By Ben Rhudy Feb 27, 2008, 12:57 GMT
Ludo, a pop-rock group hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, has spent the past few years ironing out catchy songs and filling the Midwest with tunes about girls, love and teenage angst.
Comprised of lead vocalist Andrew Volpe, guitarist Tim Ferrell, keyboardist Tim Convy, bassist Marshall Fanciullo and drummer Matt Palermo, the group just released their first album for Island Records, paradoxically titled ‘You’re Awful, I Love You.’
It became available in stores nationwide, as well as Apple’s iTunes Music Store, on February 26.
Andrew, the band’s vocal front man, took a few minutes to explain the in’s and out’s of being in a band, his favorite things about St. Louis and what the new album is all about.
M&C: What exactly is Ludo all about?
Andrew: Ludo is all about rocking out. We also like to entertain people without making them dumber.
M&C: Do you like to roll, as well as rock?
Andrew: Yeah…I mean, rolling. I’ve tried to fit a little more rolling into my schedule lately. It seems it’s been a little rock heavy. You’ve got to strike a balance, I guess.
M&C: You guys sound similar to bands that have come before. Where do you pull some of your musical influences from?
Andrew: I mean, obviously everyone is influenced by somebody, unconsciously or consciously. We don’t set out to do anything that anyone has done before. There are a lot of times when a certain melody will just feel right and or it will remind us something. Something like that.
M&C: What are some of the big changes that have happened recently for the band.
Andrew: Well, we signed to Island Records, and we’ve got a new record coming out called ‘You’re Awful, I Love You.’ We’re just really excited about what is coming in the future of the band, and also about getting our music in front of so many people.
M&C: What’s the theme of ‘You’re Awful, I Love You’?
Andrew: I’d say there are certainly a lot of those themes in there: the pain of love, the joy of love, getting sucked in and pushed away. And then there’s also other stuff in there and it deviates from that. It weaves from one story to the next, really.
M&C: I saw the home-made video on your MySpace with the fans brushing their teeth. Really funny stuff.
Andrew: Yeah, thanks.
M&C: What is your favorite aspect of being in Ludo?
Andrew: Really, just meeting the fans and going on tour. It always just blows your mind to go out and play in front of people and have them buy your records, and care about your band and the music you’re making.
M&C: How long have you guys been signed with Island Records?
Andrew: We signed with them in October of 2006. We recorded the album in between January and March of 2007
M&C: So 2007 was really a growth period?
Andrew: I mean, it’s all been a growth period, but last year we were just sitting on the record with the label and waiting for the best time to put it out.
M&C: Who does most of the song writing?
Andrew: I do most of the writing, but the guitarist Tim also does some.
M&C: Is it tough to stand out in a generation that seems so preoccupied with becoming famous being discovered?
Andrew: The way we see it, if your goal is to become famous, there are plenty of quick and easy avenues to do that. There are very few people like that who have any sort of staying power, when your image is like that. We didn’t set out to be famous, and we didn’t set to become rich.
We really wanted to make it as a band and be able to support ourselves and just keep doing this as long as possible. Being genuine…I think people respond to that more than somebody that’s brash or just trying to get attention for fifteen minutes of fame. Think people respond to the genuineness, and that’s what we care about.
There’s nothing about “Dude, I want money” or “I want chicks.” You find out what makes you excited about the things that are happening in your life and then you pursue it as hard as you can.
Andrew: There are so many things that you take for granted when you’re growing up. I mean, Chuck Berry was from here, and he basically invented rock and roll.
M&C: What sort of personalities do the different members of Ludo have? Who is the joker, the serious guy, etc?
Andrew: Everyone wears different hats at different times, jumps from one thing to the other. Tim is probably the most responsible one. He handles the money. We’re all jokers at different times. Our bassist is the most outgoing and charming. Everyone is cool like that.
M&C: Your about to start touring with some well-known band. Excited about that?
Andrew: Yeah, we’re really excited to get out there with the Presidents of the United States. I mean, listened to them in high school.
‘You’re Awful, I Love You’ is now available at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information. Click Here to see the video for "Love Me Dead."
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