Q & A with Loren James
Hello everybody! Nick here. This past weekend I had the opportunity to interview Loren James. Loren plays bass in a band from Pomona, California named New Manners. Loren is also a multi talented musician who writes and records all of his own music in his side project, Loren James.
1.) If you had to categorize your personal music, what genre would you say “Loren James” falls under?
"If I had to categorize my music I think I would have to put it as singer songwriter. For the songs I write that have drums and bass, I usually think of it as emo or Midwestern emo revival. I know that’s really specific and obscure and I feel like a lame-o categorizing myself like that."
2.) What is the recording process like for New Manners? Are you limited to playing strictly bass? Don’t feel confined to one, but what genre of music would you label New Manners as?
"The recording process for New Manners is very structured. Nick (Camacho) writes songs and brings the idea to us. We all jam it out for a bit and then we all get together with him, one-on-one, and record our parts. Then we do a few trial recordings and finally on to the real thing. In New Manners I am limited to only playing bass but they do not force me to play only what they want. I can make up my own bass lines. I think the best genre that suits New Manners is Indie pop."
3.) What can a fan expect when going to see New Manners live?
"When a fan comes to see New Manners live they can expect to see a fun interactive show! We like to stay upbeat and tell everyone what are agenda is for the next few shows. We also like to mix in a few new songs that are not released on any platform yet so that they will come back to hear those songs live."
4.) I love the differences between listening to songs you write and songs you play with New Manners. What are your personal musical influences? What are the influences of New Manners?
"Personally I am influenced by a lot of different things for my own style of guitar/singer songwriter. I draw influence from Tim Kasher, Joanna Newsom, and Blood Orange (Dev Hynes). When I am playing in New Manners I shift my influences to bass stuff such as Eric Judy from Modest Mouse, Tegan and Sara, My Morning Jacket, and old mo-town sounds for fat bass tone."
5.) “Natural” is my favorite from New Manner’s last EP. When can fans expect to receive new music from the band? Are new songs sounding similar to the last album? (Video: "Don't Mind It" and "Natural")
"Thank you very much! I think that is a crowd favorite because it is so simple and pure…and Natural lol. We have a few dates set. The 23rd this month is when we start recording the new EP. Should take like a month hopefully sooner to release! I think the record label we are on wants tor press it to vinyl, which would be so cool! The songs are similar in having a theme of upbeat music with sad lyrics and undertones but there will totally be some new favorites on this next album I guarantee it!"
6.) Back in August you released a six song EP on bandcamp. How would you describe the EP in 6 words?
"Heartache, youth, quotes, local, diy, and grungy."
7.) “More I Miss” is a highlight for me on the EP. The middle section is brilliant. It makes me miss home in Orange County. What is that song actually about?
"More I miss is a play on words, it is about a co-worker I had that moved down from Illinois to California to start a new life. Her last name is "Morris" so it kind of sounded like more I miss. The song goes on to describe her car being an older civic and that she wasn’t really searching for anything coming down here but now she misses her old life she had and everyone in it. The ending of the song is just a bunch of quotes I wrote down that she said. It goes “ want to start over, want to sleep forever”…“A loser in Illinois, now a loser in California.” We would go on hikes together and it touches base on that in the last few lines as well. At the end of the song there is a sample from the movie "The Notebook". I thought that was appropriate because she really taught me how to accept different people and love one another in the short time she was here in California before she moved to another state."
8.) In “wakey wakey hands off the snakey” you repeatedly ask the girl if you can make out all the time. Well Loren, were you able to make out all the time?
"Wakey Wakey Hands of the Snakey is literally a compilation of text messages I got at 4 am from a girl I was in love with. We had a summer romance. Her mom got drunk one night and said the song title…so weird, but I liked it. At the end I just repeat the make out part a lot. Basically she wrote the song unintentionally and I just put it to music and melody. We did make out a lot before she moved away though."
9.) Any bands you’re really into lately?
"Wow I am listening to a lot lately. My top songs are Stronger Than That by the Bahamas, Heavenly Father by Bon Iver, Inmates by Tim Kasher. And 3 Beats Off by Judcody Limon. I think he only has a bandcamp but the rest are more established artists."
10.) Last question: any plans to make it up to the San Francisco/Bay Area? If so, Sound Town would love to have you or New Manners play live in the studio.
"Yeah! I’m sure we could in the near future! A lot has been going on in the last month with our members. I just got a new job, Dave, the drummer, got engaged, and Luhan, one of the guitar players, just signed a new lease for an apartment so I don’t know how soon we could do it. But a quick weekend would be just the right thing for us to do! I hope to see you again soon! Thank you very much for having me on Sound Town!"
Go "Like" New Manners on Facebook! Make sure to tune into Sound Town this Friday at 10am at ksfsmedia.net/radio to hear more about my experiences with Loren and to hear songs from New Manners and Loren's EP.
