Hailing from Maryland, LJR is a tenacious and passionate pop-rock artist who strives to empower and inspire his audience to live their lives to the fullest.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Right now it’s just me, but I’ve just started talking to some potential band members to start putting together a team to play shows later this year or early 2022!
For starters, what bands were you a part of? How long has the band been around?
I was a part of They’ll Have Dreams, a duo with my older brother Daniel, before that a trio with him and my younger brother Michael, and before that church bands. I’ve been going solo for about 4 years now.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
LJR is my initials (Luke Justin Roberts), I used to use my full name but it was so long I shortened it to just the initials. Easier to brand too, which is nice.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
I write all of my own songs, the main topics focus on difficulty in relationships, insecurity, personal evolution, and my loss of faith. I think some of them will change, yes, not sure how much though. I think I used to write very general songs about topics before and have moved to write more specifically about experiences within those topics now.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Right now the biggest ones are The 1975, One Republic, and The Band Camino. But that’s the music I’m currently writing. The album coming out right now was more so influenced by Peter Gabriel, Coldplay, Hillsong United, and a little of The 1975.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Not really. I started playing drums and singing when I was very young, because my older brother started playing guitar, so I felt I had to choose something to play too. I chose drums cause they were the easiest, you know, you just hit stuff (that was my mentality at the time).
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
I warm up my voice with 30 min of vocal exercises, think about how I want to lean into new experiences, and go for it.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
It’s a relatively new project doing this album, which is the first real thing I’ve done as a solo artist outside of YouTube covers, so I’d say it’s the response to “Need a Little Lovin’,” one of the songs on the album. It’s been overwhelmingly positive.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
U2 and Switchfoot for sure. Their ability to captivate their audiences and move them into a powerful and almost spiritual experience is incredible. I would want to learn from them and get to know them.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Right now I’ve got my debut album coming out one song at a time per month, with an accompanying sci-fi mini series of videos. Live shows should start happening early 2022!
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