Limberlost
Interview conducted on May, 2020
by: Dan Locke
~ Limberlost is an Award-Winning American rock band from Seattle, WA. Behind the crushing vocals of Krystle Pyette and mesmerizing harmonies of Brittany Lauren, the band, consisting of Ricky Dunn on Guitar, Ben “Thor” Beman on Bass, Anthony Ciarochi on Keys and Michael Burt on Drums, use captivating hooks and tenacious grooves to grab your heart and invade your soul. A troop of 6 vastly different origins who bind together as one, and rise from the mist to permeate every song and performance with passion, love and raw energy ~
Dan Locke: What is your upbringing?
Mike Burt: Way to date me right out of the gate! Geez… Pretty normal for the times. I grew up in Tacoma, Washington in the 60’s and 70’s. Parents split up when I was 13 and we moved to California. Went to college… hated it. Quit, bought a drum set and joined a band.
How did you discover music?
(MB)My mom used to play records … Otis Redding, Elvis, Movie soundtracks. But when I heard the Beatles, Stones, Creme, that got me wanting to play. (KP) It was a part of my life from a young age. My dad was in local rock bands off and on in my growing up years and we always had instruments around the house
How did you start to write music?
Krystle Pyette: I would work out melodies and songs in my head as a kid, and started to write them down in my early teen years…the typical teen angst stuff
(MB)I really didn’t write until this project. Ricky had an acoustic ballad that he played for me in like 2011 and I had a lyric idea. I ran with it and we rocked the song out and Thin Clouds was born. The band has three lyricists now so we truly have a songwriting mosaic. Instrumentally everyone contributes
Do you remember how you got your first guitar?
(KP) My dad bought me a used Peavey Falcon (electric strat copy) in my favorite color from the local music store and brought it home as a surprise.
And do you still have it?
(KP) Yes, my daughter is using it now.
How did the band form?
(MB) I love this question because I always get to say “Ricky Dunn and I met on Craigslist”… but seriously that’s kind of what happened at the end of 2010. We just had a writing magic and Ricky is a hook machine. A few years and a few players later we came across Krystle at church. She is incredible! Knew it the moment I heard her. We all were Worship leaders and we pretty much morphed out of the Worship teams. Near the end of 2015 we split up, mostly because of leadership struggles but Ricky and I convinced Krystle and our then bass play Daniel to go into Crash Bang Boom Studios to record our song “Thin Clouds” with David Mark. We released that song in Feb of 2016 and we just took off. Later that year we found Ben as our permanent Bassist and fellow groovemeister. One of the coolest dudes you will ever meet. And in September 2018 we added current members Brittany on backing vocals and Anthony on keys. Those two have really upped our game. Brittany has really added to the vocal depth of the band and is a solid writer. Tony, holy crap, there’s not much he can’t do to and with a keyboard. Check out his solo in Jolene. I can’t say enough what great people and players I’m blessed to create and work with.
How the band did get its name?
(KP) The short story is that both Ricky our guitar player and myself had references to the Limberlost in our childhoods. It’s an actual place, a swampy forest and the longer story is that there was a novel written about it that was my favorite growing up. It’s about a girl growing up and finding herself and finding music in the Limberlost which was in reality named after a guy who got lost there. Our connection with the name just seemed to fit with the story of determination and faith and having to find your way out.
How do you create your music?
(KP) We don’t have a set way of going about things, it usually starts with one person’s idea and gets worked out as a group. Sometimes one of us will bring something closer to a finished song to the table but everyone gets to inject their flavor and expertise. (MB) I think that’s one of the things that makes us interesting. You don’t get a bunch of songs that all sound the same.
You have won many local music awards. Do you think it is time to win a Grammy? If not, what do you need to do to get a Grammy?
(MB) Heck Ya! Just gotta find someone to nominate us.
(KP) I wouldn’t say no but I’m not a real big talker like that myself. For me it’s about the journey and the experiences and people along the way so the destination is less of a focus. Any recognition we receive is encouraging and it does inspire us to keep going
Tell me about your latest single “Setting Sun”?
(MB) Yes, Setting Sun. That’s an interesting story. Our distributor Bryan Perry from Nashville hit me up about taking one of his late father’s songs and turning it into a Limberlost song. This was a trip because his dad is the famous country song-writer Wayne Perry who wrote hits for the Back Street Boys, Tim Mcgraw, Toby Keith and more. This particular song was penned by Wayne and the great Tommy Barnes (wrote Indian Outlaw for Tim McGraw). This song was about as country as country could get. We kind of just starred at it for about a month. You know like when your mom puts a bowl of brussels sprouts on the table? Anyway, what were we gonna do with it…. He said rock it out! Whatever you want. We changed just about everything except the lyrics. Beat, meter, key, melody…. We think it turned out pretty cool but nothing like what we were handed. It was a fun project once we dove in. and the girls killed it.
How was the HempFest 2019?
(MB) It was a lot of fun. One big cloud! I mean crowd lol (KP) It was pretty chill.
Why did you pick a Dolly Parton tune to record and make it your own?
(KP) We always keep a good crowd pleaser or two in our live set. Songs that make it easy for a crowd to connect and participate when it’s the first time they’ve seen our show. With Jolene, once we started to put our own spin on it, it became something that just gelled and worked so well live that it made sense to record and release our own version.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
(KP) The industry is what it is right now, and I hope we can work toward compensation that makes sense for the artists as well as platforms. You can’t deny that have enabled us to more easily distribute music.
Digital vs. vinyl?
(KP) I love Vinyl. I buy it when I can but I don’t get to listen to it as often as I’d like. Digital is accessible and you can’t get around the convenience factor. I think there is a time and place for both.
(MB) Vinyl!!
Any plans to tour?
(MB) Man, we hope so. We have a tour planned for August starting in Atlanta at the ISSA Awards and taking us back to Seattle. A lot of stuff up in the air so we will see. We are dropping an album this summer so we really hope we can support it live!
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song means to you?
(KP) Just today I’ve had Alanis Morrissette’s Thank You running around my head. To me it’s about experiences and how they shape you and not missing the opportunity to grow through every circumstance.
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
(MB)That’s a great question. This is rock and roll right? We carve the path not sit in the rut. I think it will be what we say it is! Rock and Roll will never die!
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
(KP) Being bored and somewhat isolated is terrible for my mental health, it’s easy to slip into a dark place when the sameness takes over so I’ve been trying to dig into bigger projects to give myself something to get excited about while we are still in the waiting game. I’m a maker of music as well as many other things, mostly I enjoy textile and jewelry arts. Keeping my hands busy keep me sane.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
(KP) I’ve pulled out my spinning wheel and have been processing wool into yarn… My favorite hobbies outside of music are always a little obscure and weird.
Lots of people are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Are you planning to do something like that?
(MB) We might. Never say never but there are lots of ways to connect with fans. The challenge with doing what everyone is doing is you quickly just become part of the noise. I’ve seen some do what they do live, overexpose themselves. We are choosing to write and plan and make sure we are riding a wave when this opens up instead of paddling for one.
Do you think it will be possible to make a living doing concerts this way?
(MB) not really. We are a relationship driven species. We need each other. We need to touch and look into each other’s eyes. I want to go to concerts, festivals and local shows, not watch them on my phone. You lose the “mob” mentality that fills rooms and creates energy. There you go… you’re two cents richer. Ha
First it was an article in the New York Times, then Rolling Stones talked about it and finally Live Nation CEO said that concerts may not start again until fall of 2021. Do you think this could happen?
(MB) That would suck! I mean we gotta do what we gotta do but man….
Do you feel that the ISSA Award will be cancelled? You are up for US Band of the Year, US Entertainer and US Single of the year.
(MB) Currently they are still a go. We are actually scheduled to perform this year. Last year we received a 2019 Album of the Year award for “Volume I” so we are extremely humbled to be up for three awards this year. And we get to be there for it which is really cool. ISSA is a great organization and international network for song writers and unsigned artists.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
(MB) I actually have a buddy, Tony Delisio, that has been working with AI and it is so amazing how close that is. He’s a beast and some of the stuff he has shown me melts my brain. I could see it. It has great marketing ramifications.
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
(MB) Older. Well, we have big dreams and a great team. We have a very cool project in the works with world renowned producer Timothy Eaton. It’s one of those things that is a one and a million thing for a band trying to break. We will see what happens but we are pretty optimistic.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
(MB) Yes! Thanks for the opportunity to share us with your readers. We hope that they will check us out and perhaps join in our journey! Also, look for our new single “The Real Thing” to be out at the end of May and the drop of our sophomore album “Good Fight” later this summer! We are super stoked for you all to hear it. It’s got many musical facets from a couple songs produced by Timothy Eaton, a live recorded song, a real cool surprise track and a couple covers. Lastly… Keep Rockin!! No Matter What!!
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