***INTERVIEW*** With New Self-Titled Album, lovelytheband Is Ready To Make A Statement

We sat down to disuss the band's new album, recording process, upcoming tour and more with lovelytheband guitarist, Jordan Greenwald.

lovelytheband

lovelytheband is an indie-pop trio from Los Angeles, California. They released their fouth full-length album on Friday, August  23rd. Three From The Pit got to talk with guitarist, Jordan Greenwald less than a week later about the album, tour, and much more about lovelytheband.

Three From The Pit

Hey Jordan, it's been almost a week now, how's release week been treating you? The response on streaming platforms seems to be pretty amazing so far.

Jordan Greenwald

I can't believe it's already a week. Wow! Yeah, it's been really rewarding. We have been very fortunate in being able to have the fan base and the people around us that accepts and lets us make the music that we want to make. We really never know what the reaction is going to be. We're four albums in, almost eight years in. The past week has been great; when people are like, "Oh, yeah, it sounds like how you guys sounded right when I first heard you in 2017" and things like that, which is really cool. I love that type of stuff.

TFTP

That's an interesting perspetive, because a lot of bands are constantly trying to reinvent themselves, and I think they can lose some of their base by doing that. Fans got into you guys in the first place because of songs like "broken". While you have to keep things fresh and interesting but stay true to yourselves and your fans at the same time. That can certainly be a challenge.

Jordan

Right. I think throughout our career, there have been moments where we just are like, Oh, people like this? Well, will people like this sound that we can tap into?

Then you try to emulate some other stuff that still resonates true to you. But sonically and lyrically and stuff, it's like, Oh, can we really do this? Sometimes it's a hard no, and that's fine. That's just part of growing as a band. It's not letting those moments be like, Oh, now I suck. It's just like, Okay, cool. People like this sound right now. That's awesome. Can we strike and pique their interests with this new thing? It's just like a back and forth between what your fans like and what you like. It's really just feeding that relationship. The key is really just keeping that relationship healthy between you, the music, and the fans.

Jordan Greenwald - lovelytheband - photo by: Eric Daniels

TFTP

So the album came out pretty quickly. Obviously, you guys had an album last year. How did it come together so quickly, and did you guys do anything differently this time around as far as the process?

Jordan

Yeah, 100%. Every album has been different. (With) the first album, those first few singles, Mitchy literally just got in the studio. It wasn't lovely, it wasn't even a band yet. Mitchy got in the studio with our longtime collaborator, Christian Metis, and just wrote songs.

That's where "these are my friends", "broken", all those early, early lovelytheband singles came from.

I met Mitchy, Sam met Mitchy, lovelytheband formed, and then we went in (the studio) just really knowing each other for about a year. The first album happens, we tour for two years, "broken" happens.

Then we go in and make our second album in four months in a house after touring for quite literally two years straight. We think we made the best album we could have made. We're coming off the coattails of "broken", so now we're feeling the pressure, and we just want to make the best thing we can make. At the time, we're like, Oh, my God, this is awesome. We're so stoked. That comes out in (August) of 2019.

That first single came out, we did one radio show, and then COVID happens. We have to cancel the tour, everything. Now COVID is a thing. We put an album out, but can't really tour it. We can't do promo, can't do anything, really.

We then went back in, and began making a third album during COVID, which is completely different than being in a house, being all seperate. Now, we have two years to write songs, essentially. We wrote, I want to say, over 100 songs that we then narrowed down to however many is on the third album.

This fourth album really came from the culmination of a bunch of songs that we wrote during COVID. There was a couple of songs that we wrote in 2019 that got on this album. As a band, we're just always in the state of writing when we're off the road. Just because us three, individually as songwriters, that's just what we love to do. It's just in lovelytheband's DNA to always just have new things, new tracks, new lyrics, ideas, new songs to be circulating.

So this fourth album was really the culmination of these last, I want to say, six years that we've nailed down. And we're already in the studio writing for the next one. We just love to do it!

TFTP

It's kind of crazy hearing that some of those songs that you've had in the tank since 2019 made the cut now. It goes to show that something that may not have worked four or five years ago, hits just right now. It also speaks to the quality of the band's writing.

Jordan

Totally. When you're putting an album together, there might be some songs that are great and sound awesome, but just don't sound like 80% of the other stuff that we feel like could make it. So, we just keep it, and hope it's just going to find its home. That was the case for a few of them on this one, which is pretty rewarding.

It's like, Oh, I wrote something and tapped into some type of creative energy that made itself come to fruition five years later, which is crazy.

TFTP

It really is wild but speaks to the focus of the band and their continuity as artists.

TFTP

So, let's be honest, when a band decides to go "self-titled" in album terms, it's a big deal. There's been a few that have done it that come to mind, you know... the Beatles, Ramones, Foo Fighters, Weezer, even Vampire Weekend. When you decide to go self-titled, there's got to be some extra pressure on you guys.

Now that you're telling me that you had all these songs to choose from, was that in the back of your mind, that this album was going to define who you are as a band at this point in your career?

Jordan

We had an idea initially going into making the graphics, the esthetics, the look of everything. Because once you have the idea of, "Okay, I'm going to do a self-titled", everything else started to come together a little bit better because... That was our North Star.

We're like, Okay, We're creating this thing. It's going to be our self-titled. It's going to be a defining moment because as a band, you're right, for some of my favorite bands it was the defining moment.

lovelytheband - lovelytheband NEW ALBUM

Not to say that this is a defining moment in our career, but instead, there's definitely a point internally where when you're in a band for almost 10 years, any relationship, you have to make the decision. Do I want to keep doing this? Do I want to keep feeding it and loving it and going through the peaks and valleys of it all?

We all came to the mutual agreeament that, Oh, yeah, we want to do this!" Here we go! Self-titled! Let's do this! Let's go back and make something that our OG fans will love, and then hopefully, something that will make us progress in our career as well.

TFTP

I love that answer! You said that a few of your favorite band's self-titles were defining moments. Any that jump out to you?

Jordan

Yeah, you mentioned Foo Fighters. That's a huge one! I saw the Foo Fighters when I was 13, and it was the first time I ever smelled weed. I went to my friend's dad's house, and I was like, what's that smell? He's like, well, you're at a Foo Fighters concert, so it is what it is. First time I saw them- I don't know if I'm allowed to say that, but that's just what came to mind.

TFTP

You can say anything you want, man.

Jordan

Now I'm just going through different self-titled albums, and I'm seeing all the different ones that I grew up listening to Rage Against the Machine. That self-titled album was so big for me. It came out before I was born, but I grew up playing that album, Killing the Name, that album. That Vampire Weekend album, huge. Wow. They were all defining albums. So hopefully that... Damn, even Metallica.

TFTP

So now we have your "self-titled." The new album covers the spectrum of emotions. It tugs at your heartstrings with songs like "when your heart remembers", then it gives you, "feel like summer", an anthem that has that "play it loud with the top down" feel, and for good measure you throw in what seems to be your latest alt-pop mega hit, "nice to know you".

What sticks out as the inspiration for some of these songs? Was there a concerted effort to have a definitive roller coaster on this album to showcase what the band can do in all these different areas?

Jordan

It's so funny. When we go in to write an album, we're like, Okay. But once we wrote a song like "nice to know you", and we have this song now, we're like, Okay, it's high energy; It feels hooky to us. We're rehearsing it, and we're like, Damn, this feels good! We play a show with it. People are dancing. We're dancing and we're like, Okay, this feels awesome!

Then we're like, Okay, we now have this thing. What could be...

Personally, I ask myself this question. I go, Okay, what is the string between "nice to know you" and "when your heart remembers"? Because that's how you have to go about making the album.

So then super randomly, we're writing this song, this ballad song, where we're like, Oh, my God, can we pull some influences from Coldplay? Can we make this a big, epic ballad? And we track it, and we play it, and we're like, maybe... Then we play literally in the same night. I remember we played "nice to know you" and a couple of other songs just see... Is this in the same realm? When we played it and were like, well, it definitely It could be!

Seemingly, they all cohesively work together, which is pretty crazy to think back to.

TFTP

Love it, Jordan! It's always fun to hear what goes into the creative proess.

So, when it comes to choosing singles in the streaming age, I'd guess it's gotta be kind of exciting to see how the fans connect.

In the old days, record labels dictated to the fans what their singles would be from a new album. The industry executives had a predetermined order. There's probably a dozen Beatles songs that we all love that were never a single.

Jordan

Oh, my God. Totally. Yeah.

TFTP

This has changed dramatically with streaming platforms giving fans more input on what their singles are. The fan's first single from this album is clearly "nice to know you".

Jordan

Yes! "nice to know you" tapped into that old lovelytheband dreamy type sound. We were really stoked that hopefully the fans would like it, and the fans turned out really loving it, so we're stoked about that.

TFTP

For sure. The fans have clearly fallen in love with it. As of this morning, it's got 7.8 million streams on Spotify. Did you guys know you had a hit when you wrote this one?

Jordan

Well,when we're putting new stuff out, we want to get people pumped. Like I said earlier, once we finish writing, we know we have something and we're like, Oh, my God, we cannot wait to put this thing out! But you never know. We kind of know what our fans like, but you just literally never know.

It really just comes down to, alright, we like it, and this is where we're at right now. We hope you're there with us! When people are there with you, that's when you got to take that victory and celebrate that.

TFTP

That has to be an exciting time. It leads into my next question. Spotify's streams are like their version of "likes". Are you guys ever shocked or disappointed that a song connects or maybe doesn't in a way that you didn't see coming?

Jordan

Totally. Yeah. I mean, listen, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't looking at it. I could definitely try and play that card and be like, I've never looked at one thing.

When you work so long and you work so hard on something like this album for so long, it's almost impossible not to go and check.

But there's a certain point where you get over the pump of... Because it's exciting, right? You're like, Oh, my God. I just put this out. I really hope people like it. I can literally see right now how many people are listening to it on my phone. You know what I mean? Which is really cool, but also really gnarly for your psyche a little bit.

TFTP

It can fuck you up.

Jordan

Oh, 100%. It does. It totally does. But we're fortunate enough to be able to do this for so long. We're like, It's fun to look at, but you don't put your self-worth in it, if that makes sense.

TFTP

Totally.

Jordan

Because that's the only way. You know what I mean? That's literally the only way to live.

In my eyes, that's the only way to truly live your life as an artist; to take that into account. But don't base your happiness on (likes or plays) because that's when it will go south.

TFTP

Speaking of Spotify, you guys came up in the streaming age. You know how hard it is to be discovered. Everybody has a million songs at their fingertips at all times. Bands have to find creative ways to stay relevant.

What is your favorite way to remain connected with your fans? Is it just the writing? Is it touring, social media? Merch?. Let's face it, you're not making a living from the streams on Spotify.

Jordan

No, you're not. You're absolutely not.

I've found in my head, I've broken the stigma of the current landscape of social media to connect with fans recently. We've been doing social media our whole life. We grew up with Instagram and put out music with streaming services, like you said.

Finding ways to keep your fans engaged while staying true to who you are is so important though. Because that's the thing with everything being so accessible now, people can see right through you immediately if you're fake. If you put out a video, if you put out a TikTok and you're saying, Hey, stream my song. I'm having my manager tell me to do this. No one's going to stream your song.

Because A)., it feels tacky personally, and B)., it's just you're not loving every part of it. Which for many of your fans who love being on social media is huge. You have to find a way to love it and find a way to find a good relationship with it. It's always a push and pull, but we have found a way to love it.

I would say all three of us in the band, where we shine the most is playing our instruments on stage, playing and singing the songs that we've written.

As for merch, during COVID, I just was like, you know what? I'm going to really learn how to do this. Then I designed with the guys, but on my computer, the whole merch line, the tour merch for the tour last year, and I'm continuing to do that for now.

I think the fans connected with that because now it's authentically just what we created. It's not like what some merch company is drawing up or something.

That's even another way where we're like, oh, yeah, we made this. When people find out, they are like, Oh, I'm so stoked to buy this shirt. It's just finding ways to be true and fully put your heart into it and people resonate with that.

TFTP

Yeah, I'll be honest. I love that so much, man. As a fan, I really gravitate to the visual aspect of a band's identity. Merch is just another way to connect. When a band puts a lot of effort into it, and it's their vision of the overall tie to the album and into the feel of the live performance, I personally really connect with that.

Jordan

Yeah. All of that is just the trial and error thing. It's also spending the time to learn something new like, Oh, I'm going to be really bad at this. I've worked my whole life to be a guitar player and write songs and be a performer. But then it's like, Okay, cool. Now I have to learn a new medium and suck at it for a really long time. But I've gotten to a point where, Okay, I can put things out, and it's scary but it's validating when fans are stoked that it's made by us.

TFTP

Let's talk about the upcoming Here's Your Flowers Tour with you guys and co-headliner Mod Sun

Jordan

Well, we're not touring as much as we used to as far as… when we were starting out, we were gone 10 months, if not more, out of the year. We were heading everywhere.

Nowadays, we're touring, but we're not gone doing stuff every week at this point.

Every tour, we try to elevate our musicianship that we bring to the live shows. This tour is just going to be lovelytheband self-titled energy brought to every show. We're playing a bunch of the new songs. I think the reinvigorated energy from us to play new songs that we haven't played before should get people excited! We're getting the setlist together now. Like, literally, the last week, we started to get the show together and get everything going. I could say, personally, I'm absolutely so, so stoked to go and play these new songs live. It'll be awesome!

TFTP

Will you guys alternate as co-headliners each night, depending on the city, or is it going to be the same order each night?

Jordan

Yeah, it'll alternate depending on the city. I don't actually know where is where and who is who, but yeah, it's a switch off type of situation.

TFTP

Great! It's sounds like a party not to be missed.

Just one last question on a light note... When do you foresee one of you guys being able to splurge on a new keyboard with a working space bar and caps key?

Jordan

Wait, say that one more time. Say that one more time!

TFTP

When do you foresee one of you guys being able to splurge on a new keyboard with a working space bar and caps key?

Jordan

Oh, because everything... Yeah, that's awesome! Haha! Listen, maybe if we get another "broken", we'll be able to go buy another one.

That's just one of those early things that when Mitchy and I were sitting almost eight years ago saying what is this band, really what the branding is, because that's such a big part of it. It's a huge part of how we think about what lovelytheband brings to the table. That was just one of those early, lowercase, no spaces type of deals. It really isn't much deeper than that!

TFTP

I love it Jordan, thanks for chatting today. It sounds like you and the band are in a great place and this tour should be a great chance for fans to catch you guys at a great point as a band. Have fun on the road. We'll see you when you hit the East Coast.

BUY the new album or listen everywhere HERE.

The Here's Your Flowers Tour kicks off on September 28th in San Francisco, CA and treks east to cities like Boston, New York, Philadephia, and Atlanta before heading back west to wrap up with a hometown show on November 11th in Los Angeles.

Grab tickets HERE.