The Love Language, initiated by Stuart McLamb, is a fortunate by-product of the North Carolina native’s rudderless mid-20s, where a tempest of breakup, inebriation, and incarceration found the abandoned songwriter embarking on a storage-space recording project to slow his seeming disintegration. The growing body of emotional fight songs, committed to MP3 with a high-school era multitrack recorder, became postcards from exile, a way to let his friends and former flames know he was getting along, battered but not beaten.
The band that McLamb has said was never intended to be has just completed a tour that saw the band travel across the U.S. and, now they’re prepping for a late-winter tour with Merge label mates Telekinesis–who are prepping a March release. The LL’s second record, Libraries, issued last summer, saw the band topping many critic’s year end lists.
McLamb took a few minutes to talk with TVD:
Libraries has wound up on quite a few best of lists for 2010—and in some pretty great company. What’s your reaction to that?
We’re very proud of that record and glad that other people share our enthusiasm for it. It’s a great feeling to make music and see it connect with the listener.
The LL will tour with your label mates Telekinesis later this winter/spring. What are you looking forward to on that tour?
Seeing our Portland family, IN and OUT, and stealing Michael for some sweet backing percussion on a few songs. Me and BJ listened to their new record 12 Desperate Straight Lines and it’s really brilliant.
What’s your essential must-have for touring, something you can’t leave home without?
My mom’s chocolate oatmeal cookies. The band’s kind of obsessed with them.
What’s the weirdest thing a fan has given to you or said to you while on the last tour?
Nothing comes to mind that’s really outlandish. Once a kid had me and Missy sign his shoes. I get this question a lot. Can a crazy fan out there please freak me out so i’ll have a good story for this popular interview question? please?
Fill in the blank: After several days of being in the tour van, I wish we were all riding horseback instead.
Fill in the blank: The best bathroom I’ve found in a rock club so far has been the trashcan outside of Guided By Voices’ dressing room. For real. Those guys are rowdy.
What’s the last record (not CD) you bought?
King Crimson- In the Court of The Crimson King. Finally.
What’s next for the LL?
Me and BJ are going to track demos for the next record while undergoing the master cleanse. Should be interesting.
