Tell me about yourselves? How did you all meet? Where are you all from?
We are a Pop Grunge duo from Edinburgh and we met through Instagram.
What are your names and what position do you have in the band?
Lauren – It’s funny, we both have almost the same name. Lauren C Black & Lorne C Black. I sing in the band and Lorne plays guitar but records the drums, bass and keys etc.
What if anything does your band name mean/Why are you called that?
Lorne – I always thought Dead Poet Society would be a cool name for a band. But to give the name meaning, I’d say it’s to do with our love of music and art and working ourselves to death over it.
Describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?
It’s something new, we can say we’ve heard other bands sound exactly like us and I think that makes the music stick out more. It’s like EDM, Grunge, Rock and blues all in one.
What song(s) do you remember most from your childhood?
Lorne – I personally remember a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers with the Californication album being played loads by my older brother.
Lauren – My dad is a huge Prince fan, I remember Purple Rain mostly and a few others.
Do you have a process for writing your songs?
Lauren – Usually we both have the beginnings of a song idea. Lorne will start recording the basics of the idea for us to expand on together with drums, keys, bass and all the rest. Once the song is all recorded, I’ll start writing lyrics and melodies and get them down in the booth.
Have you released any music yet, and if so, how has it been received?
Lorne – Yeah, we released our first single back in January (Bad Dreams) and it did pretty well. We were BBC Radio Scotland’s single of the week and had our interview on air. Our second single (New Year) got some coverage from The List magazine, The Oban Times and Alive and amplified.
Are you planning any music releases for the near future?
Lauren – We’re about to film the first half of our music video for the next single in the highlands, then the second half in Edinburgh. The song is all finished and will come out first before the video just because the editing takes a long time. No date for it yet though but hopefully this Autumn.
If you have released music, where can fans to be find it?
Lorne – Bad Dreams, our first single is only on YouTube at the moment but it’s coming out again with a few other new songs really soon. New Year is available everywhere though, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and the music video is out on YouTube.
Do you have social media for the band and if so please provide links?
We can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Do you have any gigs in the near future, and if so where and when?
Lauren – Nothing planned as of yet. We’ve been busy with setting up a new studio, videos and recording. But we were talking about some shows on the west coast of Scotland in our interview with the Oban Times. That would be pretty cool. Not many rock bands go out that way so I’d bet with the right line up the shows could be awesome.
How do you balance your music with other obligations?
Lorne – It’s tough sometimes. We both study and work. But I think it’s because we love the do this so much, it makes it seem it’s not so hard. Like I’d be working on what’s needing done next rather than being out with my free time.
Following on from that question, what has been your biggest challenge as a band and have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so then how?
Lorne – Last winter was pretty rough, we were working in this flat that was just a hive for mice, no hot water and no heating. Long bus trips to promote our music and running low on funds. Just those kind of times where it feels like one step forward and two steps back. But we got a message saying our single was going to played on BBC Radio and we had an interview live on the air. Definitely restored some faith in ourselves and re-charged our passion for getting into this kind of business.
And let’s end with something a little different…Which famous person, living or dead, would you have dinner with and why?
Lauren – I’d say Freddie Mercury. I think writing something like Bohemian Rhapsody, a timeless 6-minute song that everyone knows all the words to might have a few tips to talk about.
Lorne – Maybe Slash. I bet he likes good food and he could would be cool enough to show me how to improve some guitar playing!
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