New Band to Listen For: Starving For Gravity

Bass player Brett Lindenberg describes Starving For Gravity as being "one of the only bands I know that can pull-off ballads and hard rock." I have to agree. While some of their songs are a bit more edgy, others start off slower and almost ballad-like. The guys of SFG were nice enough to send me a few songs to post on the blog for you to listen to, (I'll post them below the interview) so check their songs out and decide for yourself. If that's not enough for you, visit their MySpace. Below is my interview with Brett and singer Lucas Holter of Starving For Gravity.

Tell me about Starving For Gravity. How did it all begin?
Lucas: SFG basically rose out of a personal depression due to lack of music in my life. I had been in bands for a couple years, from [age] 17-20, and then I just stopped. It all started as just an outlet. Something to be creative. We did mostly cover shows for a long while, saving money to record an album. The rest is history.

You moved to California to record your latest album and worked with producer John "JR" Ryan (Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Baha Men), how was that experience? Was it what you always imagined it would be like?
Lucas: Nothing like I thought it would be. It was much more personal, and much more business, all at the same time. If that makes sense? It was definitely one of those experiences you're glad you had. It will hopefully come in handy in the future.

The California music scene I'm sure is entirely different than North Dakota. How was the transition?
Lucas: Well, the scene isn't so much different as it is more diverse and large. It's the same anywhere you go, musicians trying to play for people. The difference here as opposed to North Dakota is that the audience is much more receptive to originality, whereas back home, you were pretty limited to what the people wanted to hear. The transition was awesome, but slightly difficult at first. Mainly because we never had any experience putting a "show" together. We just got drunk and played classic rock tunes.

How would you describe your music to someone that's never heard it before?
Lucas: I would say that our music is quite simply just a culmination of human emotion and stories of communication. Every song we write has a meaning behind it. Some of our stuff is very melodic and chill, and some will tear your head off, especially live, but it is all truth.

What makes Starving For Gravity different from other up-and-coming bands out there?
Brett: We are one of the only bands I know that can pull-off ballads and hard rock. Too many bands end up becoming one trick ponies by sticking to a specific style of song writing. We've made a conscious effort to write a collection of songs that cover a broad scope of human experiences. We want our music to reflect these different experiences.

You sent me three songs to post on my blog, tell me a little bit about each one.
Brett: I think these songs do a good job of showing diversity in our songwriting. "Shot Down" — a song we wrote about a former manager — is aggressive and melodic. "The Gun" features some great harmonies alongside a bridge that is one of the best we've ever written. Finally, "Urgency," while it's not a heavy song per say, has great tension. You can feel the tension being built in this song all the way to the bridge where there is an abrupt release.

What are your plans for the next year and hopes for the next five years?
Brett: Playing music, touring, writing, making a living. Maybe owning a condominium in an upper-middle class community.

Listen to some tracks from Starving For Gravity and let me know what you think!
"Shot Down"
"The Gun"
"Urgency"

If you like what you hear, check them out on MySpace and catch a show when they're in the area.

Photo: Mike Cavanaugh of All Access Magazine