LORD Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD. What type of artist are you?
KERCHNER: One that artistically values a point, honesty, bareness, transparency and personal integrity in my artwork over another man’s judgment; one that doesn’t believe in boundaries or safeties being used in my artwork.
RIVERA: I’m a musician 1st and foremost but also dabble in writing.
DUGAY: Metal artist made with a plethora of ingredients to spice things up & keep one on your toes. :] My mindset as a bassist since day one is that there’s no reason why a bassist can’t take 
center stage while balancing our rhythm duties.
PD. Tell us the brief history of yourself.
RIVERA: Hard to sum up everything in a brief history but I was born in Miami,Florida in 1974 to Cuban Immigrants who instilled a love for music at an early age.By age 13,I had discovered a love for hard rock and began developing an obsession with bands and wanting to learn an instrument.My parents were always hesitant to support my interests because i tended to not stick with one for long but learning to play guitar was something that only became more of a goal for me with each passing moment.I was given my 1st guitar at 15 and have been playing for the last 28 years.I’ve played in many bands over the years with varying styles of music but seem to have found my niche in heavy music and writing material that can be extremely heavy but hook laden and memorable as well.
DUGAY: Been a Metalhead since I was 6 years old, started playing bass back in 1994 via the standup bass, been performing live since 1999 & with LORD since 2014.
PD. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
PETROCELLY: I think I’ll just say Henry Rollins to cover both.
RIVERA: As far as musical influences go,they’d have to be The Melvins,Black Flag,Tom G.Warrior,Peter Steele,Acid Bath,Ministry,Ritchie Blackmore,Tony Iommi and so many more that escape me at the moment.Non-musical influences are much harder to draw from but there’s always literary influence or influence taken cinema,whether it’s the storytelling or maybe the cinematography.
DUGAY: Musically speaking: Metal. Outside of Metal, they are usually acoustic based like Folk & Bluegrass. I also have a “guilty pleasure” of Trance/Techno/House/Insert term here dance music. Individual musical people: Randy Rhoads, Billy Sheehan, Doug Wimbish, Steve Perry, Michael Jackson, Prince & Lady Morte. There’s more but that should suffice for now….
PD. What are your dreams and goals?
PETROCELLY: To make Trepan Studios a full time business.
KERCHNER: I aspire to always maintain a creative outlet in my life. I hope to someday have my creative headquarters and recording studio planted on a farm, where my many children are happily and healthily growing up.
RIVERA: My goals are to get as much exposure as we can for the band while still maintaining our integrity,be able to provide a solid extended education for my daughter and set up a decent and comfortable future for myself with compromising who i am in the process.
DUGAY: Wouldn’t mind doing this musical bit as a career but I’m certain I’ve missed that boat.
PD. Who writes your songs, what are they about?
KERCHNER: We write the songs as a band collectively; someone will offer a riff or a structural idea, and we’ll piece it together as a group for the most part. I write the lyrics. They reflect an insidious reality of human thoughtlessness and excessive consumption, packing a passion for the persecuted and underprivileged and a fervent exploration of humankind’s apocalyptic nature. The new album, Desperation Finds Hunger in All Men, has the lyrics and brief song explanations included inside the packaging.
RIVERA: I have a major hand in writing the music for my band but we all contribute pieces of music and to the arrangements.As far as lyrically,that’s Kerch’s department but we usually try to stay away from the cliches found in heavy music so we pride ourselves in taking our own path but I can only speak in detail about the lyrics that i write for my solo material which tend to take from personal experiences.
DUGAY: Will & Todd do most of the musical writings & I’ve only contributed one song & co-wrote two others so far. Lyrically is all Kerch since he joined if I remember correctly.
PD. How do you promote your band and shows?
KERCHNER: All the possibilities we can; shows, word of mouth, flyers, social media, merchandise, radio, interviews, reviews, etc.
RIVERA: We use various forms of social media to help spread the word about upcoming shows,releases and other happenings concerning the band.Our main vehicles for communication are currently Facebook and Instagram.
DUGAY: Good ol’ interwebs & chatting with people the ol’ fashion way.
PD. What do you think about downloading music online?
KERCHNER: Our music is available through numerous digital platforms for people who prefer this medium. Personally, I prefer a tangible item, the most accessible to me being a compact disc. 
RIVERA: I think downloading is a great way to expose people to new music and is a great tool for up and coming bands that don’t necessarily have any label support and are mainly DIY operations but on the flipside of that,I’m an avid fan of the physical music
DUGAY: I’m still a fan of getting physical releases but do find digital downloads to be a nice & convenient as heck what the time calls for it. Assuming one is downloading legally buy purchasing said music.
PD. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
PETROCELLY: Mainstream music is moving closer all the time to a streaming-only business model, which is set to further screw musicians out of money.
RIVERA: I don’t have a high opinion of most of the music industry these days.There are some great underground labels out there that do a great job of pushing cutting edge bands but there are so many bands these days and only so many avenues for exposure that’s getting increasingly difficult to stand out amongst the crowd…no matter how great your material may be. and unfortunately trends affect the heavy music scene as well so everything goes in currents.
DUGAY: I’m glad it’s not my mode of subsistence & like that technology has allowed anyone for better or worse, be able to create & distribute their material. The record industry needed the reboot it received not too long ago….
PD. What song do you wish you’d written and why?
PETROCELLY: The One Made of Dreams by Vader, because in its 1:52, not a single ounce of bullshit can be found.
RIVERA: There are far too many songs that fit this category but if we’re talking all time masterpieces in rock music than they’d have to be Stairway To Heaven& No Quarter by Zeppelin,Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen,Purple Rain by Prince and Careless Whisper by George Michael,haha
DUGAY: Metallica’s “Orion”. It’s the finest Metal song w/o vocals & arguably the best instrumental track ever in modern day.
PD. What are some of your pet peeves?
KERCHNER: People who don’t signal when they change lanes, people who don’t flush the toilet after they use it in a public restroom, and people who ask for help with a problem when they haven’t even tried to solve it themselves/act helpless in order to get someone else to do their work for them.
RIVERA: I have too many pet peeves to list but a few are people not keeping their word,lack of integrity and prejudice of any kind
DUGAY: Taking more than 10mins to setup &/or break down your set. Open tuning during a gig. (KERCHNER adds, “Yeh, Seriously get a tuner”)
PD. What is your proudest moment in music?
RIVERA: my proudest moment in music will always be to create something that didn’t exist before and have it resonate with someone on a deep level,you can’t possibly ask for a greater payoff than that.
DUGAY: My first live show ever was in front of nearly 400 people & the rush was incredible. Actually, when someone tells me that I’ve inspired them to play bass &/or something along those lines.
PD. Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
RIVERA: Our next few shows are on July 13th in Martinsburg,West Virginia,July 28th in the same town but different venue and Aug 4th at The Depot in Baltimore.All the bills are great,lots of good times to be had and we’ll be playing a good cross section of our material as well as a few songs from our upcoming full length,Desperation Finds Hunger In All Men,which will be released Aug.24th
DUGAY: x2 in Marty-so-Burg, West by Goddess Virginia & x1 in B-to-ah-more. The caliber of the bands alone is worth coming to these shows & you can check out the dates via FB &/or our Bandcamp page….
LORD links:
Band location – Fairfax Virginia
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Find more info about LORD on their Website
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Listen to LORD music on their Soundcloud page
Listen to and buy LORD music on Bandcamp
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