"It's kind of strange," notes Neil Luckett, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of tvfordogs, "We made this album as an epitaph to another band. Thinking it would be a real shame not to record all the material I'd written, we went ahead. My feeling [+]"It's kind of strange," notes Neil Luckett, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of tvfordogs, "We made this album as an epitaph to another band. Thinking it would be a real shame not to record all the material I'd written, we went ahead. My feeling was 'if nothing happens, well that's fine.' But when we heard the outcome, there was no turning back."
From the ashes of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (the band, not the television program) arises the London-based tvfordogs. Featuring Andres Luengo on drums, bassist Mark Homer, and Sarah Freestone, the person who does bits and pieces (strings, percussion, extra guitar, etc.), Luckett forged ahead as unplanned. "The baptism of fire for me was transforming from a non-singer to a singer. It was a very fast process. Aside from the initial shock of hearing my voice in the play-back, the emotion was highly evident since I'd composed the songs and was able to sing from the heart. I was really feeling what I meant and it affected my guitar technique as well. And being 6 foot 6, I was aware of being exposed by just playing guitar."
Though Heavy Denver arrives with the fervor of a live performance, Luckett explains these songs were literally recorded in the bedroom! There was no human interaction. But we've known each other for years and have been playing live quite a bit, so we could render our parts as if we were on stage knocking heads.
With an old college friend, Rich Jarman, seeking experience behind the console and providing a much-appreciated objective set of ears, Luckett drew from a myriad of influences during the making of tvfordogs recorded bow. The progression from start to finish mirrors his own personal history. When I first started in music, I was into punk. Then I gradually learned various skills. Now I lecture in guitar at the University of London and compose string quartets. Among my favorite songwriters are the Beatles, of course, and XTC, the Posies, Eels, E, and, believe it or not, Stone Temple Pilots. You can hear all those elements in tvfordogs.
In concert tvfordogs appears in various configurations. The four of us can opt for either electric or acoustic sets, with or without string accompaniment. It all depends on who is available at any given time. It keeps the band fresh. We never
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