immersing themselves in new albums when they are released, some of the band went to great lengths to both learn new styles and experience new forms of music. “We had some time off in January and some of us took trips to experience some new music,” Kearney said. “I was in Ghana checking out some West African music. That’s something that gets me really excited about writing new music – hearing new music that I think is awesome.” “I went to Rio,” Calabrese said. “From a drummer’s standpoint, there are four places in the world you want to go if you want to see the birthplace of modern music. It all started in Africa, after that you can look at Cuba and then Brazil, then New Orleans. That’s really where you get the birthplace of all modern music in America. Bridget was already going to Africa so I decided to go to Rio. The form I sort of fell into by accident was
maracatu, based on indigenous, and Portuguese and African influences. I started learning some of the traditions that music has cultivated and it opened up my head in a way that it hasn’t been opened since I was in school. I think our band’s sound is still evolving. I’m excited to know what comes next.” From getting the “Colbert bump” to selling out Carnegie Hall and heading out on a tour of the States and Europe, Lake Street Dive takes their success in stride and stays focused on what is important to them: the music. “All of the kinds of external things are somewhat out of our control,” Kearney said. “We’re excited that some amazing things are happening but our job is to focus on the music. We’re already working on new songs for the next record. And we’re excited about continuing to get better.” BLEEP 57