If you’re like us, one of the positive things that came out of the Covid shutdown and the way artists had to alter the way that they connected with fans is that it gave us a chance to check out a bunch of new music that we might have slept on previously. Case in point: LA Edwards. It was a name I’d certainly heard before, but it wasn’t until an opening appearance on Lucero’s Virtual Block Party in late 2020 that I said “hey, these guys are pretty great!” There was a cool, mellow, Laurel Canyony vibe to the sound, filled with great guitars and even greater harmonies.
Now that the world has reopened and Covid is no longer a thing (lol), the band finally made their way to the Northeast, opening for Lucero on their somewhat abbreviated run late last year. While Lucero are certainly well-known for epic live performances of their own, LA Edwards did a formidable job setting a high bar. The band followed that tour with a western US run with The White Buffalo, and yesterday, they release their latest (and undoubtedly greatest) full-length album, Out Of The Heart Of Darkness. If you missed it, here’s our review. We traded emails with frontman Luke Edwards to talk about the new album, what it’s like touring with a bunch of live heavyweights, how you balance being a full-time musician and owning a wildly successful food company and more! You can listen to the new album below, then keep scrolling to check out our chat!
Dying Scene (Jay Stone): First and foremost, thanks for taking some time to answer some of our questions. You’ve bookended your touring year with runs in support of The White Buffalo and had a few festivals and a bit of an abbreviated run with Lucero in the mix earlier this year. How does 2022 stack up amongst the touring years in your career?
Luke “LA” Edwards: Thank you for having me! It was great to be back out on the road for 22, including our first run overseas to Europe and the Uk. 22 was one of our busier years with about 4.5 months out. We’re feeling good and road ready!
Speaking of The White Buffalo, I’ve been lucky enough to interview Jake a couple times over the years, and he has to be on the shortlist of the more intense and dynamic performers that I’ve ever had the privilege to shoot. Does knowing your playing in support of a powerhouse live act (whether it’s Jake or Lucero or Lucinda Williams, etc) motivate you and the crew because you know you have to bring your A-game every night?
Most definitely! It’s always our goal to serve the audience, and supporting and watching such amazing artists nightly is a master class that we are very thankful for.
Speaking of tour, you were on the road with the amazingly talented Amanda Shires when the world shut down a few years ago. What do you remember about that time, particularly trying to maneuver that first handful of shows as things were closing down? Did you have a lot of other stuff that had to get postponed or canceled the longer that shutdown lasted?
That was definitely a wild ride. I remember we were in the Northwest and the shows kept getting thinner and thinner until we cancelled the run and headed home. A fan in Vancouver wisely stated at our last show, “We’re going to remember this as the time before Covid”….
All musicians are making up for their last 2 years so it’s a good time to be a fan. It’s not the most artist-friendly touring landscape with the high costs and competition of everyone being out making up for lost time.
Okay, let’s switch gears to the new album! Congratulations on Out Of The Heart Of Darkness! I’ve been a fan of your songwriting and your sound for a while now, but I have to say that from the first listen, I think this is your best and most diverse work yet! I have to imagine this was a fun record to make. Songs like “Let It Out” and “Hi Rite Now!” and that bridge/outro on “Surrender” really seem to tap into the live energy of an LA Edwards show. Was that a focus this time out?
Thank you! We’re very proud of the record. I wrote most of it after our Europe tour and was feeling pretty exhausted and hungover in every way possible. Those shows were the biggest of our career and I think that desire to rock the big rooms probably played a subconscious role in the songwriting process.
One of the things that I was most impressed with in finally getting to see the band live on that Lucero run in the Northeast was how much of a killer guitar band you are. It feels like you did let the guitars off the proverbial leash a little more this time out, as it seems like there are some newer and different sounds and textures on this record. Is there a battle between the songwriter part of your brain that wants to serve the song best and provide atmosphere for a song to breathe in, and the guitar player side of your brain that maybe just wants to shred sometimes?
Love that! Yes we do love to play guitar. My brother Jay is the real shredder, I mainly like to play slide since I don’t practice scales and speed drills enough. On the new material Jay is playing the majority of the lead guitar, which allows me to focus a bit more on singing/dancing/falling etc. We steered away from “solos” and went more “lead” style for the guitars, which has always been my favorite kind of playing. I wanted the guitar to come from a more melodic/songwriting approach, similar to George Harrison/David Lindley etc., so I think it allows shredding within the fairway of the song/melody.
There are recurring themes of movement on a lot of your work but particularly on this album. Lots of references to the characters in your music traveling; sometimes they’re wandering, sometimes they’re escaping, or sometimes either returning home or, conversely, not being able to return home and having to move on. Why do you think that these are themes that resonate with you and, by extension, to your listeners?
Well we grew up in a military family so we never really settled down or had a childhood home, so that’s definitely in the DNA. And then add becoming roving minstrels in a traveling band to the mix and you have homesick material covered. I think a lot of people can relate to wanting to find their place.
A friend and frequent mention on the pages of Dying Scene over the years, Dave Hause, has increasingly collaborated with his younger brother Tim over the years and wrote an album called Blood Harmony that, in part, digs into that sort of cosmic sonic connection that siblings seem able to tap into that people without that family relationship can’t always. You’ve certainly played with some talented musicians not named Edwards in your time (shoutout to Alex Vo and Landon Pigg!!), but you and Jay and Jerry seem to have that “thing.” Is that a thing you’ve really explored and, if so, when did you realize that you had that sort of mutual musical language?
We grew up singing at church and listening to good harmony bands around the house, but we were mainly in crappy punk bands through high school. We didn’t really fully dive into the harmonies till our late teens early 20s. Once we did, we realized was uniquely our own and resonated with people on a deep, familial level. Jay is classically trained so he has a lot of fun arranging weird, out of the box 3 part harmonies. Aside from songwriting, it’s my favorite part of the whole deal.
I was surprised to see “The Crow” not listed on the tracklist for Out Of The Heart Of Darkness, in part because I’m a sucker for slide guitar and harmonica. What went into the decision to release that as a standalone single instead?
Well the Crow was actually recorded before “Blessings from Home” at Ten4 studio in Nashville in 2019. We considered putting it on Blessings but it didn’t seem to fit anywhere sonically. It’s a lot closer to the tones of the new record for sure, not really sure why we didn’t put it on there now that you mention it…maybe because it’s a few years older.
You’ve collaborated with the great Ron Blair pretty regularly at this point. On the list of surreal things that have happened in your time in the music industry, where does working with not just a Heartbreaker, but with the guy that Tom Petty himself called “always the best bass player in the room” rank?
We owe so much to Ron. He’s our main mentor and a great sensei. Having him enter the picture is definitely surreal and one of the most meaningful things to happen to us musically. And he’s still the best bass player in the room!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the success of your “day job” as co-founder of Bitchin’ Sauce which – shameless plug – is finally available in my neck of the woods and is really unlike anything else I’ve ever had. If you were able to go back and talk to high school-aged Luke, which do you think he’d be more mindblown by: your success as a touring musician with a handful of albums on his own label imprint under Universal records, or your success as co-founder of an award-winning, vegan specialty food company?
Both are very surprising, but I never thought I’d be in the food biz!
Thanks again for taking the time to answer our long-winded questions. If there’s anything else you’d like Dying Scene readers to know, feel free to do so here! Best of luck with Out Of The Heart Of Darkness, and hopefully we’ll catch you on the road again in the new year!!
See you out there, cheers Jay!!
