HEY GUYS! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS LAKEMONT IN YOUR OWN WORDS?
ALYSSA: Hi! I am Alyssa! If someone gives me Taco Bell, I will be their best friend forever. My husband and I also have the coolest dog ever named Meatball and our little family brings me so much joy. I think LAKEMONT is best described as an indie-pop group of 3 childhood best friends who grew up playing music together and now want to share our music with the world.
KYLE: I am Kyle. I have a lot of hobbies and I change which one I’m into every month. One time my cousin and I got into smelting metal with no end goal. I guess just make an ingot. It was great. LAKEMONT is just a couple of friends just trying to make some pretty good music.
DUSTIN: YOOOOO! I am Dustin. A little about myself? Uhhh….I am huge nerd and also, like Kyle, I get into random hobbies that I will pick up and get addicted too. I am currently on a Naruto addiction and just bought a leaf shinobi headband on Amazon. LAKEMONT is just a bunch of weirdos making music that they want to hear. We really have no idea what we are doing…but we are having fun.
HOW DID YOU GUYS MEET AND HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT, YES, WE CAN ROCK TOGETHER?
ALYSSA: Long story short, I met Dustin my sophomore year of high school when we started playing music together at our church. Little did I know that he had a huge crush on me… while I was in a relationship with someone else. So, we became great friends during that time and after my ex and I broke up, he took his shot, and we got married a few years later in 2019. I met Kyle through Dustin and thought that this guy was one of the most hilarious, creative, and musically talented people that I have ever met. So, we all grew up playing music together, but we were playing other artists’ music; not our own. I think all of us felt tired of being a cover band and wanted to start writing our own projects together. I have always vibed creatively off of Kyle and Dustin, so as soon as we started trying to write our own music, within seconds we clicked instantly, and I realized that this is what I was meant to do; and I was meant to do it with these guys.
KYLE: We met through church mostly and playing together in some other projects/bands. I remember like 5 years ago, Dustin just came up to me after playing a set and he was like “Hi I’m Dustin. I play drums.” And ever since then, I knew we were destined for greatness. I met Alyssa through Dustin couple years later and saw her balling stage presence and I knew I that she’d be joining us.
DUSTIN: I met Kyle like 5-6 years ago. He was like the cool guitar guy that somehow, I would always run into. He was always playing with all these cool bands around where we grew up. Eventually I just went up to him and was like “YOOOOO dude…I am Dustin and I play Drums.” After that we would always get together and make music in my parents’ garage. I actually met Alyssa at a summer camp back in the day and it was love at first sight… well for me at least. And we started hanging out, then we started dating, and now we are married. So that is pretty dope.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSICAL STYLE?
ALYSSA: I think that we do not really fit into a specific “sound” because we just write what we like to listen to, but personally, I love jazz and acoustic music!
KYLE: Personally, I like sad music and music that goes hard. We try to mix our styles and that is what created our LAKEMONT sound.
DUSTIN: I have been on a huge LOFI and Hip-Hop kick. I love listening to music and then diving into the history of the artist/band. But my style is always changing. I have always wanted to be well versed in all my drumming styles, so I tend to listen to everything I can and try to fit that “sound.” When it comes to LAKEMONT, I like to lay down a simple groove that supports the melody and never really takes away from the song. It is pretty laid back, but I cannot wait to be able to bring a live feel to our songs when we get a chance to play live.
HAS YOUR STYLE CHANGED MUCH OVER THE YEARS?
ALYSSA: As individuals, we all have very different tastes and projects. I think that my jazzy, acoustic musical preference, and Kyle’s sad music, and Dustin’s (whatever genre he likes that week), all basically melted into our LAKEMONT songs. So, I guess you could say that our style has not really changed but has morphed together to make one awesome sound.
KYLE: Not too much I think I just like sadder music.
DUSTIN: Yep. My style is always changing.
WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND STORY BEHIND YOUR LATEST MUSIC PIECE “BETTER THAN BEFORE”?
ALYSSA: I actually, went through a pretty nasty breakup and it took a good while to get over the guy. After some self-reflection, I learned that I was finding my self-worth in that guy I was dating instead of just loving myself. This song is meant to tell that story through the lens of two lovers realizing that even though they love each other, this relationship is truly holding them back from being them best selves. They can only become “Better Than Before” once they say goodbye.
KYLE: We got together, and we wanted to make a song kind of like Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart” where the bass line follows the melody of the chorus. Unfortunately, it kind of turned out wack, but we had a dope verse and pre-chorus so we just ended up rewriting the chorus.
WHAT’S YOUR PROCESS LIKE FOR MAKING MUSIC?
ALYSSA: Our process usually begins with us talking about our days or something that is on our minds, which usually leads us to an idea to write about. After we feel the spark of inspiration, we always go to CVS to get our favorite snacks, like Taki’s, or favorite candy, like Sour Air Head Bites. After we get our food, Kyle begins to play on his guitar until we find a groove/melody that we like. From there, while Dustin is creating a drum groove and setting up the recording equipment with Kyle, I usually sit on the couch to write lyrics to match with the melody that Kyle made. By this process, we are usually able to write a verse or a chorus within 10 minutes. And then, we keep going until we cannot keep our eyes open.
KYLE: We usually just hang out at my house, eat some snacks, and get down to business. We come up with an idea of the song first and then start working on a melody and then the lyrics.
DUSTIN: We always start with eating snacks at Kyle’s place and then while Alyssa and Kyle are writing with an acoustic, I will set up our Ableton session and get everything ready to record and will approach it as an engineer. We ALL do write together, but I tend to just listen and let Kyle and Alyssa do a lot of the framework of the songs. I like focusing more on dynamics and road maps when we start with the actual production.
CRAZY THINGS HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU PERFORM. TELL US ABOUT THE CRAZIEST THING THAT AS HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE PERFORMING
ALYSSA: Oh boy… there are so many to choose from! For me, there was one time where there was a harsh key change to a song, but the MD had reassured me that he would give me a pitch reference before the song started… but he never did. So, when I went to sing the first part of song… very boldly, but I actually sang in a completely wrong key… it sounded rough.
KYLE: I almost fell off stage once. I was playing guitar with my eyes closed and totally lost my sense of balance. Caught myself though. Happens to me more often than it should.
DUSTIN: There was a time where we all were playing together and as I swung my arm up to hit the snare at a huge part of a song, my drumstick got caught in my in-ear monitors and went flying across the stage. Somehow, I was able to stay on click and eventually was able to get another pair of ears.
WHAT SONGS ARE YOU CURRENTLY SINGING IN THE SHOWER?
ALYSSA: My current favorite is Rain on Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande.
KYLE: I do not really sing in the shower to be honest. But I’ve been really enjoying “hot rod” by dayglow.
DUSTIN: I have been listening to the new Oliver Tree record a ton. I love his songwriting and the vocal chain he uses on his production. A lot of things he does should sound bad, but they do not. The track “Let Me Down” has this sick side chain with like the whole instrument bus with the vocal…it is insane.
WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO A BUDDING ARTIST?
ALYSSA: My advice would be to work hard and save money. To be honest, I am learning that the music industry is pretty expensive, and no one really warns you about that. All of us still work other jobs that way we can pay rent and be able to save as much money as we can. I am currently babysitting. Do I want to do that the rest of my life? Of course not. But it is a way to make/save money to make more music until we are able to go fulltime in the music world.
KYLE: Make what you like or wanna hear.
DUSTIN: I would say try to do everything yourself for as long as you can and then find people that are willing to learn and grow as well. Literally Kyle and I used to spend hours watching YouTube videos trying to learn how to use Ableton and would show each other tricks and stuff.
WHERE CAN WE FIND THE BAND ONLINE?
Instagram @lakemont.band
Twitter @MusicLakemont
Facebook @Lakemont.Band
Website: www.lakemontband.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/19c8ZWxdTKZjxdLkGsjL49
