E: Loren, with all the experience you have in rocking out with your band Storytold... tell me, what musical elements do you think are the most important to keep in mind, being in a group?
Loren: I would say that the fanbase is most important... sharing something that's personal to me and seeing it affect other people's lives is so gratifying. I've been through some pretty rough times and I have my share of stories. I've learned too many things the hard way and I don't think that I needed to. If someone would have shown me what to do, or even given me a hint, I could have avoided some of those situations. That's where my lyrics come in. I really want to help people get through hard times... from suicide to breaking up, life can get pretty confusing. I've been able to talk to my close friends about things, but I realize that through music I can reach so many more people. I think that the fans are the most important people out there; that's why I write the lyrics that I do. They are going through the same crap we all are. If I can help them out a little, or make their lives a little easier, then I'll be satisfied as a musician, as an artist, and as a friend.
E: Do you think that a song's lyrics have to be based on true events or emotions to be adequately honest?
Loren: I find that when I write lyrics about something that I've truly experienced personally, I understand it from so many more aspects than if I just imagined a problem or situation and wrote about it.
E: What is it like performing a song when the situation that inspired the writing of its lyrics has long since passed?
Loren: I was in theatre classes for seven years and I've learned a lot of ways to tap into past emotions to bring them out onstage. Sometimes I just need to close my eyes and focus on what I'm singing and what my original feelings were. After that, I kind of forget what's going on onstage--I just sing and express what I'm singing the best way I can.
E: Is it difficult, capturing the energy and emotion you get performing a song live in a studio recording?
Loren: Actually, it is. When I recorded "Lips," I had pictures of the girl it was about so I could stare at her and focus on what the song really meant. When I recorded "Bipolar," my friend Stephen was in the room with me, because he and I have pulled each other out of some really serious situations. I found that if I move around like when I'm onstage, that helps, too. In between verses or choruses I'll really get into it, as if I'm not recording or even playing a show, but I'm singing my heart out to someone who needs it more than ever.
E: When you perform onstage, how much of the focus is on the energy of the fans, and how much is on what you're playing?
Loren: Oh, gosh! When we're playing a show and there's a hundred people singing along and rocking out as hard as they possibly can, I lose control. The energy that I produce alone is a raindrop in the flash flood that I get off of the crowd at a show. When it's like that, all of the focus is on them and sharing that experience. Even when it comes down to one person singing with me at a show... it's so awesome to stand next to them and put our heads together and sing into the mic. It's awesome because I know that they know what they're singing about, that they have thought about the words as much as I have, and used them in their lives. For instance, we played our first show in Napa last week, and there was a girl there wearing a Storytold shirt--she drove an hour and a half to see us (from Danville). She was singing every word, and not just singing it, but showing it. Her face showed every emotion that the words did. It was one of my favorite shows.
E: Are your reasons for playing music now the same as they were when you first started?
Loren: No. Originally I just wanted to try out playing bass guitar. So I did that for three years, really always wanting to sing. When I got the chance to sing, I didn't just want to be in a garage band... I wanted this band to mean something. To be remembered. I've seen other bands play really good songs and get a lot of attention, but only a few have really inspired people and really affected people. I wanted to be a band that could change a person's mood when you listened to the music. At first I started with the harder music... not too hard, but a lot of screaming. Although my lyrics were still based on problems that I had, being a rebellious teen. When I saw that the way I was doing things wasn't getting the reaction I wanted, I shifted gears. I switched my focus on making the band a tool to help others. It's so cool, though, because however much it helps someone else, it's their responses that help me.
E: No one will ever assume that the life of a musician is perfect. What have you learned to do in times where things go wrong?
Loren: Three members of Storytold quit before our tour to Washington and Oregon. Then Gary Jones, our drummer, started working sales for sixty hours a week, and I was left with songs and a website. It was really hard not to give up... tons of people were asking how I was, now that the band was broken up, and I'd say that it wasn't. I stood my ground, and then Gary quit his job and we rebuilt [the band], starting with auditions, and now, finally, being back to where we were three months ago. I've learned that there will be hard times and harder times, and that the only thing you can do (especially in a business with as many ups and downs as a band) is hold on until there isn't any reason to hold on anymore. I held on because there was no reason not to. If the band died I'd start a new one, and go through it all over again... but if we didn't, we'd be able to really go places. Overall, my point is, how much does it mean to you? What are you willing to do to make things work?
E: Do you think that the emotions displayed in music are exclusive to that variety of expression?
Loren: I think that music is the most powerful form of language that I know of. It conveys our strongest emotions in such vibrant forms. I've been touched by music more than anything else in my life.
E: Where do you expect the music to take you?
Loren: Music has helped me through so much, being there to calm me down, to inspire me, to confront me, to empower me. I want to surround my life with music. Music will lead me to my family, my career, and the rest of my life will be based on it. Whether or not it be in a band, producing other bands, or recording, I expect it to take me farther than I could go without it. I depend on it. It's like water to me.
E: Well, with your inspiring thoughts and dedication, you're sure to go far. Thanks for spending the time. |
