Lake Street Dive, a four-piece Brooklyn-based band, is on fire with their strong, richly textured vocals and powerful musical talent that is creating sounds that can’t help but make you want to move.
Lake Street Dive writes their own original music, and they also cover a diverse collection of songs. The band’s YouTube channel features a mean rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Jackson 5’s, “I Want You Back,” Hall and Oats, “Rich Girl” and the Eurythmics, “Walking on Broken Glass,” all performed with a Lake Street Dive twist.
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“We are always trying to be unique and fundamentally fun. …
come out, move your hips, feel wonderful energy that live music
can bring and have a good time.”
– Bridget Kearny
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Their new album, “Side Pony,” was released on Feb. 19. “Call Off Your Dogs” is upbeat and reminiscent of 60’s soul pop sound while the title cut, “Side Pony,” is an ode to being true to self. It refers to Bridget Kearney’s not-so-subtle hairstyle and the bands desire to do their own thing.
“It’s symbolic of what we want to do with our music,” says Kearny, who plays stand-up bass and is one of the songwriters for the band.
“What compels me to write is being a fan of music, going to shows and finding records,” Kearny says of what inspires her writing. “I am excited about how music makes me feel and how it makes others feel. How songs create a mood you are feeling and then trying to find what chord or note re-creates that feeling. What story does the music tell? Then pairing the story with the music.”
It is evident that the songs on the new album “Side Pony” capture the bands story through their music.
“All four songwriters are represented. Everyone in the band is living their life, having their ups and downs and that comes out in the music. Rachel (Price) is the one telling the stories through her voice, but there are lots of perspectives telling the story,” Kearny muses. All of the members of the band attended the New England Conservatory of Music.
Kearny says that she has learned a lot about herself in the 12 years the bands been together. Group dynamics, communication, realizing what’s not working for the band, keeping the lines of communication open and being considerate of everyone’s needs is what’s kept the band moving forward. As Kearny reflects on the band, she talks about each of the band members’ strengths and the importance of focusing and featuring those strengths to discover ways to allow each member to shine.
The four members co-wrote “Can’t Stop” while in the studio. Guitarist, Mike “McDuck” Olson, who also plays trumpet for the band, is a wizard of harmony, according to Kearny. She wrote most of the melody and then passed it on to him. He added chord structure to the melody, and percussionist Mike Calabrese added rhythmic form and structure, while Price is the one that delivers the song through her voice offering the finishing touches. Each component of the process lent itself to what is in the end a rich, textured song, says Kearny of the collaboration.
“It’s soul, pop and rock ‘n’ roll. It doesn’t contain one thing and pop can be misleading,” says Kearny of Lake Street Dive’s music. And, she explains the pop aspect of sound is from the last 60 years and not from a specific era.
“We include components of different styles and like the Galapagos Islands that is always evolving, we are doing our own evolving,” she says.
“Side Pony” is a reference celebrating their unique sound. It’s symbolic of what the band wants to do with their music.
The band has a unique sound and yet the influences in their music are evocative reminders of sounds that are familiar.
“We are always trying to be unique and fundamentally fun. That’s what’s important about our live shows; come out, move your hips, feel wonderful energy that live music can bring and have a good time,” she says of Lake Street Dive’s upcoming performance at Cargo in Reno on Feb. 28 with The Suffers.
Feb. 28 | 8 p.m., doors open at 7 | $22
Cargo | Reno, Nev.
To purchase tickets, visit cargo.com or call (775) 398-5400.
