The Living Street is an indie-folk duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They formed in July of 2017, and the duo consists of guitarist/vocalist Nick Guckert and bassist/vocalist Edward J. Angelo. Both Guckert and Angelo grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh less than a mile away. They both have been passionate about music from an early age, but they didn’t cross paths until they met in school sports. Guckert and Angelo have share collaborative bond that they have been fostering for many years through various bands and projects in high school. After a decade of writing on and off, they decided to bring their music back to basics as a simple and honest acoustic duo. Their first album, “The Living Street”, was released in January 2018, and they subsequently played 60 shows on an east coast tour spanning 10,000 miles. The Living Street continues to tour the U.S.A. while working on a follow-up to their debut release.
BuzzMusic is proud to present their latest single, “This Time Around”. The simplicity of the instrumentation - just a bass guitar and acoustic guitar - allows the sincerity of the vocals to come through clearly. The verses are calm, contemplative, and soothing, which allows the chorus to provide the listener with the contrast of an expansive and soaring melody. The vocal harmonies provided by bassist Edward J. Angelo support the lead vocals of Nick Guckert sublimely. From just a single selection, it is easy to see that these two musicians have a tremendous amount of collaborative spirit, and we look forward to seeing what these collaborations will bring for the future!
Give a listen to "This Time Around" here, and be sure to check out the duo's exclusive interview below!
Great to chat with ya! You guys are both Pittsburgh natives. How would you describe the music scene there?
Great chatting with you too! Thanks for the opportunity:) Pittsburgh has a very unique music scene.. I think. There's like 20 different groups of musicians/bands playing just each others shows all over the city. I know this from playing in multiple bands that are in different groups. And I'm friends with almost every local musician on fb.( always gotta request any profile pic w someone playing guitar, you know, for networking purposes) I feel like this sounds crazy. Ha! However, there are shows going on constantly and a desire from concert goers and nightlifers to develop more venues across the city, we as musicians need to work a little harder to intermingle! Let's share our fans yo!
As collaborators, can you describe your general writing process?
We've been writing together for nearly ten years while in other groups or just as buddies hanging out on Ed's Parent's porch. It wasn't always easy to write together because we didnt understand or care enough to communicate our thoughts in a way that didnt make us angry, but over the years we have developed a particular communication that both of us respond well to and are able to move through the writing process simply and happily. We spend quite a lot of time in the car listening to music and we really like to dissect and discuss the way songs are written. We've been trying to crack the code for a hit song! I think we are close to a breakthrough. A song comes in many forms and we never rule out a new way to write a song. Could be better than what we've doing.
Is there a particular message or meaning behind your single, “This Time Around”?
This Time Around is such a special song for both of us. It's a song that nearly didnt make the album. Edward wrote the chorus and music for this track many years ago and both of us finished it at some point. It kind of fell into the pot of unused songs for a long time. One of us brought it up as a good candidate for The LivingStreet album and it blossomed in the studio. The literal meaning of the song is different for both of us as well as many of our fans. However that meaning differs, one thing seems to remain constant, the song makes you feel full of good energy and a little less alone. It's a powerful tune, and we are lucky to have made it.
Who do you look to for influence and inspiration?
We find inspiration and influence in nearly every aspect of our lives. We have personal stories from experience with family and dear friends. We travel all over thecountry meeting countless new friends all with incredibly diverse and unique histories, yet we are all able to make a connection in some real and meaningful way. We try new things, see as much as we can, and learn the history of the places we visit. Those connections and experiences are our songwriting juice. The more we experience the more creative content we can create, and we have done a lot in the experience department lately. So be prepared for a lot of new art from us!
What does the future look like for The Living Street?
We have new and incredible content coming out within the year! We have been putting in tireless work to continuously get better both creatively and as performers for our fans. We promise to have some serious bops about to drops. Our next tour in May will make us an "international touring" band seeing as how we are booked in Canada! We're gonna need to brush up on our French too;) Basically, we are gonna keep hustling til we pass out from exhaustion. Thanks for giving us a platform to share a little bit about ourselves! We are super grateful for every opportunity we get:) let's keep rockin'.
Connect with The Living Street on their social media to keep up to date with latest releases and shows!