Foo Fest 2013: Lolita Black
| An interview with Bob Otis of Lolita Black |
What lead to Lolita Black getting together?
I wanted to play guitar…I had been singing in bands for almost 20 years and after a stint of playing bass for the FUZZ…I realized how much I missed playing an instrument in a band. I find it to be much more challenging and I like to push myself creatively. Lolita’s creation came out of Kaleigh and I wanting to put something together that was dark, heavy and feminine in nature. Lolita Black satisfied our creative urges and since both of us were relatively new to our instruments…it was fun and challenging to grow together.
AS220 is like family to me…from Dropdead’s early days in the beginning of the 90’s to now, we have played there and it’s felt like a second home. Definitely one of the stages I’ve felt the most comfortable on through the years. Two decades later my bands are STILL rocking it and nothing has changed. An amazing place filled with wonderful people…we are truly honored to have been part of it’s history.
Is there a desire to just “rock out” with Lolita, as opposed to Dropdead where you’re the deliverer of some heavy socio-political messages?
Yes…Lolita is a rock band first and foremost, although we certainly have a strong female end to the music and we certainly support a feminist aspect, we are mainly apolitical and just want to make music that rocks your face off. I already do “political” music with DROPDEAD and I wanted to create something that was fun and seriously rocking at the same time.How was your recent Rock Hunt experience?
It was fun…but it was also weird. We got to see the “inside” of how corporate radio works and what they’re looking for as far as “marketability”. I think we blew the doors off the Rock Hunt and definitely showed them we were a band to be reckoned with, but in the end, I have no doubt we were WAY too heavy for WBRU. They are looking for a more tame kind of sound…and they certainly weren’t getting it from us.You’ve toured the world with Dropdead, are you looking forward to hitting the road with this different crew?
I am….twenty-two years of international touring can make you a little jaded with “having seen it all”…I’m looking forward to living it through fresh eyes with my band mates who are experiencing the whole thing for the first time. They’re like my little brothers and sisters, and I’m super excited to do it with them. I have no doubt they will kill it out on the road as much as they do at home.
What does playing at AS220 mean to you, as someone who has been playing shows here for 20+ years?
AS220 is like family to me…from Dropdead’s early days in the beginning of the 90’s to now, we have played there and it’s felt like a second home. Definitely one of the stages I’ve felt the most comfortable on through the years. Two decades later my bands are STILL rocking it and nothing has changed. An amazing place filled with wonderful people…we are truly honored to have been part of it’s history.