A Dirty Dozen with NOMAD & LOLA – September 2019

According to a recent press release: “The modern-day power music couple, NOMAD & LOLA, create a somber yet gorgeous mash-up of two iconic stories that somehow become one in their new white-hot single, “Summertime/While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” This dark pop mash-up of two favorited classics by Nina Simone and George Harrison, is from the duo’s debut EP, NOIR, out October 17, 2019.” We get the duo to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Our approach to NOIR was musical nostalgia meets Tarantino. It is our hope the listener can be taken on a different journey each time they experience the material as there are many layers to this album.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

LOLA: There was no exact moment for me, I was born an artist, always singing and making up my own lyrics. There really was no other path other than music for me.

NOMAD: In 1984, I saw Eddie Van Halen on MTV. I immediately grabbed my Dad’s old guitar and locked myself in my room until I was 20.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

LOLA: As a true music mutt, I have gone through a plethora of musical phases. Each one has left its impression on me, from Judy Garland to Madonna, to my teenage Sublime loving days to my discovery of amazing artists like Joni Mitchell. I’ve been collecting music moments since I could hit the play button.

NOMAD: Although it started with Van Halen, it soon expanded to all of the guitar heroes: Steve Via, Joe Satriani, Paco De Lucia, George Benson, George Harrison, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Alan Holdsworth and the list goes on.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

LOLA: Paul McCartney (The Beatles / Wings), Judy Garland, Queen, Billy Joel, and Sublime.

NOMAD: Van Halen, The Beatles, The Ohio Players, Nicolai Paganini, and Jimi Hendrix.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

LOLA: Paul McCartney or Billy Joel as they both know how to tell a story! Even if it’s about answering the door, somehow I’m always fully captivated! “…Someone’s knocking at the door…”

NOMAD: Sir Greg Wells, because of his vast musical knowledge and experience producing a myriad of artists.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We are cinematic at best. With NOMAD’s composer-like approach to our music he is able to paint vivid pictures in the imagination of the listener. Matched with Lola’s powerhouse vocals, it’s truly an experience to be had again and again. We haven’t been compared to anyone that we cringe on but people have said we are the 21st century’s answer to Sonny & Cher, or if John Mayer and Lana Del Ray hooked up.

7. When the band is all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We actually both love to cook. Although Nomad is better at breakfast than Lola, he also makes delicious Italian and Cuban cuisine! Whereas Lola is more like a Jazz musician in the kitchen. Never really measuring anything, she just feels the food and somehow its always amazing. When it comes to “Happy Hour” we split the bill pretty evenly. Lola says, there’s nothing more enjoyable than a fresh berry cocktail in your own backyard! Nomad is definitely the resident bartender and is always the first to bust out a guitar for a singalong!

8.  When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

We don’t really get “star-struck” since both of us have worked in the industry for over a decade. However, for me (Lola), it was the day I saw Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger talking to each other in the studio parking lot where I used to work. I swear no work was done that day from me! For Nomad, it’s when he met Eddie Van Halen at the same studio.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

NOMAD: Being able to create at will, if I could no longer be a musician I would probably be a designer of some sort.

LOLA: I love being able to turn my everyday experiences into songs that (hopefully) resonate with others. If I couldn’t pursue my dreams of music, I think I would die.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

NOMAD: The question I’d love to be asked is, “What is your dream studio to record a project in?” And the question we get bored of the most is “What is it like being married and working together?”

LOLA: The question I’d love to be asked is, “Do you believe in Aliens?” And the question we get bored of the most is “What is it like being married and working together?”

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do-over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

NOMAD: As a career musician, I can safely say there are many paths to which you can be successful in the music industry, I just wish I started on my own artistry sooner.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

NOMAD: Van Halen’s Fair Warning, the entire album, because I feel it was the band’s most innovative space in time.

LOLA: Without a doubt it would be Paul McCartney and Wings, “Live and Let Die” because it’s the most epic song of all time.

NOMAD AND LOLA LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

Category: Interviews