What exactly is ‘a band’ in 2018? How does a code of conduct figure in? Why is an performing residency so valuable? Listen to musician and composer Louis Landry… and his music! At the end of our interview conversation, you’ll hear two of Louis’ original songs, one from his album JJ vs. the Digital Whale and another from an album that has not yet been released, Stepladder to the Stars. We discuss the value of playing classic albums for an audience (Talking Heads fans will be especially interested), the residency at Mystery Brewing Co, how the definition of a band is changing, and having a code of conduct for artists working together.
LOUIS LANDRY is a musician based in Hillsborough, NC. He holds a Bachelors in Music Performance from VCU (Richmond VA). He spent 8 years touring and recording professionally in Austin TX before moving to NC with his wife in 2011. He has independently released 4 albums of original music including the recent JJ vs the Digital Whale. He teaches at High Strung School of Music and has a residency at Mystery Brewing Co in Hillsborough which often features his group The LL Orchestra.
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Time break-down:
[0:00] Episode intro and Louis’ bio.
COVERING CLASSIC ALBUMS AND THE VALUE OF AN ARTIST RESIDENCY
[2:00] Covering the Talking Head’s album Stop Making Sense — “tapping into the root passion of the Talking Heads’ fans and putting a local spin on it.” “Playing this album allows people to feel things they’ve felt before in a new moment.”
The residency at Mystery Brewing Co in Hillsborough — How did it come about? Why is a residency so valuable for performing artists? Thank you, and we LOVE you Mystery Brewing Co.
WHAT IS A BAND IN 2018?
[18:50] A more fluid entity? A group of young white guys = boring in 2018
IMPLEMENTING A CODE OF CONDUCT
[21:48] Louis’ intention to implement a code of conduct for all of his musical endeavors based on We Have Voice Collective’s Code of Conduct. “We need to create spaces to work on our art where it doesn’t hurt anybody, especially the people that are working on it with us.” Why do we need this if we’re in a band and we all ‘get each other’? Making expectations explicit to minimize negative interaction in order to get more work done. “A better path to success is accepting these changing realities and embracing the fact that we can all make art that has more diverse voices in it.” (In our conversation he mentioned setting up an online mechanism for anonymous feedback. This is now possible at LouisLandryMusic.com/communicate.)
WORKING WITH THE THEATRE FOLK
[38:09] Louis’ experience working on local theatre projects. Stepping away from theatre and focusing on his solo music. Now he’s working with a DJ!
ALBUM IN PROGRESS
[44:24] Stepladder to the Stars is the working title of Louis’ first full length album of original music since 2014. The songs wrestle with the meaning of the artist process. Look for in late 2018-2019!
WANNA HEAR SOME MUSIC? YES!
[51:13] Louis, on guitar, performs Flashbulb from his new album-in-progress, Stepladder to the Stars, and a song from JJ vs. the Digital Whale.
[59:00] Thanks and sign-off
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