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Q &AT X
Rocking The Rhythm Of Love And Ready To Find It
BY DANIEL R A MIREZ PHOTO BY KE VIN LINDBL AD
I
f you’ve heard the songs “Hey There, Delilah” or “The Rhythm of Love,” you are familiar with Tim Lopez’s work. Originally lead guitarist for the band Plain White T’s, Lopez has emerged from behind the guitar to take on some writing and lead vocal duties (most notably on “The Rhythm Of Love”), and is poised for still more popularity as one of the focal points of a new television show, entitled “Ready For Love,” produced by Eva Longoria. Lopez has lived within the Austin city limits for a good while and took some time out while on location to talk with Austin Lifestyle Magazine about his life, his band and the city he proudly calls home.
liking that. I've been listening to the new Fun. record. I do listen to a lot of classic rock, still. But there's an Austin band called Alpha Rev that I really like. I'm kind of all over the map. I listen to a lot of singer/songwriter stuff, not a lot of pop music, even though I'm playing in a pop band. I tend to be moved by the storytelling in the singer/songwriter style of music.
What is it that brought you to Austin? I ended up going to Austin because of a divorce. I was living in Santa Barbara, California, which is kind of a small town, and I got really tired of running into the ex. I had toured through Austin quite a few times and just loved it there. I've been in Austin almost four and a half years now. I like how laid back it is. I love the weather there. Chicago is far too brutally cold for me and I always feel like, when I'm home, I'm actually on vacation. We travel so much of the year and coming home to Austin just feels like I'm going there to relax.
When you're on the road as much as you are…what do you miss about home? It's the simple stuff that I really miss. You can get a really good meal in a lot of cities, but I miss Torchy's. I miss Torchy's and Tacodeli. I was also bummed when I found out I was going to miss the entire summer. I just bought a boat and was hanging out on Lake Austin. Right before I left, I was out there almost every day.
Do you go to many shows? I don't go to that many. It's like we [musicians] are all just tired of being in venues. It's not like music ever feels like work, because it's not—but when I'm home, I tend to do other stuff. I've got a couple of friends who are in local Austin bands and I like checking them out. My friend Patty is in the Soldier Thread, who've been getting a lot of love from around town. I'm bummed out that I missed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I really wanted to see them when they came through but I was out of town.
Do your songs get old for you? Not really. We've been playing "Delilah" every single night for the last seven or eight years, and it doesn't get old. You're usually feeding off the crowd anyway.
Tell us about this new venture, "Ready For Love," that we're looking forward to. It's a show that Eva Longoria is executive producing, involving me and two other guys on a quest to find the right girls for us. They've hired three of the world's top matchmakers and they work alongside us and alongside the girls that are on the show, and we're trying to find out who has the best chemistry. The girls were able to apply through Facebook and say why they were a good match for one of us. Then we work with Eva and the matchmakers to find out which girls they thought were the best match and we're spending the summer dating. It's not a bad racket.
Is that the last wish show, the one show you want to see and haven't? That's it. I'm a huge Petty fan. That was the first record I ever bought and ever since then, he's the songwriter I turn to when I'm trying to find the bar I need to reach. Every time they come through Austin or when they came through L.A., when I was in Santa Barbara, I always missed it because I was always on tour. That's the show I feel like I'm still missing out on. And he's getting old. I want to see him while he's still got some energy left [laughs]!
I'm sure you're under a Non-Disclosure Agreement to reveal nothing, but how is it going? So far, so good. I love everybody that's worked on the show. It feels like you're surrounded by great people and it should make for an awesome summer. I'm living it up.
What are you listening to these days? A buddy of mine turned me on to Father John Misty. I'm really
PLAIN WHITE T'S new album, Wonders of the Younger, is available now.
Do you anticipate finding "The One" in this process? I am one hundred percent open to that idea. I hope so. It would be great to find someone to bring back to Austin and show them how I'm living. ALM
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