The band formula has always been an average of 4 members with two guitars, a bass and drums. Maybe you’d throw in some keyboards for flavor. Lloyd’s Garage is breaking that mold. Hailing from San Francisco, the duo of Seth Heitzmann (vocals, guitar) and Lloyd Llewelyn (drums, keys) bring a sound much bigger and louder than most four-piece bands. With huge energy, garage-rock enthusiasm, and awesome throwback instrumentation, Lloyd’s Garage is ready to take the rock world by storm. We had a chance to talk with the duo about their start in music, the ever-changing music industry, and where they’re headed next.
When/How did you first start playing music?
Seth: I think I was about 6. I received a recorder (which I called a flute). I just blew into it making loud annoying noises. Later I started collecting those big popcorn and cookie tins and used those as drums. Again, making loud annoying noises. Now the noises I make are a little less annoying and A LOT louder.
Lloyd: I’ve played music for as long as I can remember. I'm seven to ten years younger than my siblings who were always taking lessons on something. Playing the piano in our house was one of my favorite pastimes. But I also remember picking up a flute, a trombone, and a French horn before I started school. Formally, I started taking trumpet in fifth grade.
What's the best gig you ever played?
Seth: We played at Maggie McGarry’s in SF. The drunkards loved us so much that when it came time for an encore they were yelling louder than we could play.
Lloyd: That was amazing. Truly one of those moments that I will always treasure. Our first Bottom of the Hill and Cafe du Nord shows were also huge for me because those are two clubs that I've seen some of my favorite bands play. Being on the same stage as those bands has very special meaning.
How has social media effected the way you market/promote your music?
Seth: We use social media to keep in contact with our fans. We also use it for promotion. But we find, for us at least, that getting out there and playing shows is still the best way to get new fans.
Lloyd: It's a blessing because it makes direct contact so easy. It's a curse because it has completely overturned the way that music was - since the late 60s - promoted, marketed, and delivered, but has not yet produced a structured replacement. The major labels stagnated, notably beginning in the late-eighties, with business people taking over from music fans with business sense. Fortunately, the social media revolution undermined their position as gatekeepers. Now, amazing bands have the means for direct contact. But the labels were also the traditional filters for fans - they poured through thousands of acts to locate and sign interesting bands. When music fans ran them, this was a great service. Now you have music fans anxious to find the next big thing, but faced with tens of thousands of so-so bands that are screaming for their attention.
What's your prediction for the next big advancement in how we find/listen to/share music?
Seth: Right now there is such a technological overload when trying to find and listen to music. I think there will be lots of artists creating interactive, “roots” based methods to discover music. I just heard on NPR that Emperor X was burying his music and giving people the general location so they could hunt it down. It’s not very romantic to say; “I found my new favorite band on iTunes.” That isn’t exciting or interesting.
Lloyd: I think the label's traditional live-act functions of talent evaluation and identification, promotion, and tour support/booking will coalesce somewhere else, without the recording/producing/engineering functions. Right now, you have all of the professionals who served these roles at labels, working independently to offer their services to bands. But there is a lot of overlap, and it is frustrating for bands to have all of this duplication (without coordination) of effort and costs. At some point, I imagine a type of web presence that will once again coordinate these functions for bands - which will then serve as a talent-focusing filter for music fans.
What's your next big gig coming up? When/Where?
Seth: We will be playing at Grant and Green (a few doors down from McGarry’s) in SF on Halloween night. That street is always hopping so it should be a blast.
Lloyd: For me the next big gig is the next gig period. It sounds corny, but if there's one person at a show that wants to hear our music, I'm going to do everything I can to blow them away with how great we are.
Check out more on Lloyd’s Garage here.
