great sound, we had to have a chat with Lochness Monster to find out where this came from.
TSWS: So "Glass Jar" is a very theatrical alternative rock track and comes through incredibly descriptive. I love the whole feel of it.Where did the track come from?
LM: This song is one of our darker ones lyrically, I’m not going to speak for our singer who wrote the lyrics on this one but to me there’s definitely an intense internal struggle going on. Our singer Bruce has experience singing opera and that theatrical quality to the music comes from his background in opera. Musically this track initially came from an interest in doing something in an odd time signature, we chose 5/4 for the versus, and then switching into 6/8 on the choruses. It was definitely a challenge for us all to sync up to 5/4 at first but once we all locked in it became much easier over time. I think we were also listening to Tool a lot while writing this one who are all over the place with their odd time signatures.
TSWS: I can hear some classic and newer influences on this song. I'd love to know your top 5 or 6 actual musical influences. Who really made a difference for you musically?
LM: It’s always tough for me just to name a handful since I have so many influences so I’m going to try to focus on just influences while writing this particular song. Deftones, Tool, Hum, My Bloody Valentine, Interpol.
TSWS: "Glass Jar" is an anthemic style of rock. Is the rest of the upcoming LP going to be more along these lines?
LM: We have one or two other songs that will be on the LP that are on the heavier/anthemic style side. I’d say there is an organic quality to the production of the new songs that really gives you a sense of what we’d sound like if you were sitting in the room with us while we’re playing.
TSWS: When is the LP due to drop and are you doing a physical release along with it?
LM: We are in talks with a label to handle the release and physical distribution so we don’t have a release date yet.
TSWS: Do you think Lochness Monster will be playing live shows when the time comes?
LM: We currently are playing live shows at clubs where people can safely social distance. Our manager is working on a 2021 tour for us in South America, we’ll release these tour dates and venues once everything is finalized.
TSWS: How do you actually write these songs? Is it lyrics first? Is it riffs and then you go with it from there?
LM: We almost always start with guitar riffs first or sometimes a combo of guitar, bass, and drums first after trying different things in our practice space. Many times I’m inspired to pick up my acoustic at my house and play whatever comes out while filming myself on my iPhone, so I can remember what I did if we choose to pursue any of the licks. There’s a period of time where we refine the song with our singer and after this usually comes the lyrics, after we are content with the song musically. By the point we get to the recording studio the song is mostly structured already except the 2nd guitar parts and any keyboards or extra effects. I like to be spontaneous with the 2nd guitar parts and some of the solos, usually writing them right at the recording studio.
TSWS: "Glass Jar" sounds like a video would be great for it. Are you planning on doing any videos for songs from this LP?
LM: Yes but not sure which song will be used for the music video yet.
TSWS: Will "Glass Jar" be available as a single before the full LP releases?
LM: Probably but not sure yet because we are in talks with a label about this.
TSWS: Before we go, is there anything you'd like to relay to your fans?
LM: Thank you for giving us a chance! Stay strong during this challenging time and don’t be afraid to ask for help, we all need it sometimes!