Brenn Beck

Left Lane Cruiser

By Christopher Duda
(Deep In the Ontario Woodlands)

SugarBuzz Magazine

1. Where does Left Lane Cruiser draw inspiration from?

Brenn: From a lot of places really. We started out like anybody, just drawing from the musicians we respected. The more we toured and went through; those experiences affected us and inevitably came through in the music. The road is a tough bitch, so we got a lot of inspiration from the trials that come from being away from home for months at a time. Touring Europe was a huge inspiration for us. It was amazing to travel somewhere where people respect music and musicians so much. At the same time though, being 1000 miles from anything familiar can take its toll on ya. In the years we have been doing this we have gotten married, had kids, and seen a lot of crazy shit. All of that comes throughany time we sit down to write something.

2. Whom would you consider to be your greatest influences musically?

Brenn: Well, Joes would definitely be ZZ Top, ACDC, and pretty much all the other classic rockers. I have always been into a little heavier music. Clutch, Kyuss are 2 of my favorites. I was always a huge fan of Primus, a lot because of Tim “herb” Alexander, their old drummer. We both also marvel in the magic of R.L. Burnside. I think we both knew the first time we heard him that we had finally found what we were looking for.

3. On your first European tour what transpired with the passport problems?

Brenn: We landed at Heathrow thinking everything was great. When they asked us what we were there for, we boasted that we were on tour. The customs agent was less than impressed, especially when we didn’t have any work permits. We only had 1 UK show, and the rest were in Europe where we didn’t need work permits, so we had no clue that we needed one for London. After a lot of bullshit between customs, us, and our agent, they denied us entry, took our fingerprints and mug shots, searched our luggage, threw us in the airport jail for 6 hrs, and put us on the 1st flight home.

4. How did John Wesley Myers from The Black Diamond Heavies come to record some of your current cd?

Brenn: John is a close friend of ours. We have toured with The Black Diamond Heavies a lot, and over the years have come to consider John and Van brothers of sorts. When we started working up tunes for the new record, Joe was playing a lot of stuff in standard tuning. We are used to playing in open tunings, so standard seemed really thin sounding. I think we both knew that John had to come and play on the record. We have always jammed with John at the end of the night, and always wished we could bring him on as a third member. When we called him to see if he would be interested he was excited to do it, so we set it in stone. We are touring with him in August throughout Europe, and he’s going to be playing with us at all those shows.

5. How would you define your sound?

Brenn: We get called a lot of things, but we usually call it Dirty Blues, or Broke Ass Blues.

6. How do you feel about the constant comparisons to The Black Keys?

Brenn: We both used to be huge Black Keys fans when they were first coming up. Nowadays not so much, but we owe them a big thanks. While I don’t think we have anything in common besides both being white duos playing some sort of rock/blues hybrid, we have sold a lot of records because of them. We are always on the recommended listening on their music pages, and a lot of people have discovered us because of them. We are appreciative that they have paved the way for bands like us, but I still kinda take offense to the comparison.

7. How did the nickname Sausage Paw come to being?

Bren: Aint much of a story there. I got fat hands…really fat hands. People always said they looked like sausages or some kinda animals paw. It stuck, and people just started calling me sausage paw.

8. Would you see the current cd as a progression of your past releases?

Brenn: Absolutely. As a band you have no choice but to evolve. It makes no sense for us to keep putting out the same cd over and over again, so we continue to grow and try new things. We have been playing together for 7 years now, so I think we really have a sense of each other musically, and are getting more and more comfortable to spread our wings a bit.

9. How did your affiliation with Alive happen?

Brenn: We owe that to the Deep Blues Festivals founder Chris Johnson. He is a real fan of music. He found us online, and came out to video tape a couple of shows. He mailed the tapes out to Patrick at Alive, and I guess he liked what he heard. He contacted us, and we set up a tour out to LA to sign the paperwork.

10. Do you feel you push boundaries?

Brenn: Yes and No. We play what we feel; it all comes from the heart. We never sit down and try to strategize how we are going to mix new genres, or blow people’s minds. We sit down and play whatever comes out. I think our whole genre though is pushing boundaries. People have always pushed the blues into new directions, but our genre right now is gaining attention. For the first time ever Blues Societies aren’t shaking their heads, but realizing that it is ok for the blues to venture outside of 12 bar progressions, and 1000 versions of Mustang Sally. Younger kids are listening to bands like us, and then buying traditional blues albums.

11. Are plans in place to tour extensively?

Brenn: We always tour as much as we can. We both haves wives at home, day jobs, and we both just had kids, so touring isn’t as easy as it used to be. We love the road, but family always comes first. Right now we are just trying to find the balance between being there for our families, and still touring as much as possible.

12. Is there anyone that you would like to share a stage with?

Brenn: Clutch has always been a band we have wanted to tour with. We really enjoy touring with our friends most though. Scott Biram, Bob Log III, and Black Diamond Heavies are always our first choice.

13. What is your most memorable show?

Brenn: There is definitely several. If I had to pick one though it would be at KSET in Zagreb, Croatia. We had never been there before, and it was a double-decker club. That fucker was packed! Both levels were full of people hungry for the music. We played literally every song we knew. The kept cheering for more, so we made shit up, just to keep playing. They still cheered for more. Joe ended playing a solo set at the end just to keep them happy. It was a really proud moment for me to sit at the top of upper level, and watch Joe play solo to a crowd that could not get enough from us.

14. Do you have any sordid tales of alcohol, debauchery and sin?

Brenn: Ah, don’t we all? Unfortunately we have strict policy that what happens on the road stays on the road. Sorry.

15. What is the musical landscape of Fort Wayne, Indiana

Brenn: One of the best in the world. Fort Wayne has so many great musicians, that you can virtually go to any club on any given night, and see an amazing band. The talent level here really forced Joe and me to hone our craft, or we would have sunk to the bottom here.

16. Where was the band name derived from?

Brenn: My mom had a dream when I was younger, before I started playing drums, that I would play drums in a famous band named Left Lane Cruiser. When we were picking out band names, it just seemed like the only logical choice.

17. What is a Junkyard Speedball?

Brenn: That my friend is the magical combo of Mountain Dew, and Indiana dirt Weed. That combo has gotten us through a lot of studio sessions, and hung-over mornings.

18. Parting Thoughts?

Brenn: If we come near your town, come out and get drunk with us.

Twist My Arm!-Chris

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Lane_Cruiser
www.alive-totalenergy.com/x/?page_id=336
www.facebook.com/pages/Left-Lane-Cruiser/16313548150
www.allmusic.com/artist/left-lane-cruiser-p1015934
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az90p9c1xbs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6W_kCoSMDU&feature=related
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