There is a beckoning born from nature that captivates, allures, and inspires. We are all secretly adventurers waiting with bated breath for our moment to embark on a journey into the open wild. You can feel it in the warm spring breeze… Imploring… Will you go?
A soundtrack to depict the life of a sojourner, Lord Huron’s first full-length album Lonesome Dreams invites you into the captivating sounds of a journey. This album takes you by wind to another place and time where “The West” is still yet to be discovered. It entices you to unearth its created world where the dunes of the Middle East meet the deserts of the mid-west.
From the shores of Lake Huron, Ben Schneider began a personal project without any expectations of what was later to come. He described his Into the Sun EP as, “Something to work out my creative muscles a little bit and get out some expression. It was really my sister who encouraged me to spread it around… So I have her to thank for that.” With his sister’s encouragement, he did indeed spread the goodness and was rewarded with great reception. Ben was joined by two of his childhood friends, and another Michigan native to expand his solo project to create Lord Huron.
After another self released EP and tour, Lord Huron was signed by IAMSOUND Records and recorded all that is Lonesome Dreams. It has been a very exciting couple of years for the men of Lord Huron. Ben reflects, “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and the minute I saw that I had the opportunity to do it, I really jumped on it because I have been doing music my whole life and have never had any measure of success at it really. So it feels good to be able to make a living out of it.”
Ben has always been a natural at creating, and when he creates he seeks to develop an entire experience. He mentioned that while he studied visual art, he always incorporated music into his projects. He said, “I’ve just always really liked creating projects that can take you in and have many facets of different media… Something that you can inhabit.” While music was always a part of his artistic endeavors, he mentioned, “The only difference now is that the focus has shifted to the music.”
While his focus remains on music, visual art is still very much a part of Ben’s creative process. “I have a little creative corner in my house where I have paints and all kinds of stuff ready to go. So if I ever need to get unstuck from working on songs or whatever I can just go over there and mess around.” The men of Lord Huron have also really enjoyed being part of the brainstorming process for their unique and noteworthy teasers, trailers and music videos. He said, “That has been one of the most fun parts for me, working on those videos. The whole band pitches in on them. I don’t know too much about the technical aspect, so we have a director that always has amazing ideas as well but it has been really fun making those.” Ben also mentioned that he loves drawing inspiration from movies. He said, “Who knows where it’s going to come from, it comes from everywhere.” Some mentioned favorites included old westerns, Pulp Fiction, and The Princess Bride.
One of the obviously heard inspirations for Lonesome Dreams is derived from nature. Even in the sprawling city of LA, Ben still finds a way to get away. He said, “I really like living here because I can get work done but the part of town I live in is sort of on the outskirts. It’s really easy for me to get out of here. I can just jump in my car and I can be in the mountains in 20 minutes, the desert in an hour, or at the ocean in half an hour. So I kind of like it because I am still connected but its really easy for me to get out.”
Ben describes his home as his “little corner of the city” where all of his friends live within ten minutes of him. He says that one of the best parts of this project has been working with some of his childhood friends. He reflects, “We all went our separate ways and did our own thing. I never really dreamed that we would come back together like this. It’s been a dream come true… Spending time traveling around together… It’s cool.”
The band will be playing in their hometown this June, which is something they have been really looking forward to. “They’ve all been really encouraging and kind of surprised too. Every time a piece of news comes through they just kind of can’t believe it.”
While Ben said that they really enjoy how surreal it is to play in big cities and festivals, he mentioned that they really enjoy playing in smaller cities too. He said, “It is easier to connect with the fans, talk with the fans. Usually, we will get into some kind of adventure in a new small city too, which is always fun.”
The men of Lord Huron will be playing at Harlows in Sacramento on April 5th. Ben said, “We have never played there… We have played in Davis and places around there, but never in Sacramento. We can’t wait, it’s going to be good.”
Come join Tube in the crowd! It is going to be a great show.
To learn more about Lord Huron visit them at www.lordhuron.com
and to buy tickets to the Harlows show visit http://harlows.com/
Photo compliments of Ben Schneider
Words Tessa Renae