Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
LW: I would probably describe myself as a shred/metal solo guitarist. Very much like Yngwie Malmsteen, or Jason Becker. I mostly do instrumental music and have a lot of neoclassical elements in my tunes.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
LW: I am from Philadelphia PA. There isn’t much of a music scene here. But I started playing when I was 16 and I wanted to play metal music like Metallica. I was always blown away by the sound of lead guitar playing and thought it was the coolest thing ever. So I practiced a lot to get good at it for many years. I joined bands and wrote my own songs. Things really picked up around the time I was 24 when I got my first studio recording software. I wrote my first solo album called “drop zone” under the headline “Lawrence’s creation”. I have been writing a lot and putting out recordings very quickly ever since.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences?
LW: I was inspired originally by bands like Metallica, but then got into the shred stuff when I listened to children of bodom and yngwie Malmsteen. I also liked the idea of having cool cover art. So sometimes great cover art can make me inspired also.
PD: What do you like to write about in your songs?
I usually dont write lyrics but I do imagine a good amount of emotions during the writing process.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
LW: Right now I just want to grow my subscriber count and keep making connections. Now real big goals at the moment.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
LW: Putting out my first CD. It felt great haha.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
LW: It is going perfectly well in my opinion. I also have a home studio and fit in pretty well with the rest of todays musicians.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
LW: None yet. I may do some this summer though.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
LW: I think it is a great thing. I just recently have been paying more attention to using Spotify. I mainly use Bandcamp to sell for now but I am branching out. Spotify is a great platform.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
LW: I don’t think I ever felt as though I wished that I wrote something that I didn’t write. There are some great tunes that I love though. Maybe dream theater’s metropolis from their “images and words” album. That was pretty wild.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
LW: I do think it is a shame that being on a record label doesn’t seem to go very far. Now days all the marketing has to be done by the artist, which can be very hard.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
LW: I am currently in a rock cover band and we shall be playing live very soon. I also just released an EP that will be out in late April. Aside from that I plan on making more videos to post on YouTube.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
LW: All music is available here: https://lawrencewallaceband.bandcamp.com/ and also on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/41c5z3mSwHwkja9Sooerxi I don’t have Merch yet but I will at some point.
Lawrence Wallace links:
Band/Artist location – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Website – Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud – Bandcamp –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – Last Fm
Check our page for Lawrence Wallace
