A chat with Karen, Gordie, and Nick of the Lucid Furs as well as Kate, a fan of the band. We talk about surviving the pandemic while recording new music. Our chat turned to the challenges of retrofitting older music, touring stories and favorite destinations. Frequent topics such as musical influences and first albums were fun and insightful. There are plenty of gems in this episode, so dig in.
Surviving the Pandemic with The Lucid FursJust before the pandemic struck, The Lucid Furs were working on another tour. They had planned to get back to Texas as well as do a bit of international touring by visiting Canada. I asked what the band has been doing to ride out the storm.
Karen mentioned that in addition to having to cancel their tour, they had to put recording of their new album on hold. Once things were safe enough to enter the studio last summer, they were able to finish up recording. Now they are just waiting on mixing and mastering to be completed. The Lucid Furs are thinking that they will hold on to the new album until they can get out on the road to promote it.
In the meantime, the Lucid Furs have been doing some DIY recording in their vintage kitchen. This project includes working out rearranging older tunes for acoustic and writing new music. They have a few surprises in store, including a cover or two.
The Lucid Furs music leans on the heavier end of the rock spectrum. I was curious how well their older tunes translated to acoustic. Gordie and Karen both mentioned that for some songs, they just did not work out. However other tunes actually started life as acoustic riffs and it was easier to retrofit those back to their origin.
Touring with The Lucid FursIt takes a certain level of dedication and drive to go from making music for yourself to wanting to join a band and tour the country. I was curious when and what inspired each member of The Lucid Furs to perform and tour. Gordie mentioned that he knew as soon as he started playing guitar at 17 that he wanted to be in a band. Touring always seemed like a dream until he joined The Lucid Furs. Karen laughed and said that they threw Gordie into touring just a few months after he joined.
Nick mentions with a laugh that part of the drive to tour is to avoid anything not music related. Gordie jumped in adding “Work sucks, I’m going to go play guitar”. As for desire to play music, Nick comes from a family that is heavily into music. It has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. Nick adds that touring with The Lucid Furs is a riot.
Karen never thought she would actually be in a band. Prior to the first band she was in called Karmic Lava, she had never performed in front of people. It took a while to develop the confidence in her voice. She laughs adding that she shook like a leaf the first time she played a show.
Eventually she fell in love with performing. This led to wanting to become more involved in all aspects of the band. Ultimately with her partner and drummer Dan, they created The Lucid Furs. Over the years, the band has morphed into its present shape and is firing on all cylinders.
Highlights from the RoadSince we were talking about touring, I asked what were some of the places that The Lucid Furs enjoyed visiting the most so far in their journeys. Everyone agreed that New Mexico was awesome with the beautiful landscape. One thing they remember most is that there are chili peppers everywhere. As ornaments, as ornamental lighting shaped like peppers, and of course making for some great food.
Karen also loves Texas. Everywhere they have played, the people have been fantastic with great crowds. Another fun run is New York City. Nick mentioned that one of the best aspects of being on tour is great food. He isn’t sure every band has this experience, but the Lucid Furs have happened upon some tasty grub. Drop into our chat to hear about Nick and Gordie’s taco adventure. Karen missed out on the tacos, but scored some killer chow mein.
Future DestinationsI asked Karen, Nick, and Gordie where they would love to travel to once they are open to tour again. Gordie is all about going to the North Pole. We laughed and then riffed on The Thing and Snake Plissken. Nick is really down for anywhere as he loves being on the road. Wherever the road leads, Nick is happy to be in the van.
Karen wants to hit California. The band has done most of the U.S, but never made it to California. Gordie cautioned that they have to avoid fire season. Evidently while on tour in Montana, Washington, and Oregon the skies were full of smoke. Gordie definitely doesn’t want to deal with that again.
Musical InspirationsA common question on Fans With Bands is to find out what were the musical influences for each band member. Nick feels his family are big influences given family gatherings typically involve playing music. In terms of bands, Nick is a fan of 90’s grunge area bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Tool, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Gordie’s dad was a big influence as he plays guitar. Early musical influences included Hendrix and Metallica. Once he started playing, he really got into jazz riffs and licks of Grant Green.
As a kid, Karen listened to a lot of R&B and folk with Jewel being an early influence. As she got older, she became a punk rock fan and especially loves the surf rock punk of The Amino Acids. Vocally, Karen found her love in the vocals of Ann Wilson of Heart.
Meeting Musical IdolsI wanted to know if anyone in The Lucid Furs had stories of meeting famous musicians. Nick met Paul Stanley of Kiss. He was shocked at how tall Paul is. He got his autograph and Paul asked him “Have you seen the new KISS DVD?” Nick said that he hadn’t. Paul replied “It Rocks” leaving Nick with an awesome story to share.
Karen thinks it is best not to meet your idols. She had a chance to meet Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad and turned it down. She was afraid that Mark wouldn’t approve of the band name “The Lucid Furs” given it sounds like Lucifer.
Gordie met Travis Meeks of Days Of The New. Travis was very cool giving Gordie an autograph and writing out the setlist for him. While on tour, Gordie and Dan met the drummer of The Meters, Zigaboo Modeliste in a music store. They got a picture of him and he said “Don’t stop playing, don’t let me down now” after finding out they were on tour from Detroit.
Origin of the Band Name and Lyrical InterpretationsWhen Karen mentioned that she didn't want to potentially offend Mark Farner by telling him the band’s name, it sparked the question of how they arrived at the name “The Lucid Furs”. Karen said it comes from lyrics in the song “Rock Bottom” by UFO. She added, “at least I think that is what they say”. Google the lyrics to see what they really say.
This sparked laughs and talk about misunderstanding lyrics. I’m sure everyone has stories of hearing one thing and discovering you weren’t even close. Karen said she doesn’t like playing covers after getting called out for singing the lyrics in reverse when covering a Pentagram song. But hey, maybe we are making the songs better through our lyrical interpretations.
First AlbumsAnother frequent topic on Fans With Bands is first albums. Nick remembers his first album (on cassette) was Billy Idol. Karen’s first album was Dookie by Green Day. She really loved the song “Basket Case”. However, the Green Day album American Idiot was a real bummer and ended the Green Day following. Gordie’s first album was Band of Gypsies with Jimi Hendrix.
Speaking of albums, I mentioned my first album being Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John. This led to conversation about Rod Stewart and Elton John with Rod covering the song “Country Comfort” from the Tumbleweed Connection album. Karen mentioned that the best landlord she ever had Mr. Danny D is also a great Rod Stewart impersonator and Hamtramck legend. I learn something every show.
Pineapple WrapWhat is typically a question that evokes a bit of controversy in a band had no effect on The Lucid Furs. When asked about pineapple on pizza, everyone was fine with it. Karen did qualify that it must be paired with feta. Gordie is in the sweet and savory camp by adding jalapenos. Nick actually only likes pineapple when it is on a pizza. Go figure.
Dig into the stories, laughs, and much more in this episode of Fans With Bands with The Lucid Furs. We hope you enjoy it!
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