eeawrs N y eve
NYE LIVE MUSIC ROUNDUP P48 | FALLS FESTIVAL LIFTOUT P49
FIRE UP THE FUN MACHINE THIS NYE
THIS NEW YEARS EVE BYRON BAY COMES ALIVE WITH SOUL STREET, A FAMILY-FRIENDLY, ALCOHOL-FREE ENVIRONMENT THAT FEATURES MUSIC FROM ILONA HARKER, KYLE LIONHART AND BAND, DJ RENEE SIMONE, SHELLY BROWN, AND PERFORMANCES BY TOMMY FRANKLIN, THE CASSETTES, MOBSTERS, DANDYMAN AND MORE.
Headlining on the night is Lake Street Drive. Founded in 2004 in Boston, this multi-genre band knows how to fire up the fun machine. The Echo drilled down for some Lake Street Dive juice… What was the original concept for the band? The original concept was basically McDuck saying he’d been writing some songs and asking the three of us to play them and that we be called Lake Street Dive and that it would slightly avant garde. So, I think, essentially, the concept was just to play songs, which was seemingly radical being that we were all in a jazz program that favoured free improvisation over playing 3-minute narrative pop songs. What is your songwriting process? How do you work a song up for studio or stage? Everybody writes, individually, and then we arrange the songs together. We don’t ever
consider a song done until it’s been thoroughly road-tested, which generally means playing it live for a little while to feel how it breathes on stage. That will inform how we then record the song, although once in the studio we often change it up a bit. How does your music translate to a live set? Well, essentially, almost everything we do musically is about the live set. Putting on a dynamic, energetic show is where we’ve put most of our energy. How hard is it to juggle your personal commitments and the band commitments; how do you all manage to make it happen? Well, it’s hard. Striking a balance between being a full-time touring musician and a human being with family and friends and such is something that takes diligence and dedication. We
make it happen because we’re all great friends who work hard to communicate our needs to each other and because we know the importance of living a life so you can write about it. How important is touring? Where are the places you love going most? In the current musical climate, touring is sort of everything. It’s most definitely our bread and butter. More essentially though, playing live shows is how we figure out how to play the songs best. Getting that direct feedback from an audience is the greatest way to know if a song has impact or not. What should we expect for your Byron show? To dance and groove and hug your best friend during a slow song. Come on down to Soul Street at Railway park this NYE – from 4pm until late!
Thai Restaurant MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE SPICE IT UP TEAM
MULLUM BOWLING CLUB RESTAURANT
FREEbus
Courtesy available
OPEN WED–SUN FROM 5:30PM DINE IN OR TAKE AWAY CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY & NEW YEARS DAY
~ 6684 2209 ~ North Coast news daily: www.echonetdaily.net.au
The Byron Shire Echo December 21, 2016 45