Sam Lathrop shreds a solo .
Hunter Lenington keeps the energy driving . their tour , they soon realized that they would have to travel on a tight budget .
“ They told us we would need a bus and a driver , but we knew we didn ’ t have that kind of money , so we told them that we ’ d take turns driving a van with a trailer , and that we ’ d get to each show on time ,” Sparks said .
When Sparks , Lenington , and the other three members – electric guitarist Sam Lathrop , keyboardist Maxwell Yi , and bassist Pete Legacy – joined Blue October ’ s “ Spinning the Truth Around Tour ” three months ago , they pushed themselves through a truly rigorous schedule .
“ We ’ d usually get to the venue at five , take our stuff in , order DoorDash or something to get food . Then , after set up , soundcheck , playing the show and tearing down afterwards , we ’ d often get to the hotel at around 2 a . m . and be out by 7 a . m . to get to our next stop ,” Sparks said . “ Actually , touring really isn ’ t the funnest thing to do if you ’ re not passionate about what you ’ re doing , because it ’ s very physically demanding .
“ Also , you have to continue putting on a high energy show night-after-night , so as not to disappoint the people who paid to see you ,” Sparks added . “ But if you ’ re passionate about it , it ’ s still a cool experience and we ’ re excited to do it again .”
Vocalist C . J . Sparks gets into his lyrical storytelling . characteristic driving energy .
With dryly humorous-but-macabre folk songs like “ Old Ghost ” and alterna-garage country-rock tunes like their murder ballad , “ Smoke Train ,” the Beatnik Bandits tend to generally fit within a musical genre called Americana , which draws together several flavors of folk , blues , country , rock and roll , and bluegrass .
“ I ’ ve always been very much into Americana , but I try to change it up with songs where I go back to the roots with some folk , then delve into some blues , then give the people some rock and roll ,” Sparks said . “ But , Americana is what I mostly want to continue making .”
As the Beatnik Bandits continued honing their sound mostly in the Austin and San Marcos-area , they eventually decided to record their most recent album , “ As Luck Would Have It ,” at Up / Down Studios ( near San Marcos ), which happens to be owned by Blue October lead singer Justin Furstenfeld .
“ We worked with the studio for a while , and developed a really good working relationship with their engineer , Eric ( Holtz ),” Sparks said . “ They eventually started talking to us about the possibility of going on tour , and Justin finally asked us if we ’ d , for real , want to go on the road with them for like two and a half months … and we decided to try it to see if we could .”
When the Beatnik Bandits got to planning for
“
They told us we would need a bus and a driver , but we knew we didn ’ t have that kind of money , so we told them that we ’ d take turns driving a van with a trailer , and that we ’ d get to each show on time .
”
— Christian “ C . J .” Sparks
With their first full-on tour under their belts , the Beatnik Bandits plan to apply their honed discipline and energy to the fully-unplugged acoustic outdoor performances they ’ ve been known for .
“ As always , we ’ ll be getting back into doing a lot of street performing . It ’ s super helpful for building a fan base ,” Sparks said . “ If you ’ re out in the open like that and it ’ s clear that you ’ re well-practiced and that you ’ re putting all of your energy into it , people will see your effort and appreciate it .”
WINTER 2023 Greenville Life 27