Brimming with energy reminiscent of the early-to-mid 2000s, the Bloomington-based Alternative Indie Rock trio Lightshore has just released a new single entitled "Take It." This is their newest release since their first EP "The Early Recordings" came out in 2019. Since then, Lightshore have tightened up their sound and stepped up their production to deliver a track that wouldn't feel out of place on a Switchfoot or Mutemath record in the prime of those bands' careers. The Haystack caught up with the band to find out more about their growth as artists in the time since their EP.
How did Lightshore get started? What’s the significance of the band name?
Lightshore got started towards the back end of 2019. The three of us spent our summer working at camp in southern Indiana. We found that we shared a common space in our musical taste. We spent the summer playing together on stage for the kids, and really felt something start to take place when we started to work on piecing together some original music. We played a concert during one of the last weeks of camp and knew we had the potential to share our passion with others. One of the biggest forces playing a part in our desire to do this, is that it really makes us feel alive.
Each of us in the band have had our fair share of experience battling the lows of mental health. We know the journey we call life isn’t an easy one to walk alone. Lightshore came to us as a gift. The name stems from the desire to create a community that acknowledges the struggle, the people around them, and helps keep eachother afloat. We want to be a sliver of hope in a dark world that craves light. We want to shine that light with as many people as possible, and bring those experiencing adversity to shore. A place where we can all be safe, and sing songs together that bring relief, understanding, and healing.
Tell us about your experience recording in Detroit. How did it compare to some of your previous recording sessions?
We really have been blessed to work with Jake Rye of Social Recording Company. He was a touring member of Sanctus Real. Jake is an awesome talented musician, producer, mentor, and sound engineer. Our experience recording with him has been amazing. He really gives us the opportunity to come out on the other side with quality recordings everyone can enjoy. Jake has been patient with us, understanding, and has elevated us as a band in the short time we’ve worked with him.
Previous to working with him we had tried to go through the recording process ourselves. We sat in a kitchen with a makeshift home studio, and did the best we could with what we had. That’s how we put together ‘The Early Recordings’. We knew this time around we really had to level up in order to continue growing a fanbase. In comparison this version of our music will absolutely provide a quality listening experience.
You guys travelled out to Joshua Tree National Park to shoot your video for this single. Why Joshua Tree in particular, and what can you say about the experience of making this video?
We took a boys trip out to California at the end of March and made plans to shoot a video for “Take It” as part of our “Open Sessions” series. For these videos, we try to do live, stripped-down versions of our songs making use of interesting scenery we find. In the past, we’ve done some of these videos around southern Indiana and in northern Michigan. Joshua Tree National Park fits right into the “interesting scenery” requirement for our Open Sessions.
The desert is also a cool change from our previous videos which have all used Midwestern or Great Lakes environments. It’s a cool place, for sure! Also, a notable part of our experience is that we got to the park right before sunset. The sunset at Joshua Tree is worth the trip out there. We definitely had to get the song recorded as quickly as possible to make sure we used up that golden light!
What are your future plans beyond this single? Anything major in the works that you can tell us about?
Our priority during the pandemic has been to write, and eventually record as much new music as we can. We spent a week together last year with the goal of writing an album. Since then, we’ve been refining all of the ideas, writing more new music, and picking the best of the bunch to take to the studio. “Take It” happened to be chosen as the first single. We’re planning on recording at least two more songs by June and releasing them towards the end of the summer.
Our eventual goal with the upcoming singles is to put out a full EP by the end of the year. Now that live music is starting to return, we want to hit the ground running by playing shows around Bloomington, Indianapolis, and anywhere else that opportunities arise.
Check out the new single "Take It," available now on all major online music distributors.
More about Lightshore
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Genre: Indie / Rock / Alternative
Members:
Tito Baez - Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
John Adame - Lead guitar, backing vocals
Trent Ward - Bass guitar
Artist Links
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