Unsigned Spotlight: Loyalty To Me
Dancing between 00's emo and present day pop-fueled emo, Loyalty To Me offers an enticing prospect for fans across the alternative rock genre.
1. Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band
Will Patrick Jackson - Lead Vocals
Devin McGuire - Guitar/Vocals
James Conrad - Guitar/Keys/Vocals
Ryan Keller - Bass/Vocals
Kevin Castro - Drums
2. For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Loyalty To Me? How long has the band been around?
W - My previous band was Theory In Context. Loyalty To Me has been a full band for a year and two months. It started as my solo project in November 2017. A lot of 2018 was spent finding the right bandmates to turn it into an equal unit.
R - Most notably I played in a band called Diner Food, but the first band I was ever in was a dad rock band called Kill The Captain and our music is still online on bandcamp and I refuse to take it down even though it’s really rough to listen to
J - I've played in a ton of different bands that ranged everywhere from country, to math rock, to latin.
K - I’ve been in a jam band, a goat-themed punk band, and for a few years I was part of an indie rock trio with friends from my hometown. I was originally supposed to be part of a rotating group of fill-in drummers but after getting together a few times for a show or two the rest of LTM orchestrated a prom-prosal to get me to officially join the band. Ryan and I have been terrorizing Devin and Will ever since.
D - I played bass in a post-hardcore band from NYC until late 2014. The experience wasn’t an entirely positive one, so I left to attend Seton Hall on a music scholarship. I’ve been going to shows and jamming with James for nearly 8 years now, but ironically, this is the first band we’ve actually been in together.
3. What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
W - We’ve always had this name. It’s a direct quote from a lyric in a song by my previous band, Theory In Context. The full line is “your loyalty to me is more than I could ask.”
K - I remember playing a show with my old band. Will was doing an acoustic set under his old project’s name. The wind ripped a banner off of some trees that day. It was pretty entertaining watching everyone chase it around and freak out a bit. Then years later I stumbled into the band and the name was different.
4. 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?
D - Some of our earlier material was written entirely by Will when LTM was still a solo endeavor, but it’s become a much more collaborative process since we’ve locked down our current lineup. Lyrically, our songs address themes including relationships, social rejection, loneliness, anxiety, and the pressures of growing up post-college. Our songs are relatable because everyone deals with these things at one point or another. My hope is that our fans can draw their own connections between our music and their lives, without us being vague or unauthentic in how we present it.
K - I’ll come back from some work-related business trip and find some/all of the guys have been working on something. I like letting the songs take a more solid shape before adding any solidified drums. I might play a beat while we all brainstorm but it’ll mainly serve as a metronome. My focus is to compliment the song as a whole, many times the actual developed idea doesn’t start to take shape until much later on. I’m guilty of not knowing what any of the lyrics say or mean. I only pay attention to the overall flow of vocals and whether or not everything compliments each other. Melodic Charlie Brown adult noises (The ‘wob wob wob’ sounds the adults make when they talk) is all I hear when I listen to our stuff.
5. What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
J - I really love the guitar work of Bent Knee, Hop Along, Turnover, St. Vincent, Radiohead, and At the Drive-In particularly. In this project, I usually find myself in a position where I'm trying to build on something that someone else has started, so I tend to think of that person's idea as a starting point rather than the artists I'm currently listening to if that makes any sense.
K - I mostly listen to DJ’s and electronic acts nowadays so most of my playing will draw from elements I find in that type of music. Almost all of my parts are simple beats whose main purpose is to drive the pulse of the music, usually I’ll avoid using fills and leave space for the rest of the guys to do their thing. Some of my favorite acts right now are ZHU, Sofi Tukker, Bob Moses, and RÜFÜS DU SOL.
D - I can’t deny the influence the mid-2000’s alternative scene has had on this project. The Used, Saosin, Paramore, The Cab and Forever the Sickest Kids have all been major influences on my guitar playing, since these were the bands I listened to most when I picked up the instrument to begin with. I’ve also been listening to a ton of pop music lately, and I’m not ashamed of it! I think there’s merit in how a well composed hook can bring a song to the next level.
6. Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
R - My dad first got me into music listening to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Alice in Chains, and even Creed. It (Creed) has become such a meme now but I can appreciate it for how catchy it was and it was easy to get into as a kid I guess. I even saw Creed live once and they just used a shit load of fire and it was cool as fuck. I hope we can use that much fire one day.
J - Early 2000s pop punk like Yellowcard and Jimmy Eat World inspired me to pick up guitar as a kid, but I moved away from that pretty quickly. In a way, it's been weirdly life affirming to play music that has some roots in that.
W - I could give lots of answers, but a defining moment for me was playing guitar on stage with 5 Seconds of Summer in 2015. It was at a packed arena and I’d never experienced performing for so many people. It felt right being up there and really made me say “I want to take this seriously.”
K - I liked getting stoned and hanging out with my friends. My first ‘band’ consisted of getting as high as my 18 year old body possibly could and jamming in a warehouse on weekends. One of our jam buddies was always talking about writing/recording stuff and then he would proceed to do a 96 bar blues solo instead. It was a massive waste of time, but in an enjoyable ‘young, wild, and free’ kind of way, y’know?
D - During my junior year of high school, a close friend of mine threw a sweet sixteen pool party, and a band called the Blue Pages jammed on the porch while we were all partying. Afterwards, I met Dave Rublin and Matt Sanchez while we were all in the hot tub together. We had a pretty deep conversation, which ended with both of them encouraging me to start my first band and to pursue music more seriously. I woke up with my first hangover the next morning. Meanwhile, they went on to form American Authors.
7. What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc…
R - I’m pretty much always in the zone so I don’t really have a pre-show ritual. Before the majority of our sets I’ll take a shot of Whiskey and be good to go.
J - I've found that I get the best results when I relax and don't overthink things. Getting in the zone while playing music just sort of happens naturally if I'm not worried. It's also really easy in this band cause everyone's always on top of things.
W - My car is my comfort zone. I like to sit in there and interlace simple vocal warmups with singing along to a few specific songs I like that highlight a similar range to the one I display live. After that, I stretch and jump up and down a few times. Then I’m good.
K - I’m pretty much good to go whenever. I like being able to hop on and start playing under any circumstances. As long as my seat doesn’t wobble.
D - I always put on my lucky chapstick before getting on stage. Soft Lips = Hard Riffs
8. What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
W - Recording with Brett Romnes at Barbershop Studios. We recorded our entire (forthcoming) EP there at the end of 2019. Not only is he a trusted name that has recorded countless beloved emo albums, but the experience also spurred a lot of growth in us as performers, bandmates, and songwriters. It brought out my absolute best and took me from dreading the recording process to absolutely loving it.
J - One time, Devin called me handsome.
D - One time, I called James handsome.
R - Touring with our buds in Pheller was really fun. They ate some clam pizza and then they all threw up, it was cool.
K - I still get thrown off when people I don’t know or haven’t met sing the words to our songs and come to our shows. It’s weird. I feel like I’m part of the Truman Show and this is all some ridiculously orchestrated lie. Any minute the producers will instruct the actors to stop and the reality I know will shatter.
9. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
R - Free Throw or Grayscale would be cool. I love the passion both bands have and the originality in their music.
J - Glass Beach. Their first album was one of my favorite things that dropped last year and I want there to be a few weeks of my life where I hear those songs performed on a nightly basis.
W - Rich People. I love what they’re doing right now, and getting to know them and sharing the stage with them would be sick.
K - My Chemical Romance would be amazing. I’d love to live out my middle-school daydream fantasy. I’d put a bunch of eye makeup on because it’d look funny when I inevitably end up crying.
D - Definitely the backup band Bruno Mars tours with. Imagine if we added a horn solo and dance break during Paying for Friends. That would be sickkkk.
10. Is there anything else you would like to add?
W - Stay tuned all Spring! We’re dropping lots of music and content and we’re stoked on all of it.
R - I went to the dentist last week and they destroyed my gums and yelled at me. So fuck those guys.
K - I brush my teeth very thoroughly. Long enough to where people have pointed it out to me. I have really good dental insurance but I don’t want to give dentists money. My wisdom teeth are growing in just fine without any pain, so hopefully I can keep their hands off of my bank accounts. Jeremy Jam needs to be removed from city council.
D - I’ll take an entire clam pizza over a trip to the dentist any day of the week.
J - Kill your dentist.