Love and a .38 is a blue-collar rock band in an unlikely place. Four guys from different parts of the country whose triumphs, failures, and drive to play music have brought them all to Los Angeles.
In their short existence, they have been tirelessly D.I.Y. in all aspects of their career. Through social media, creativity, and lots of elbow grease, they have amassed a worldwide following, which remains impressive for an unsigned, unrepresented, independent band. Not concerned with hyphens and sub-genres, they have taken an 'It's all Rock n Roll to me' approach to their career.
In the rowdy, leave it all on the table performance exuded in "Hail to the Night," you can't help but tap your fingers and toes to the vivacious guitar riffs drowning your speakers. With the top-tier production elements allowing "Hail to the Night" to stand out from the crowd, Love and a .38 proves to us that they're more than just mesmerizing hits. Delivering a rhythmic up-tempo track that you can hear playing on a night out at the bar, Love and a .38 pulls inspiration from numerous sources to bring forth the boisterous persona lurking within their distinctive tones.
Love and a .38 works seamlessly together like a well-oiled machine. You feel the band's energetic essence as they exercise their stamina to deliver a thunderous escapade of talent from start to finish. Giving reverence to invigorating tones of Classic Rock dynamism, the talented likes of the band set an energetic environment in how they fluently perform together. Fitted drum patterns and a pulsing bassline compliment the gritty soul poured into the vocalization as Love and a .38 creates a tumult of eagerness in "Hail to the Night." Welcome to the world that has fans of Love and a .38 well entertained.
“Hail to the Night,” has us feeling nostalgic in the best ways possible! Could you please share what the creative and recording process looked like when bringing this song to life?
Ryan: The line "All my freaks all around the world, Pretty boys and the pretty girls" popped into my head... and I knew that I liked the line but it took me a while to figure out what to do with it. I knew that I wanted the song to be something with a good, positive vibe to it, something people would feel good dancing to and singing along with. Once I settled on ending the chorus with the line "Hail To The Night" the skeleton of the song was there and the rest came really easily. The recording process on this song was pretty easy. The song really called for a raw quality so it doesn't have as many bells and whistles as a lot of our other stuff. So I really focused on getting all the sounds just right. Big, boomy drums and guitars that are just right on that edge of being angrily overdriven but still articulate. The guitar solo was a beast though. Domo came up with this MASSIVE, wooly, fuzz sound that was almost impossible to fully capture. It took a lot of work to record that in a way that did it justice without it completely swallowing all the puny instruments that dared stand in its way. But I'm happy with how it came out.
How does, “Hail to the Night,” hold up to other pieces of work that you have released?
Ryan: It sort of lives in our happy place as far as I'm concerned. It's bluesy, guitar-centric, hooky, danceable, and aggressive. We may veer off in other directions but we always pass through that territory on the way to wherever we are going to or coming from.
What keeps the band inspired on a regular basis?
Ryan: Making music from the ground up is a legitimately thrilling process. But for me, it's all about playing live. I record music so that I can perform it. So while this last year has been tough... Just looking for the light at the end of the tunnel is enough to keep working.
With you all being the masterminds behind your success, how is it balancing the creative aspect with the business side of things as well?
Justin: The great thing about the mechanics of this band is the "All for One, One for All" mentality we share in order to get everything done. We have a divide and conquer approach and know our roles within the band outside of songwriting that makes it possible to complete any and all tasks we have. It can get hard at times like with any job, but what matters is the job gets done.
What has been keeping you inspired to create music?
Justin: What keeps me going throughout this pandemic is with more free time, I've been able to connect with the music and my instrument far more often and at a deeper level. Instead of focusing on ONLY writing new music or practicing for an upcoming show, I'm able to sit down with my bass and simply play. Often times, that approach has naturally led me to write and get ideas down. Also much like Ryan: it's the idea of knowing at some point, we're all going to be able to join together again in a live concert setting and when that day comes, it's going to be something truly beautiful and special because, for a lot of us, the shared experience of music is home.
