Though they don't want to be another band challenging conformity, the members of Love and Squalor said they strive to rise against the unoriginality of Athens' music scene with a drum beat on amphetamines and guitar-dominated songs.
After being together for two years, the punk trio is releasing their debut album, The Furiad
which showcases their attempts to take traditional rock and twist it into something all their own.
It seems like a lot of the bands in town will look at a band and go 'Yeah that was awesome. Let's do that
specifically.' And we obviously have our influences
but at the same time we're like
'How can we be better? What can we do that nobody else wants to do?' said Joel-Robert Henderson, bassist and vocalist.
The band described their sound as a post-Midwestern punk. But they cited influences in classic punk, such as Bad Religion and Green Day -both from California -and modern underground punk, such as Alkaline Trio from Chicago.
Contrary to their band name, Love and Squalor's songs are about anything but romanticism and heartbreak, but they do touch on emotional breakdowns and stagnation on the ladder of life.
It's not trying to be either negative or positive; (our music) is just a glimpse of what life looks like when you come of age
Henderson said.
Love and Squalor, composed of Henderson, guitarist and vocalist Jason Swearingen and drummer Jeff Kell, formed in the spring of 2003. After two weeks of practice, the band played its first show at The Union.
At the first few shows, things went wrong. They would get nervous, forget lyrics and start playing the wrong songs on stage. It didn't help their energy level to look out into a sparse crowd of fans anticipating the next act, Swearingen said.
But after a few more shows and a little bit more practice, their fan base and confidence grew.
Now we're just like
'Who cares?' Who cares if we play a wrong note? Who cares if we're bad? Let's just have fun and completely forget about trying to be professional
Swearingen said. And since we hit that point
people have been responding to the shows.
In 2004, Love and Squalor won the ACRN Battle of the Bands, earning them 10 free hours of studio time at 3 Elliot Studios, 3 Elliot St.
After spending $1,000 more at the studio, the band suffered a recording setback when Henderson caught a recurring case of laryngitis, which lowered his vocal range a few registers.
Every single word and every single note
we take very seriously
