T
here is a little known spot that has been
gaining attention in the local music scene.
The Wreck Room is a game room, pub,
and live music venue attached to La Mia Casa
Restaurant in Peterborough, NH.
Owned by Charles Ayala and family, The Wreck
Room holds regular social events weekly for all
ages: Reggae Night Wednesdays, Blues Jam
Thursdays, and Metal Weekends to name a few.
It has also been catering to bands playing anything from thrash metal, to blues and jam bands,
and all genres of rock from New England and
beyond. Not to mention the great selection of
authentic New Jersey style pizza La Mia Casa
offers, the food and beer on hand at The Wreck
Room is sure to satisfy anyone’s palate.
The Wreck Room event on May 23 invited three
bands to perform a variety of rock music for a
stellar show. The lineup consisted of Voices of
The Dead out of Bennington, VT, Yeehaw Jihad
of Nelson, NH and headliners from Keene, NH,
Lobotomobile.
Lobotomobile is made up of Laura Koons, who
said, “I make music with my voice and with guitar,” as well as Matt Martel on kit and electronic
drums. David Ciccone completes the three-piece
on bass guitar. On Facebook they describe
themselves as “an amorphous three-piece mashup of musical styles that pulls its inspiration from
any damn place it pleases. Heavily steeped in
horror movies, bizarre folk legends, video games,
history, medical terminology, and broadway
musicals, Lobotomobile creates genre bending
music peppered with samples and electronics
that continuously defies definition.”
Lobotomobile creates mind-bending music that
sometimes includes stage antics with a freak
show feel. Now, add in some movie samples and
electronic genre breaking sounds that defy defi-
June• 2015
nition, making a live Lobotomobile show an utterly punkish metalistic Broadway musical, that’s
in your face.
Cider Mag was able to meet up with Lobotomobile beforehand, to sit in on their rehearsal and
watch them write and prepare their setlist for the
show that night at the Wreck Room. The darkened lair of their practice space is littered with
remnants of stage props which seems to represent each of the members in their own demented
way.
CIDER MAG: Laura, what got you into music
and at what age did you start performing? How
did this lead you to Lobotomobile?
Laura: Well, I was a theater kid always and I
wanted to be like a Broadway performer, so I was
real hardcore into the dancing scene and acting.
I realized that music was a way that you could
perform without having to audition for plays. So,
it was kind of an avenue for that, and I came up
here a few years ago and started doing open
mics.
CIDER MAG: David, how long have you been in
the Keene area doing music? What other bands
have you been involved with in the past?
Lobotomobile: I’ve played drums for a band
called Fuse and also for Skarma. I played guitar
and bass for a band called Inverticrux for a short
time.
CIDER MAG: Matt what about you?
Matt: I’ve only been in Keene for about five
years. I’m originally from the Manchester and
Concord areas. I’ve been into music since I was
about 12. I’ve always played in bands on and
off during high school, a bunch of garage metal
bands, some alternative bands and I ended up
moving out of my apartment and had to get rid
cidermag.com • CIDER
MAG • 7