Lola Vain, a rock duo hailing from Phoenix, AZ, which consists of members Scott Hammons (vocals) and Brian Buzard (guitar) are back at it again, this time diving into the past to bring us a future classic with their latest release “Merry Go Round.”
Their inspirations run deep as they harness the rich roots of classic rock legends such as Tom Petty and Cheap Trick to give an authentic southern flavour which adds a spicy flare to their already smoking barrel sound, which has already garnered over 50k Spotify plays. More than 134k YouTube plays on their most recent release, “Dirty Filthy Crazy.”
For “Merry Go Round,” the boys have teamed up with fiery keyboardist Marine Lacoste (Uncle Kracker), hardcore drummer Ken Mary (Flotsam and Jetsam) and fully charged bassist Chris Catero (The Imperfected) to deliver a powerhouse of a record that is easygoing and fun while still grounding you with the harsh reality of walking down the sometimes one-way street of love.
"Merry Go Round" is a song about being in the “friend zone.” I think most of us can relate to being in that situation at one time or another. Unrequited love—it’s a bitch, and then at the end of the story, the tables turn, and it’s too late. Life is like that a lot. Sometimes we don’t know what’s best for us, but the universe somehow figures it out for us."
Turning a lemon of a situation and making lemonade is the name of the game on "Merry Go Round," which makes it an anthemic rock song for the ages that hits from all angles making it hard not to turn your head nodding into head-banging.
"Merry Go Round" wastes no time, putting you right into the groove right from the start with a bend of the bass, giving a sweet accent to the sizzling guitar riff. A deep knocking drum makes way for Hammons crisp vocals, which carry you to a vast chorus layered by Marines chords, ultimately expressing the pinnacle shift from Heartbroken to heartbreaker, a moment the rock gods above would surely be proud of.
Don't miss this latest release from Lola Vain on all major streaming platforms.
Welcome back to Buzz Music Lola Vain. We had a fun time listening to “Merry Go Round.” How did you enjoy working with artists online versus in person?
Brian Buzard: “We have settled into a groove regarding our workflow. Scott generates an idea at his place in Nashville, I work it up at my studio in Phoenix, and then we send the track to our collaborators in LA, Canada, Nashville, and Phoenix. Ken Mary (Flotsam and Jetsam) did drums, Chris Catero (The Imperfected) laid down bass, and Marine Lacoste (Uncle Kracker) added Hammond B3 and Mellotron. With today’s technology, you can work with other musicians from anywhere in the world. It’s pretty incredible. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of cool about sitting face-to-face with another artist and working on music, but sometimes that is just logistically impossible.
When starting a song, what key components do you look for when finding inspiration from the classics?
Brian Buzard: Mainly vibe and energy. How does this song make me feel? Scott and I draw much inspiration from the ’70s and 80’s rock and pop. For “Merry Go Round,” we drew from Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, and The Tubes. We were just talking about how much we love The Babys—such a great fucking band! Our tastes are similar, and that makes working on ideas flow better.
Scott: I think it’s just embedded in our psyche—all of our influences come out naturally. We try to capture the magic in a bottle from thin air.
The name “Lola Vain” is very unique; how did you come up with it?
Brian Buzard: No rhyme, reason, or cool backstory exists. I believe Scott came up with it. It was the classic “we need to come up with a name for this band” scenario. List upon list of names—some of them naughty. Lola Vain had a cool ring to it. It’s as simple as that. Lola came from some computer software that Scott uses for his day job. He worked off that.
If you had to describe the Lola Vain sound with three words, what would they be?
Scott and Brian: Crank, It, Up!
When can we expect another fun visual? And what's next for Lola Vain?
Brian Buzard: We just released a lyric video for “Merry Go Round” with 10K views. We will continue releasing singles for now. We are also working on a collaboration with Tuk Smith (Tuk Smith and the Restless Hearts) and acclaimed songwriter Jonathon Edwards—it will be EPIC!