For those people that haven’t heard of LOVEBREAKERS could you tell us a bit about the band, your story?
Christian – I was jamming with our original drummer, Marcus, just bass and drums & we were looking to get a band going, we needed a guitarist/singer so I dropped Jack a message on Facebook. I’d known Jack since about 2007 & always enjoyed the bands that he was in, I also thought he looked quite cool & he could always sing well, so I asked him to come & jam. After a few rehearsals, we knew that we were onto something but we were missing one last ingredient, a lead guitarist. I had met Chino once, as his Mom is friends with mine & I knew that he could play lead guitar really well, so we got him in for a few jams & the rest is history.
Who inspired you to get on stage and perform?
Jack – My uncle. As a 12-year-old, I saw him play the blues and I was instantly hooked on music and the guitar. He taught me the basics and that helped me lots at the start of my musical journey.
Are there any artists or albums that have inspired your music and stuck with you through the years?
Christian – Our influences range from The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, through to Green Day. Mainly timeless guitar music. I grew up with my parents listening to The Who & The Jam but the first band that felt like my own discovery was Green Day, in 2000 I was skateboarding a lot and one of my skater friends gave me ‘Dookie’ on CD. I sat down with it that night, opened the lyric book & my life was instantly turned upside down. I wanted to learn to play guitar & be in a band like them.
Jack – I think an album that has always stuck with me is “American Idiot” by Green Day. It’s still relevant and it’s a timeless record. It still has that punch-in-the-face feel after all these years and some of the album tracks are even better than the singles.
Do you have any songwriting rituals?
Jack – I do indeed. Every song I write is always penned with an acoustic guitar first. If a song can be stripped down to just myself and an acoustic guitar whilst still sounding good, the foundations are set for it to be a great song.
Could you tell us a bit about the writing/recording of the Syncr Music Competition winning track “Eye Roller”?
Jack – “Eye Roller” is a social commentary about a heavy night out with friends. There was a point in my life where I always seemed to be around someone who takes it too far, then getting to the end of a night feeling a little over the edge. The song has one of my favourite lyrics on the record, “Sitting on the corner of the street with a £3 meal and a side, a side of you I just can’t deal with yet”.
What are some of your favourite venues to perform at?
Christian – There’s a venue in Birmingham called The Flapper. It was set to be closed down and turned to rubble, for some new apartment block. Everything was set for it to be gone forever, then a few weeks after it had closed, some people banded together to save the place. We’ve done a few headline shows there & it’s always been really memorable. In a basement, low ceiling, nice & tight in there but still with lots of stage space.
Here at Artistic Echoes, we are always on the lookout for new artists do you have anyone to recommend?
Christian – Some of our friends bands that we love are Bad Nerves, Dumber, Lucky Number You. We’d genuinely love these bands even if they weren’t our friends too because the music is great & authentic.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
Jack – We are recording a new record with Thomas Mitchener (Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes) which we are very excited for people to hear. During the summer of 2022, we are proud to be on tour supporting one of influences and LA punk legends Social Distortion. We are playing all over Europe so that’s something we are really looking forward to.
