The fire is still burning hot for our friends A & L. The duo of industry veterans Anthony Casuccio and Lana Marie have kept their string of charting singles going. Now they are back with an energetic new rock track that is destined for even more success. We had the chance to sit down with the band and get behind the scenes to what makes them tick. Enjoy the interview here:
We know what A & L stands for but what made you go with that as a name for the duo?
Honestly, we figured it would easily help identify us as individuals and we really did not want to try and figure out a name. And since we did the first song for fun, not really thinking it would amount to much we were not too particular on our name. We were wrong.
What first drew you two too creating music together?
Anthony here, I was producing jingles and asked Lana to sing on a few of them. Because of our jingle work together, I asked Lana to sing on this song that I wrote called ‘Get Me a Drink.’ We recorded it and we released it with no expectations. The song sounded fantastic. We got Jim Beam to sponsor the video and things took off from there. One of the jingles that we recorded is still being used.
How would you describe the music you create?
That is a tough question. We all like pop/rock music but listen to some country too. You can hear influences from The Beatles to Foo Fighters in our songs. Our songs are radio friendly and are being played on Top 40 and Rock stations. One of our songs received a lot of play on country radio. At the end of the day, we want to bring back guitar-centric songs to Top 40 radio.
What is the songwriting process for A & L?
Anthony here, I am the primary songwriter. I will create demos for everyone to hear so that they can take some time to develop their ideas and parts. We usually track the drums first along with the guitars. Rich Smith and I discuss the direction and his ideas for the rhythm section. We will record the drums. Then Matt (Sunick) comes in and lays down his bass part.
Once we get a rough mix down, Lana will come in and track her vocals. We have a system down and usually get the performance we need within a few takes. Looking back, most of our songs were recorded in very few takes. Rich did his drums on this new song in two takes. I know other bands take much longer. We want perfection, but we also want it to feel musical. We have been very fortunate to be able to get our vision quite quickly.
Your latest single “Tell Me When It’s Over” is quite the energetic rocker. Tell us about how that developed?
We have been polishing our live shows and wanted to add an upbeat song. Out of the blue Anthony came up with this idea and everyone jump in and added their parts. The results are this upbeat track that gets people singing along. It has some elements that keep the song fresh, not just the typical pop/punk songs. The drums are incredible, check out the fills.
The bass line has this infectious feel that gets the listener moving. And the vocals really cut through. They have a unique sound when Lana belts out the chorus. The combination of everything culminates with a killer track!
What advice do you have for other artists pursuing their dreams?
They must realize that this industry is a lot of work and very competitive. As my friend Howie always says, it should be the Business Music not the Music Business because you need to take care of your business first.
What is next for A & L?
We are working on a ballad that is a response to a lot of the vitriol and unpleasant feelings that have been entering our communities. We want to spread a positive message of acceptance and positivity. We are hoping to partner with a positive community organization to help spread our shared message. We hope to release it at the start of the summer.
Find out more about A&L at http://artistecard.com/AandLmusic
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