Buffalo progressive outfit Lemuria have become a household name in the punk scene, and here at DS. Touring with acts like Against Me!, New Found Glory, Polar Bear Club and more, the guys (and girl) are no strangers to current issues in music today. In this interview, drummer/vocalist Alex Kerns talks about the band’s upcoming tour plans, the lingering issue of sexism in punk rock, the reception of “Pebble” and more. You can read the whole thing right here.
First of all, thank you very much for doing this interview with us. For our readers that are unfamiliar, tell us a little bit about yourselves.
No problem. We are a trio from Buffalo, New York. We have two albums out, the first one on Asian Man Records and the newest album “Pebble” came out this year on Bridge 9 Records.
You guys are on some tour dates with Against Me! which is a pretty big deal. Are you guys excited?
Very excited. We are about half way through the tour right now and it has been incredible. Everyone in Against Me! have been insanely kind to us.
There has been a lot of talk lately about sexism in music, particularly punk rock. Being (partly) fronted by a woman, have you ever run into opposition? What are your thoughts on sexism in music?
We definitely face sexism. Often times sound men will ask me about information about the specifics of Sheena’s set up on stage while Sheena is on stage with me. I’m the fucking drummer, ask her! It’s a blatant insult to her. In most cases she ends up surprising people and being way more knowledgeable of the sound engineer’s job than the sound engineer themselves. The obnoxious thing is, it shouldn’t be a surprise. As a band, we put a lot of effort into not being viewed as a “female-fronted band”. We’ve had photographers who have insisted that Sheena is up front and in the middle, that’s when we realize that this is not the person we want to be working with. It has always been a pet peeve of mine to see a band photo where there is a female in full color way up front, and the remaining men in the band are in the background possibly in black & white and out of focus. Nobody in our band is a token, we are a unit.
How do you guys work together to write songs?
Sheena and I both write riffs and demo them on our own times and then present them at practice. Once the music and the lyrics are all ready, we sit down and work on the vocal melodies and harmonies. But we also experiment with different methods of songwriting as well to create songs that are unique in relation to the rest of our catalog.
Given that you have two vocalists, how do you decide who will sing which part?
Usually it’s the lyrics, sometimes it’s just the mood of the music itself. Sometimes I write lyrics and Sheena thinks they are too personal for her to sing.
Robert Forster once said “The three piece band is the purest form of rock and roll expression.” Would you agree with this being a three piece yourself? If so why, and if not…why?
I’m not sure what makes a band pure, but I have always preferred trios in rock’n’roll. When you’re a trio, nobody “has your back”. If one guitar slips up, you don’t have the other guitar eclipsing mistakes. It takes a little finesse.
I know it’s been out for a while, but how has the reception been for “Pebble” so far?
We have had great reception for the album. We are so excited now that we’re touring on the album and people are singing along to our new songs.
What is your favourite song off “Pebble” and can you tell us a bit about it?
My favorite song is probably “Wise People”, or maybe it’s “Bloomer”. Both songs draw aggression from a similar source on a topic that I was never really comfortable writing about pre-“Pebble”.
I’m sure this question has been asked quite a bit, but what made you guys decide to sign to Bridge 9?
Great staff, great deal. We are all fans of our how the label operates and from asking around with other alumni of the label we had only heard great things about them.
After the AM! and UK dates, what will Lemuria be planning next?
We will going on a full US tour in November/December after The Fest in Gainesville, Florida. We are also in the works of putting together some music videos for songs from “Pebble”.
Any good tour stories you’d like to share with us fans?
We met Paul Giamatti a few weeks ago. That was cool! Pictures coming soon.
What are some bands out there that you’d be stoked to go on tour with?
Superchunk, who we are playing with in NYC next month. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, The Marked Men, and Torche.
Discover more from Dying Scene
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.