So I didn’t think twice when I left L.A. for a day to head to Santa Barbara for Loomis & The Lust’s show at the Cold Spring Tavern.  Usual nonsense, made sure I had my gear, my wits, etc.  What I didn’t know is that I needed my passport.  It was a two and a half hour trek crawling up the 101, but with the promise of good music lingering in the air- I was ready to rock.

Until, that is, I got a disturbing phone call from L&TL’s liason.  She proceeds to tell me that she’d like to prepare me for the drive.  I had apparently signed up to drive up a crazy windy mountain pass, and then when it can’t go higher, take a left onto a teeny tiny biker-ridden road to get to the tavern.  Which- coincidentally, is a popular biker hangout!  I…totally fit right in.  She then advises me to stay calm and look for “the cute boys” when I get there.  Well, that’s specific.

Being the intrepid reporter I am I located the only van in the middle of hog heaven, which belonged to none other than BNB.com’s friends The Stone Foxes- who had come down from S.F. to play with the S.B. boys!  They pointed me in the right direction and I was soon GPSing my way through bikes, logs, copious amounts of beer glasses, and bandanas to the staging area- where the fun began.

BNB:  Alright let’s make the rounds- introduce yourselves!

Will Loomis:  I’m Will Loomis and I sing and play guitar.

Mike Dapra:  My name’s Mike Dapra and I play guitar and sing a LITTLE bit.

Noah Babcock:  Noah Babcock, I play bass- and sing every now and again.

Anthony Sonetti:  Drums.

BNB:  So you guys have a new album that came out!  What’s it called & what’s the single off of it!?

L&TL:  It’s called Spacecamp and the single is A.D.D.

 

BNB:  Available on itunes and such?

Loomis:  Well on youtube the video’s actually doing pretty well right now.

Dapra:  The whole album’s available on itunes.

Loomis:  But you should definitely see the video cuz it kinda brings the song to life!

(check out the video here!)

 

BNB:  Nice!  So A.D.D.- what praytell was the main inspiration for that?

Loomis:  (yelling over bike engines and general chaos) Well, I have A.D.D. so I was writing from personal experience.

BNB:  Haha, so now is that applicable to the whole album- the A.D.D. thing?

Loomis:  No, that’s the one kind of funny song on the album- the rest is pretty much just straightforward rock and roll.

 

BNB:  How did the rest of the songs differ from your first single from back in the day, “Bright Red Chords”?

Loomis:  Hmm…I think we got a little bit crazier with the lyrics.

 

BNB:  So this is…..not your usual venue!  What’s your favorite venue to play for a show?

Sonetti:  This!

L&TL:  And birthday parties.

 

BNB:  And what pray tell would you do for a Klondike bar?

Babcock:  Oh god…I would kill somebody for a Klondike bar.  Straight up murder.  No wait, I didn’t mean that.

BNB:  Not at all?  No incriminating evidence!

Babcock:  Yeah.

 

BNB:  So who would you say are your main musical influences?

Loomis:  Well, I know we all like Led Zeppelin.  As far as sonwriters go, probably Johnny Cash for me.

Sonetti:  Steve Jordan.

Babcock:  Pantera, Zeppelin.

Dapra:  All the same as these guys, and one that I failed to mention is the Smashing Pumpkins- I love the Smashing Pumpkins.  I love their songwriting ability.

 

BNB:  Nice!  You are all stationed in Santa Barbara- do you play mostly around here or in L.A.?

Loomis:  We play all over- Portland, Denver, Vegas, Salt Lake City, San Fransisco- all over!

 

BNB: Fun!  Any upcoming tours?

Loomis:  It’s NOT confirmed, but we might MAYBE get a slot opening for OK GO! this coming Fall I think.  And then in September we’re going to do a short tour in California, playing at a bunch of high schools.

 

BNB:  Sunset Strip or Sunset Junction?

L&TL:  I’d go with that one (Sunset Junction) seems cooler.

 

BNB:  What major festival would you all want to play?

Sonetti:  Redding Festival

Loomis:  I lived in New Orleans for a couple years so probably like VooDoo Festival.  I’d like to go back.

L&TL:  Big Day Out, Leeds.

Sonetti:  Yeah I’d rather go and play a festival in Europe- way more people!

 

BNB:  So now Will- what’s your fave song off the album right now?

Loomis:  A.D.D. Just cause…

BNB:  Cause you have A.D.D.??!

Loomis:  Well yeah, and also it’s gotten like the best response of all the songs probably- and it was the one I like, almost didn’t record- the one that I thought was like the weakest song.  But, people are responding to it the most.  The video’s already gotten like almost half a million hits on youtube- and its only been up a week!

 

BNB:  Awesome!  Any closing remarks?

L&TL:  Hope you enjoy the show!  You going to stick around?

BNB:  Dude- I just spent 2 hours in a car- I’m not going anywhere!

The guys were nice enough to let me tag along backstage- and by backstage I mean a patio overlooking a creek- where we bonded over avoiding bugs until their set.  The boys all live together in a house and the chemistry is evident onstage.  I was left unattended while the guys got ready to rock- and thank god I got a standing room spot up front because the Cold Spring Tavern goers were not messing around.  They came to get down and dirty with Loomis & The Lust.

 

Now usually when I say they had people of all ages rocking- I mean primarily 18-28 years of age range.  Now today, I mean people of ALL ages.  I saw a four year old spinning like a top to the catchy tunes as well as older couple and EVERYTHING in between.

 

The chaos really erupted when the boys serenaded us with their newest single “A.D.D.” & their OG single “Bright Red Chords.”  I have to say, even I couldn’t hold still!

 

Granted the venue was nothing like I expected, I had an absolute blast kicking it with these kids.  It was more than a welcome change from the usual scene, and the pop rock foursome know how to have fun- and play great music.

 

You can check out their tour schedule at www.myspace.com/loomisandthelust and catch “A.D.D.” on youtube.com- even those with the attention span of a goldfish will want to watch the whole thing!