Now that post-pandemic normalcy has settled in, many musicians are embracing the ability to play before live audiences again. None more so than Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin and Brian Elmquist of The Lone Bellow.
Not unlike many of their peers, the Nashville-by-way-of-Brooklyn outfit did some streaming to connect with fans before deciding to kick it up a notch by booking drive-in dates in late 2021 in which the band would play several Northeast dates where fans traveled by car to a drive-in and TLB played on a stage where a movie screen would normally be.
And while the initial thought was that this would be the next best thing to a regular concert experience, for Williams and Elmquist, it turned out to be quite the peculiar and unpleasant experience, a realization made all the more concrete following The Lone Bellow coming off a recent stint opening for Maren Morris.
“It sucked real bad and I’d love to never have to play to car windows again for sure,” Williams said. “You’re not allowed to honk so when a song finished, it was just headlights flashing.”
Elmquist added, “People clap with their lights—it’s really weird.”
And while that part of COVID-19 recovery was far from ideal, the trio, along with touring musicians Jason Pipkin (bass) and Julian Dorio (drums), rebounded by commandeering Roy Orbison’s former home at Old Hickory Lake just outside of Nashville for eight weeks where the quintet recorded the newly released “Love Songs for Losers,” the band’s fifth full-length album.
For this studio outing, production work was handled by Elmquist and Jacob Sooter. It was a true collaborative effort Williams was grateful to have seen his band experience, particularly being able to bring Pipkin and Dorio into the process.
“Just using our actual band and drummer—it is just an inspiring and great time,” he said. “Whenever we would use another producer, there’d always be this conversation where the producer would say, ‘You know, I have this drummer that I like.’ And we’d be like, ‘Okay.’ We’ve had the same band on the road, especially our drummer, for several years now, so we wanted to feel that mojo in the studio.”
Recording in Orbison’s former abode provided for its share of surreal moments, especially for Elmquist who wound up staying overnight after members of his family contracted COVID-19 (they’re fine now).
“There was one morning at about four o’clock in the morning where I swore that Roy Orbison touched me on the hand,” Elmquist recalled. “It was spooky, living in this 6,000-square-foot cabin. Even with friends there, it was spooky.”
With the specter of the late rock and roll icon providing some paranormal nuance to the proceedings, the self-described “band camp at Orbison’s house” vibe also made for a singular recording experience that stemmed from Elmquist rhetorically asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to write a whole record of love songs?” shortly after the band was done releasing “Half Moon Light.” That said, it’s as if living on top of each other for two months didn’t create some sparks.
“There has to be friction or you can’t make good things—the friction is what makes the good stuff,” Elmquist explained. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think everybody knew what their role was and just set their mind to it. It was honestly the easiest and most inspiring time to make the record because we got in that space. It was incredible to be able to do that.”
The current By Request Only Tour finds TLB sending a love letter to fans who are asked to submit their dream setlist to the show they will attend. Submissions are gathered and set lists are curated from them per each show. It’s another part of TLB’s secret sauce of the group’s success that’s rooted in playing live and connecting with their audience. It’s a sacred covenant Williams and his bandmates don’t take lightly.
“I can tell you what’s most important to us at live shows is trying to be in the moment,” he said. “And feeling the energy of what’s going on in the room and what’s not going on and just trying to be aware of that. We find it an honor that people get babysitters, pay for tickets and make a real night out of coming out to see us play our songs and we hope that they become their songs.”
The Lone Bellow will be appearing on Oct. 24 at Landmark on Main Street (223 Main St., Port Washington). For more information, visit www.landmarkonmainstreet.org or call 516-767-6444.
