Lovesores

     If you have been wondering “Where have all the punk rock ‘n’ roll bands gone?” then look no farther than Lovesores. Lovesores were formed by Scott “Deluxe” Drake and Jeff Fieldhouse; the same dynamic songwriting force that wrote a bulk of the early Humpers songs. These two, the arguable Mick and Keith of the punk rock ‘n’ roll genre, have created another band that is essential listening. With two EP’s (Bubblegum Riot and Formaldehyde) under their belt and two more singles on the way, the Lovesores attack is the adrenaline shot for a punk rock ‘n’ roll fix.

Interview by Ed Stuart 

Who’s answering the questions?

Scott “Deluxe” Drake

Where are Lovesores from?

We all live in Portland, Oregon…though some of us are originally from California and Arizona.

Who is in the band and what to they do?

Boz Bennes plays drums, Saul Koll plays guitar, Adam Kattau also plays guitar, Alex Fast plays bass and I sing.

How did the Lovesores start?

The Lovesores began as songwriting collaboration between Jeff Fieldhouse, who was the original guitarist of The Humpers and my main songwriting partner in that band, and myself. He left The Lovesores about a year and a half ago for personal/family reasons.

What bands/influences did the Lovesores have in mind when forming?

None really. Jeff and I just started writing songs without any particular direction in mind. But seeing that we’re both mostly interested in traditional 3-chord Rock N’ Roll, we had a general idea in mind.

Scott used to live in Long Beach, especially during The Humpers, but the Lovesores are based in Portland. What made you decide to move from Long Beach to Portland?

I lived in California for 40 years so it was time for a change. I had just married my wife and we wanted to start out somewhere fresh.

What are some big differences between the punk scenes in Long Beach and Portland?

The biggest difference to me would be that in Portland the bands are more supportive of each other, there’s more camaraderie. Also, there is more stylistic variation in Portland. In Southern California, a lot of the bands sheepishly follow whatever is in fashion at the moment, about 75% of them wish they were Social Distortion.

In an interview with Uber Rock, Scott stated “The Lovesores are different especially in that it's just a much more relaxed project, maybe because we're older and we don't have inflated expectations. Musically, Lovesores are probably more like early Humpers, late Humpers got a bit too hyper and pummelling.”  Do you think if the Humpers hadn’t had some degree of success, Lovesores would have the same relaxed attitude? 

You gotta realize that The Humpers stopped functioning creatively around 1998 so there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then. The attitude of The Lovesores doesn’t have anything to do with The Humpers. It’s irrelevant.

Have you read We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001?  I ask because The Humpers were active during these years.

Eric Davidson interviewed me for that book but he only gave The Humpers about ½ a page of ink, the bastard! It’s nice to see some of those bands get a little recognition finally, though.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. Considering that members of Lovesores have been releasing music since the late 80’s/early 90’s and have had relationships with labels of different sizes (Hovercraft, No Front Teeth, Rapid Pulse, Sympathy For The Record Industry, Epitaph). What are some of the big differences/changes that you have noticed in the music business in the last twenty to twenty-five years?

Virtually everything has changed in music in the last twenty-five years. One of the biggest differences that stand out to me is the attitude of the average music fan nowadays and also, to some extent, the attitudes of bands. Twenty-five years ago, in my humble opinion, both fans and musicians seemed to be more intensely devoted to the music, which I think was a reaction to people having less access to “underground” music. That’s just human nature, the harder it is to get something the more people value it. Having said that, though, I have no nostalgia for the old days of mainstream corporate radio, corporate record stores that wouldn’t stock imports or indie records, pay-to-play clubs, etc.

After reading several reviews, Lovesores are most compared to punk rock 'n’ roll, what are some essential punk rock 'n’ roll LP’s/bands that are necessary for a record collection?

Anything by The Lazy Cowgirls, The Nomads, The Neckbones or The Pleasure Fuckers would be a good place to start.

Where can people hear the Lovesores and what is next for the band?

People can hear us doing gigs in Portland every other week. We’ve also played out-of-town in Vancouver BC, Spokane, Seattle, Eugene, Los Angeles, Long Beach and we’re planning a European Tour in the spring. We have two new vinyl releases coming out this year and we’re on Facebook, Bandcamp, Reverbnation and all that. 

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