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LANY once got death threats, but will probably be your new favorite band
At this year’s Wanderland Music Festival, The Temper Trap may have been the headliners (by virtue of them playing last), but there was one other band that seemed to have stolen peoples’ hearts.
LANY, the trio from Los Angeles, are still relative newcomers, having formed and released their first few recordings only in 2014, but they seemed to have already amassed quite a huge following judging by the response to their set.
READ: Despite hiccups, Wanderland was bigger, better than ever in year 5
Guitarist and keyboardist Les Priest, drummer Jake Goss and lead vocalist Paul Jason Klein play the kinds of music popular with the “now” crowd: synth-pop-alternative you can snap your fingers and sing (loudly) to.
They say they don’t think they sound like anyone else, but if their songs were in a playlist with, hmm, The 1975, Great Good Fine OK, and Oh Wonder, they wouldn’t be out of place.
The big single is “ILYSB,” which stands for “I Love You So Bad.” It’s a mellow, meandering love song about a guy trying to explain to his paramour why he loves her so. The lyrics are pretty straightforward (“Oh my heart hurts so good, I love you, babe, so bad”), but I like that they draw upon everyday, relatable images to communicate these intense emotions. Consider: “Slow dance these summer nights / Our disco ball’s my kitchen light.”
Although LANY have come out with a bunch of EPs over the last couple of years, they’re finally coming out with their official debut album on June 30. Just before the madness that was Wanderland, I sat down with Les, Jake and Paul for a brief chat about the new record, death threats and pizza. Excerpts:
GMA News: In a previous interview, you talked about how you tour a lot. Since then, how have things changed?
Les Priest – It’s a nice size-crew now.
Paul Klein – The first tour was just the three of us. We drove our van and we sold our merch. It was crazy, now that I think about it.
I’m curious about your songwriting. How does a song take shape?
PK – We just come together. Normally it’s the three of us sitting in a room. I might have an idea or a chord progression. We write and record simultaneously. And normally, lyrics kind of come last. We take a little more time with those. And we build the track simultaneously, punch out melodies and try to figure out what it is. Restructure the song and live with it and fill it in with words.
How do you know when it’s done?
Jake Goss – Good question.
PK – Um, I guess it just goes by feeling. You listen to it. And you think, oh this is missing something, or it needs something here. That lifts the chorus. (Pauses) Yeah I don’t know…
LP – We usually try to add stuff, and if it works, then it works, and if it doesn’t, then it’s done.
What’s the most played song on your Spotify?
PK – Actually, embarrassingly, I think it’s us.
LP – We listen to ourselves more than anyone. (Laughs)
PK – I think that’s so embarrassing.
LP – All of our plays came from Paul. (Laughs)
Your new album is coming out. Could you give us three words to describe it?
JG – New. Fresh.
PK – Better. Inspiring.
LP – I would say diverse. We have a range of stuff on that record.
JG – Honest. Broken.
That’s more than 3 but okay! Lightning round questions. What’s your favorite city in the world?
LP – New York.
PK – Los Angeles.
JG – New York.
Favorite pizza topping?
All three: Pepperoni!
Ice cream flavor?
LP – Chocolate
PK – Chocolate
JG – Espresso
Favorite TV show right now?
JG – “This Is Us.” Oh my gosh. We can talk about that for hours.
LP – “Stranger Things.”
PK – I’ve watched all of “House of Cards.” I’m waiting for the new season.
If you guys were organizing a dinner party and you had to invite three living musical artists, who would be there?
LP – I would choose Daft Punk
PK – (thinks) I would say John Mayer.
JG – Maybe this guy Cory Henry. Our photographer talks about him a lot. He’s in a band called Snarky Puppy. He’s one of the most talented musicians of all time. He just smiles all the time ear to ear. Love that.
You guys have a lot of fans. Do you also get mean comments or criticisms about you and your music? How do you handle that?
PK – I think we’re still learning how to handle it. I remember even in our early days, somebody said if we ever came back to Salt Lake City they were gonna shoot my head off. Yeah. They were making [actual] death threats. It’s weird man. People are actually so terrible on the internet. Sometimes. I don’t know. You wanna say that it doesn’t get to you, but you do see it. I think you just kind of understand that it comes with the territory, and people are either going to love you or hate you. It’s a process, I think.
On the flipside, what’s been like the sweetest thing a fan has ever said or done for you guys.
PK – Those hilarious memes that are so over-the-top about being in love with what we do. Yesterday had me laughing at this one who said, “I have one hair left,” that whole, “I’m bald, you snatched my weave” thing. Just the funny internet stuff that people say, I really think that’s hilarious. Some girl did the whole spelling out the “Pre-order LANY on iTunes” on cereal like on the floor, and said, “Oh I dropped my cereal.” It’s just so funny. I love that stuff. It actually takes a lot of time.
JG – And a lot of thought and love.
PK – And they’re pretty funny. And really clever.
Do you have anything to say to your Filipino fans?
PK – Hello Filipino fans. We’ve met some of you at the hotel lobby.
LP – We didn’t know there were so many of you.
PK – We’re excited to get to know you and play for you and come back and build this thing for you.
One last thing. If Beyonce and Adele had a concert on the same night, who would you go see?
PK – I’d stay in.
LP – Me too.
JG – Yeah me too. — BM, GMA News
Paul John Caña is a writer and live music geek. Check out his blog manontheotherside.blogspot.com. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.
