039: What is a band? Musician and composer Louis Landry embraces classic albums and contemporary realities

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.

This episode is brought to you by the Soapboxers, the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox. If you like these episodes and want more, get on the Soapbox! This episode was recorded at the ASBX home studio.

Mentioned: 009: Actor Jessica Flemming rides the waves of overlapping projects and deep reflection

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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Artist Soapbox

Artist Soapbox is a platform for original scripted audio fiction and an opportunity for artists to discuss their creative work in their own voices. We do this through our interview podcast, our blog, live events, and original audio dramas.

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We lead writers groups, accountability support, workshops, and events. We produce and create audio dramas too! Listen to the Master BuilderThe New Colossus Audio Drama, Jesus Pancake, Declaration of Love, Food for Thought, and ASBX Shorts. Stay tuned to hear about more projects written by the Soapbox Audio Collective Writers’ Group.

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The New Colossus Audio Drama is a totally unhinged dark comedy reboot of Anton Chekhov’s classic play, THE SEAGULL.

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Master Builder

This audio drama was adapted from Tamara’s 2018 stage play produced by Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern and inspired by Henrick Ibsen’s classic, The Master Builder published in 1892.

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ASBX Shorts

ASBX Shorts are six short audio fiction pieces created and produced by North Carolina artists. Artist Soapbox Shorts were specifically contributed by the artists to aid in fundraising and to get everyone excited about Jesus Pancake, our new audio fiction series in development.

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