Richmond has always had an affinity for the punk band Lemuria. The band seems to always be stopping through the city–and rightfully so when you look at the consistent crowd sizes, which show the city just can’t get enough of this trio.
Richmond has always had an affinity for the punk band Lemuria. The band seems to always be stopping through the city–and rightfully so when you look at the consistent crowd sizes, which show the city just can’t get enough of this trio. Luckily for Lemuria, the rest of the country is catching on to what Richmond has known about for years, as the band is riding a wave of momentum like they’ve never had before in their ten years as a band.
Their last album, The Distance Is So Big, was a big step forward for them, and seemed to resonate with critics as well as their growing fan base. Recently, the band’s gotten some additional exposure through the work of music cartoonist Mitch Clem and his Turnstile Comix series. With all of this going on, the band surely has high expectations for their next release, but as Richmond has known throughout the years, Lemuria will always deliver when it comes to their music.
Lemuria is heading to Strange Matter tonight, and before the show, front woman Sheena Ozzella took the time to praise Richmond and its scene, as well as letting us know some plans for that highly anticipated fourth record.
You’ve come to Richmond plenty of times over the years. What’s one thing you look forward to doing once you hit the city?
I am a really big fan of a restaurant there called Ipanema that’s right down the street from Strange Matter. Every time we come to Richmond, that’s the place I want to go to immediately. I’m a vegetarian and somebody told us that they have a really good fake pulled pork barbecue sandwich. And sure enough, it was great. Then I realized they also had really good deserts, and it made it even better. It’s definitely one of my favorite places in the whole United States, not just the area.
How informed would you say you are on the Richmond music scene?
We have several friends who still live in Richmond, so I’m more informed on Richmond than I am on a lot of other cities. Plus, I’m in DC so I’m only a few hours away. I’d say I’m okay informed.
Who in the scene here stands out to you?
I definitely love Sundials. They’re one of my favorite bands from Richmond. All the dudes in that band are also super nice and real good friends of ours. Let’s see – what other bands? Iron Reagan is from Richmond, right? I love them and Cloak/Dagger, who I think are from Richmond too. Being put on the spot is hard especially when bands come and go or break up and start something new. But yeah, I’d say Sundials are the big one for me.
So what’s the DC music scene like?
The DC scene is great. I feel like I’m still learning about it a little more too. The thing I like about DC is that it’s really creative when it comes to show spaces. It’s a lot like Richmond actually, because there’s been a ton of weird places we’ve played in Richmond. In DC, food places like Ethiopian restaurants that you wouldn’t think would host shows, or weird churches. I’m starting to wrap my head around the possibilities of where shows can take place. I think DC is great. It’s got a really large hardcore scene and I’m trying to navigate my way through the indie scene, but I’m still pretty new to it.
Obviously DC is well known for the 9:30 Club, but what are some other venues you really enjoy playing?
In DC, I really like St. Stephen’s Church. That’s a venue that’s been around for a very long time. You basically make a donation to do a show, so it’s very accessible for a lot of shows of all different sizes. There’s a place called The Pinch that’s kind of this basement in a bar on 14th Street that I really like. Obviously Black Cat. Actually, I really do enjoy the 9:30 Club and it’s one of my favorites, but that’s also a really bigger venue.
You’ve been in the music business about a decade now and the business has definitely gone through a number of changes, but what are some changes that stand out to you personally?
I guess I’m seeing things change more in the positive way. People are more open-minded. They’re able to sit through mixed-genre bills better. I’d like to think that in ten years, change means things are more positive really. For Lemuria, in ten years, we’ve obviously learned to play our instruments a little bit better. When we first started, we didn’t really know what we were doing. I know that’s the case for a lot of bands, but I feel like at the end of ten years, we can hold up a lot more confidently than we could even in the past seven or eight years.
When you say things are changing more positively, what specific things are you referring to?
Not being sexist or racist or homophobic specifically, but also inviting people in without any form of discrimination. On top of that, being respectful of people. You know, you got your cases of certain people who don’t like stage diving – people have their own opinions about all that stuff. I feel like in general, the punk scene, at least in my opinion, has gotten a lot more… well, I’ll just say respectful.
Is sexism something you’ve had to deal with a lot in these ten years with Lemuria?
Yeah, I shouldn’t say I’ve been lucky to not deal with that much sexism. I don’t know if it’s the kind of scene we’re in, but I really haven’t had to deal with much of it in my band’s lifetime. I do think that it’s definitely motivating when you go up there and do your thing and people support you and I don’t really view that in a gendered way. I do think there’s still a lot of little comments that come out and people don’t even realize that they’re being sexist. I think it will get better and it’s starting to feel like less that people view things in that way especially at punk shows. I feel really comfortable nine times out of ten at shows we do. I’d even say ten times out of ten for the most part.
Lemuria’s been a band for ten years which is a pretty big feat. What do you attribute to that kind tenure?
I think any band can be a band for ten years – you just got to find the right mix of people and feel confident in what you’re doing. Honestly, I’m the one in the band that doesn’t know much about the music business. I trust my band mates usually. I’m not saying they make all the decisions, but generally, I’m the one who’s outdated with stuff and ends up saying, “Huh? What’s Spotify?” I think people get really discouraged when playing music especially if they feel like people are starting to not like your band. I’d say if Lemuria can be a band for ten years, then anyone can be a band for ten years. It’s all about the right chemistry of people.
Discouragement is a big thing that plagues musicians just starting out or new bands to a scene. How did you deal with it or how do you still deal with it?
I think my bigger problem is lack of motivation to be honest. I definitely go through phases of time where I’m just not motivated and I try to take a break for a little bit, but I feel like I’m the kind of person that’s brought out by the people surrounding me. I have a hard time motivating myself when I’m alone. It’s the thing where you find the right people to work with and Alex [Kerns, drummer] and Max [Gregor, bassist] help me snap out of that little pit of no motivation. Without them though, something always happens where I’ll realize, “Shit, I haven’t played my guitar in a month! I really need to get my shit together.” It will be watching a band or watching a friend noodle around. I guess it’s just what kind of person you are and how you get motivated and/or how you get discouraged.
Do those phases of no motivation kind of make it hard to be on the road for so long since you guys do tour so heavily?
I would say I’m still trying to figure out how to be comfortable on the road because so much of your life is based at home. I know that people who stay at home all the time wish they could tour and the people that tour all the time wish they could be at home. It’s a grass is greener type of thing. I do feel like we tend to come up with a schedule we can all bear. Sometimes it’s harder for one person than the other two, but for the most part we’ve got a schedule down and we work really together with it.
When you’re planning these tours, is Richmond a stop you guys always try to schedule no matter what?
Yeah, definitely. We really love Richmond and I’ve personally even thought about moving to Richmond in the past. From the beginning, Richmond is a city where we’ve had constant, positive energy. Everybody have been so nice to us. From shows we’ve played ten years ago to now, those same people come to those shows and I really like that about Richmond. There hasn’t been a period of time where I’ve missed someone or wondered where they were at a show. Every time we come to Richmond, the same people are there and it’s not usual that that happens and I just love it.
Lemuria is the focus of Mitch Clem’s third issue of Turnstile Comix. I know you guys go way back, but how did this project specifically come about?
He’s just a big supporter of our band. Mitch is a close friend of Max’s. They were in a band together for a while. I’m probably the one who knows Mitch the least to be honest. We found out that he put us in one of his comics and people were really excited about that so that was kind of our introduction to him, but he’s also a really nice dude. He’s set up shows for us in the past and he’s just really chill and really easy to talk to. We’re honored to be part of the Turnstile Comix series. He’s really great at what he does and I’ve seen the comic and it’s really good. I think people will be really pleased with the collaboration.
Since you knew him the least, were you aware of his work beforehand like Nothing Nice To Say?
Not really, but a lot of people showed me the very first thing that he put us in. I haven’t really been introduced to comics or web comics enough to get into them, but I thought it was cool that people would even want to include us in something. I thought it was really awesome that he did that and he’s into music too and the same scene we’re into. We have a lot in common so I’m really happy he wanted to include us in his comics.
Your last album, The Distance Is So Big, came out last year and did fairly well. Have you guys started thinking about the follow-up?
We’re actually planning on focusing on it as soon as we finish this tour. The beginning of next year, we’re going to really start plan it out, but we do have some ideas and we have some songs written for it. For right now, we’ve been doing a lot of 7″ and little projects to build up into recording the next LP. We definitely still have a lot of time before all that happens though.
Is there anything new you’re going to do on this new record?
I don’t know if we would try anything different with our songwriting approach, but we’re opening up to more instruments and styles. I don’t think it will sound too crazy, but it also won’t be like a regular Lemuria record. I think we’re getting more comfortable with each other especially with Max since the last record was the first record he recorded on and he had a pretty big role in writing those songs. I’m interested in seeing what he’ll come up with on the next record because I think he’s a really great songwriter.
Last question and I’m going to put you on the spot again. What’s a band or a few bands that you really think more people should be checking out?
I’m trying to think of a new band because I always want to say ABBA.
Oh, that’s so strange. I’ve heard a lot of musicians spouting about ABBA lately and there was a band I just interviewed that talked in-depth about them.
Really? That’s amazing. I feel like most people cringe when I mention ABBA. It’s put on in the most obnoxious way for some people, but whenever I need to get pumped, I put on ABBA. I will get along with those other people I guess.
Back to your question though, Sundials are amazing and not just because of Richmond. I would highly recommend them to anyone. There’s a band called Caves from the UK and they’re a bit more anthemic and poppier punk, but they’re just really happy and genuine which is a great quality to have. There’s so many bands though. From the DC area, there’s a band called The Rememberables and I might be playing favorites since my fiancé is actually drumming in the band, but I think that they’re really great and I think they’re the first indie band that I’ve really been into in DC since I moved there. We’ll leave it at that – check out Sundials, Caves, and The Rememberables.
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Lemuria is playing Strange Matter tonight along with Prince, Cross Eyed, & Victory Party. Doors are at 8 PM and tickets are $12. Find out more information here.
