Feature Interview: Singing Along With Lucero

Lucero // May 29, 2009 // The Bluebird Theater // Denver, CO






Lucero tours a lot, so your chances of catching them in the U.S. or Canada are pretty good. At the very least, you’ve likely heard the name while scanning the local shows in your area. Over the last ten years, they’ve put out eight albums and the band’s front man, Ben Nichols, released a solo album in January of this year. They have an incredibly dedicated fan base. While I spoke to Mr. Nichols outside The Bluebird Theater, he was approached more than once by loving fans, one to show him a Lucero tattoo. The show sold out shortly after I arrived, despite this tour featuring shows in Aspen and Boulder as well.






What genre would you consider your music to be?






It’s really just rock and roll, but I guess if you had to classify it, it’s kind of Southern Rock and Indie Rock combined. I think that’s a pretty good description.






What image do you think that your music conveys?






I think probably late drunken nights is what comes to most people’s mind. I’m not exactly sure what a late drunken night looks like, probably different for everybody. That and being heartbroken over a girl. That’s pretty much what it’s all about, so whatever that looks like.






Lucero has a very dedicated fan base.






They’ve been nice to us.






Why do you think that is?






I don’t know…I think the lyrics are pretty straightforward. Pretty simple stuff, stuff that’s pretty much happened to everybody. Things that everyone can relate to.






How does that make you feel?






Really good. There’s nothing better than having folks sing along with the songs. That’s a great feeling. It’s a nice compliment. You know that they’re actually paying attention. It’s real rewarding.






I’m glad to hear that because I like to sing along.






It’s part of what makes this a great job. It’s awesome.






What is your best band story?

Oh goodness. I know I’ve got a ton of them. I need to just have one ready to go when that question comes up. I can remember all the bad band stories. The best band stories are tough. One of the best things about being in a band is getting to meet folks like Chuck Ragan and going on the Revival Tour with him, and all the guys in Against Me!, and all these bands spread out all over the country. If we weren’t playing music, we wouldn’t get to meet those folks and become friends with them. So, that’s not really answering your question at all.






That’s a good answer, though.






It’ll do.






What do you do for fun while you’re on tour?






I’m having fun most of the time. When we’re riding in the van, I read actually. And hang out at the bar and talk to people. That’s pretty much it.






What dream tour would you like to be on?






Tom Petty would be pretty good.






Awesome.






Yeah.






I’ve seen him a couple of times and it is always a fun gig.






He’s just good. Really good.






How easy or hard has it been to get exposure in the media for you?






It’s funny, we haven’t really tried that hard, we’ve just been around long enough to where folks start to notice you. We’ve been doing this for over ten years. I think it was really just by staying busy and staying on the road, that’s really the only way people started to pay attention to us. Luckily the stuff that’s been written about us is usually pretty good. The bad stuff we get is “Ben was too drunk and forgot all the words”, but most of the stuff is pretty favorable.






How do you see the effect of the current economy in the music business?






For us, the gas prices going back down helped us a lot. Where we live in Memphis it’s real cheap. Some of us are thinking of buying a house because they’re really inexpensive and we can actually afford one now. So really that’s kind of helped us. I know some of the clubs are hurting, but folks still come out and drink beer no matter how little money they have. We kind of live in a bubble outside of the normal economy. So we’re doing ok right at the moment.






What are you listening to a lot of right now?






Let me think, I’ve been getting into more and more classic rock stuff, like Deep Purple. Old stuff. There aren’t a whole lot of new bands. Unless we’re playing shows with them, I don’t get to see a whole lot of bands. There’s a band from Tennessee called Glossary and a band from Little Rock, Arkansas called The American Princes. These are folks we’ve played with, so I find myself listening to them a bunch. Just the stuff that I know. Unfortunately, I’m not up to date on new music.






If you could direct people to listen to just one of your songs what would it be and why?






That’s a tough one because we’ve got real slow songs that I like a lot and then we’ve got some rock and roll songs that are real nice, too. If I had to pick one song, probably there’s a really old one that’s a waltz and it’s really slow. It’s called Into Your Eyes and it’s one of the first six songs that we wrote. I think that kind of sums us up right from the beginning there.






What is next for you musically?






We’re putting out a new record in September or October. We recorded it at home in Memphis. We used a horn section and back up singers for the first time. We’re making the sound a little bigger. We’ll see if it works. I don’t know if it will. Put out a new record and stay on the road, that’s pretty much the plan.






Lucero’s set was pretty nontraditional. They played around, choosing songs as the mood struck the group instead of working from a predetermined list. The guys all appeared to be having a blast, as did the audience. Chuck Ragan came back out for a couple numbers. Jon Snodgrass of Drag the River also made an appearance.






The songs spanned from the earliest releases to the upcoming new release this fall. The crowd was enthusiastic through the entire show. Immediately afterward, I saw the guys outside meeting with fans. It really isn’t hard to see why people love Lucero and I hope you’ll give them a listen (unless you already do).






Ben was kind enough to sign a copy of Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers as well as a copy of his solo album, The Last Pale Light in the West for us to give away to two lucky commenters. To enter, simply reply here WITH YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS and we’ll select winners at random.






You can find Lucero at:


http://www.luceromusic.com/


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iTunes


Get yourself an album (or three) here