Retro pop n’ funk fivesome help bid summer adieu w/ outdoor Bridger show
Summer may’ve flown right on by, but Bozeman is in store for one more fantastic show to help usher in Southwest Montana’s vibrant fall colors. Bridger Brewing will host another in its outdoor concert series, this month showcasing the talents of Brooklyn-based Lake Street Dive. Free your calendars up for September 10th as this diversely inspired group brings its fall tour to the area-favorite brewery for an evening of sonic storytelling.
In anticipation of the upcoming performance, The Rolling Zone spent a few minutes on the phone with lead singer Rachael Price to talk recording and touring the band’s multifarious new album.
RZ: Lake Street Dive will bring a pair of performances to the Treasure State next month, the first to Bozeman’s own Bridger Brewing on an outdoor stage, then off to Missoula. What can concert-goers expect to experience at these shows?
RP: The show we’re playing right now is mostly our new record, which we’re really stoked about. And if people haven’t heard the new record, it’s a pretty energetic and danceable, so they can expect to hear a lot of that and a collection of some of our old tunes.
RZ: The band is touring in support of its spring release, the, I want to say, retro pop, rock n’ soul-influenced Free Yourself Up. How have audiences and longtime fans been responding to the new material?
RP: So far it’s been really, really positive. We came out feeling so happy about this record, feeling like it’s maybe our most Lake Street Dive-y record yet. I think that’s what people are picking up on. The fans really like it – they were singing along with the songs within the first week of the record being out. We’re really happy.
RZ: The title of the album has a bit of a sneaky, dual meaning. Why did you guys settle on this particular name for the collection?
photo by Shervin Lainez
RP: Free Yourself Up felt most right because it’s what we did to make this record. We freed ourselves up from the idea of needing to work with a producer and allowed our own strengths as producers to come out, which we’d never really recognized. We also worked more collaboratively, so we sort of freed ourselves up from ways that we’ve worked in the past and let ourselves try new methods of writing songs. And furthermore, it’s just a nice mantra to set down the things that aren’t working for you and use the things that are.
RZ: With the help of Dan Knobler’s engineering wizardry, Lake Street kept the writing and production behind Free Yourself Up in-house. Did this tight-knit approach allow more room for experimentation?
RP: It definitely gave way for a lot of experimentation and a lot of freedom. The only person policing our ideas was us and we were in a really excited [place]. You know, we’ve worked with each other for so long that we have so much trust in each other’s ideas and strengths. Whenever anyone was like, ‘Well I kinda want to try this,’ the answer was always just, ‘Yes. Let’s try it. Let’s see how it sounds.’ That obviously inspired everybody and helped more ideas keep coming.
RZ: What have you taken away from this experience, maybe compared to how you’ve made albums in the past?
RP: I think what we took away is that we’re producers and we can continue to work this way if we so choose.
RZ: Though they likely all hold a special place, is there a song from the album you find yourself most excited to share with your listeners and audiences? What’s the story behind it?
RP: I do really love singing all the songs. One of my particular favorites that I like to highlight is called “Doesn’t Even Matter Now.” If anyone’s listened to our previous records, they’ll catch that it’s about a guy named Bobby. We have two other songs about this same character, so it’s sort of a continuation of this story. I think it’s cool because songs, especially breakup songs, are basically always going to be about one specific feeling you have about the relationship. You don’t always get a full, 360º picture of it. So, this song continues to round it out. There’s more maturity in the lyrics and I think it’s a really feminist look at a breakup. It’s also very tongue-in-cheek and has a lot of humor in it, but it’s also got some very sincere moments. I really like singing that song.
RZ: You’ve cited Etta James as a huge influence. How do she and artists of similar stature seep into your own artistry?
RP: As far as singers are concerned, you know, I’ve studied so many over the years and my heroes are a wide range – Etta James, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt. Luckily, I get to use all of that information I’ve gathered because everybody in this band [has] different styles. It’s really a challenge to figure out how to approach a song the way it should be sung, and I try out a lot of different things every single night. It’s served me well to always have been interested in a lot of different types of singers.
RZ: Not to exclude the band’s newest addition in Akie Bermiss, but the original group members, all from different parts of the country, met while studying jazz at the New England Conservatory of Music. Going way, way back, was there a particular ‘why don’t we start a band’ instance that prompted the formation of Lake Street?
RP: When you’re in music school, getting asked to play with somebody is like being back in middle school and it’s the kickball team. You’re just waiting for somebody to be like, ‘Do you want to be on my team?’ So, when anybody asks you to play you say yes because someone thinks you’re cool. McDuck’s idea – Mike Olson, who formed the band – was so smart because over our first year at NEC, he just sort of vetted, went to shows and listened to people play. At the end of the year, he asked the other three of us to be in a band with him. I don’t know how methodical he got about it, but I kind of have a feeling he was in his head, thinking who amongst these people would make a good band. He was just like, ‘Yeah, I want to be in a band.’ And of course we wanted to be in a band, we were 18. The amazing part is that we managed to stay together this long.
RZ: What progression have you noticed in the music since the earliest days of Lake Street up to this most recent release? What has the band managed to retain in that time?
RP: It’s gotten a lot more refined. We’ve sort of been trying to refine our chops at writing a great, almost in the sense of a perfect pop song – the perfect three-and-a-half minutes where all the elements are right, it’s catchy and it’s interesting. I think that’s something we didn’t know how to do at all when we first started, and now we’re really starting to figure it out. As far as what we’ve kept, I think we’ve kept our looseness. We aim to be kind of sloppy, if that makes sense. We’re trying not to be a perfect, conservatory-sounding band. And we’ve always been very loose. That comes from our jazz upbringing, and I think we’ve maintained that spirit.
RZ: Why is this band of performers known as ‘Lake Street Dive’?
RP: Mike wanted us to be a band that played in a dive bar. That was the aspiration of the sound – fun, catchy music where you’re kind of like, ‘Love this rock band down the street.’ Beyond that, Lake Street is a street in Minneapolis which had a lot of dive bars on it. They were sort of closing down by the time Mike was growing up, but he knew about them from tales of yore.
RZ: Very cool. So, thus far in your career, is there a favorite memory from all the record-making and touring you’d like to share?
RP: We have so many! One that’s popping out is when we played at the Newport Folk Festival. A), that was a really fun festival to play, but also Mavis Staples, who is such a big inspiration to me, came and sat in with us and sang our song. She sang “Bad Self Portraits” per her request which was so amazing. I take a lot from her spirit and watching her perform live now really makes me think differently about doing this for my entire life. I just love her.
RZ: You’ve got a busy tour schedule ahead, but then where does Lake Street go from there? Are there any big plans in place?
RP: Let’s see, we tour until the holidays, we take a little break, then we tour some more. We’re hoping to get overseas, hopefully to Australia by next year as well because we really like touring there. So, you know. And then we’re going to make another record.
RZ: And I’m sure you guys are always working on new songs.
RP: Oh definitely, yeah. Nonstop.
Lake Street Dive will perform with help from Louisiana-born blues and soul singer/songwriter Robert Finley on Bridger Brewing’s outdoor stage, Monday, September 10th at 7pm. Tickets for this all-ages show are $36 at Cactus Records and www.cactusrecords.net, or at the gate, depending on availability. Gates at 6pm.
Note: every online ticket purchase for the show includes a copy of the band’s new album.
Following their Bozeman show, Lake Street Dive heads to Missoula’s Wilma theater for a performance on Wed., Sept. 12th at 8pm. Tickets and further information can be found at www.thewilma.com.
Lake Street Dive is Rachael Price (lead vocals), Mike “McDuck” Olson (guitar, trumpet), Bridget Kearney (bass), Mike Calabrese (drums), and Akie Bermiss (keys).
Learn more about Lake Street Dive at www.lakestreetdive.com or find them on Facebook for updated tour details and band announcements. Their new album, Free Yourself Up, is available now. •
