A Dirty Dozen with LEW MORRIS and BILLY BLAIR from LOVE SICK DRUG – AUGUST 2024

According to a recent press release: “Love Sick Drug isn’t just a bunch of boring musicians standing on stage, they also bring the look and charisma. Erin Marie Garrett is a former Lingerie Football League player, two time FHM cover model, currently working fashion model and brand ambassador and has a set of lungs that can blow away a crowd. Billy Blair is an established actor that has been in a number of feature films including Machete, Alita Battle Angel, Sin City A Dame to Kill For, Jonah Hex, Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell and more. Lew Morris is also an actor, special fx artist, director, production designer and on-air personality that has been on online and FM radio shows. Fernando Salas and Chris Carnage are working musicians that have played together for over ten years so they bring a solid rhythm section that is always locked in. Love Sick Drug delivers a sexy rock dynamic on screen in their music videos as well as entertaining the fans with their stage show. LSD is a musical force that brings old school, raw, aggressive, rock n roll into the modern age.” We get guitarists Lew and Billy to discuss new music, influences, and 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 you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Lew: As the main lyricist, I have put in a few little Easter eggs in songs like “Celebrity Life,” and others that refer to certain things that some of the band members might otherwise be known for outside of the band or just inside jokes. We also really went into the production side of things in the studio so there are a lot of little things here and there you might hear after listening carefully a few times. Billy can tell you about some of the subtle things instrumentally and composition wise he added to a lot of the songs. He has great ideas on how to give songs that little bit of extra.

Billy: Well I just write what I would want to hear on an compellation record if I were to put one together. I always go for the feel of it. On the songs I write I got the melody of what I want the vocals to be. My weak point is writing the lyrics. I let Lew take over on that. But I would hum the melody to him how I would want it to go. I think the fans will hear a little bit of influences from bigger bands we grew up with on there. And luckily it’s a big variety.

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

Lew: I was already “writing songs,” around five years old. I was taking musical toys and making my own tunes. The difference to me between writing and just messing around is the ability to repeat what you did. I know people (and kids) that can play around and come up with cool stuff but then when they need to repeat it, they can’t do it. Once my parents saw that, they signed me up for piano lessons at 7. I did well at that but still wasn’t a huge fan of just learning other people’s music. I was still messing around to come up with my own stuff. At 14, I quit piano and finally got a guitar that I taught myself to play and that’s when it opened up. It felt more natural and I was able to sit down and write without it feeling forced. I knew at that point that’s what I really wanted to do.

Billy: It was KISS for me. KISS got me to love rock n roll. I was 5 years old when I saw the Alive II album at a Woolco store in El Paso. The album cover itself got me into them. Their make up and Gene’s bloody face on the cover. I thought Ace was a girl, ha ha. But the band that got me into wanting to play rock n roll was Mötley Crüe. They ruined my life forever!

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

Lew: I have a wide variety of tastes, myself. Since LSD is a rock band, my rock and metal tastes tend to influence my writing and playing style with them. On guitar, it would be a combo of Eddie Van Halen and James Hetfield influencing my style. Lyric writing wise, I have to say it’s a combo of John Lennon, Steven Tyler and Alice Cooper. When it comes to my approach to live performance, I always enjoyed how much fun it looked on stage with bands like Van Halen, Metallica, Alice Cooper, and Aerosmith. They seemed like they were having fun and didn’t take themselves too seriously and that became infectious for the crowd so then everyone was having fun.

Billy: Man I got so many I can’t pinpoint which one was the one that topped my influence. From the 60’s to the 70’s to the 80’s and 90’s and till now! I love music! All kinds! The shows however have to be outrageous! I love the big arena rock shows. KISS, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Crue, and Maiden. It has to be a show! I always loved the swaggered moves from icons like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Paul Stanley, Scott Weiland, and Steven Tyler. They had charisma!

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

Lew: That’s tough since it depends on what I am doing and they are doing. If I was doing lyrics and vocals, I would say I would want Nita Strauss on guitar. She writes amazing riffs and is just a badass on guitar, not to mention a decent person (I have met her several times and even play one of her guitars). If I was playing guitar, and brought in a vocalist or musician, maybe Trent Reznor or Alice Cooper.

Billy: Whoever is available, haha! I’d love to collaborate with any rock icon if I could. I don’t know. Maybe call up Jerry Cantrell and see if he’d want to help write a song. If I had to pick one. Maybe Dave Navarro.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

Lew: I actually enjoy writing so much that even with “spare time,” if I didn’t have to sweat the business end of things, I would still sit and do that. I also love creating art so I do that from time to time as well. Otherwise, just traveling when not having to work on movies or music is nice. Love seeing new places.

Billy: I listen to a lot of news and podcasts and documentaries. I like to just chill and watch stuff like that. Learn stuff. Other than that I act in movies so I like to be back on set creating a character and bringing that to life. I help produce some of the stuffs I’ve been in so I love getting into that part of the spectrum.

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?

Lew: What most people seem to say is that we are a throwback to when “rock was good,” but still don’t feel like a throwback band. We still have a modern sound and songwriting but give it that raw, old school, feel. Someone tried to say we were “gimmicky,” once and it was immediately shot down by another fan that just said, “I don’t see any gimmicks, just a badass rock band putting on a good show.” I think so many bands phone it in these days with their live shows that when anyone actually puts any effort into their stage look and show, it feels like a gimmick. No that’s what it looks like when a band cares about the performance.

Billy: I always say we’re hard rock. We like to get things we were influenced by and put it in a blender and come up with something! As far as anybody talking about us is an honor! I don’t care what they say about us as long as they are talking about us. I don’t let shit get to me. It doesn’t bother me one bit.

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

Lew: Haha, we are all dorks behind closed doors so there’s a chance any of us could possibly do any of those things and more at any given time. This lineup is great and everyone is laid back and fun to be around. This group of people is just some good people who actually give a damn about each other.

Billy: What Lew said. Everyone is funny. We just do goofy shit, man. Haha! I’d have to say Lew normally gets the drinks. Like bringing in bottle water of coffee in a can. Shit, I’d even say he’s brought the snacks before. I’d breakout the acoustic maybe. Erin would sing something.

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

Lew: Hard to say as I don’t really get starstruck. I think that’s mostly from being in the entertainment business for awhile. I know in my youth when I saw Eddie Van Halen behind Reunion Arena, I was having more trouble than normal coming up with something interesting to say. Now that I am older, I have gotten to meet and hang out with a lot of people I never thought I would have. One of my highlights was getting to sit down and have drinks with Bruce Campbell in Austin, TX. He’s a great guy when he’s not playing the public version of himself (then he’s just entertaining). His big ego is more just a persona.

Billy: I hardly get starstruck. I work with a lot of celebrities doing film. Although the last time I got starstruck is when I met Nikki Sixx. That was years ago. I couldn’t put my words together right when I met him. But all that changes when you get older. I remember when I went to the 3 From Hell premier. The movie Rob Zombie directed. Nikki was there and I was in the restroom and he was on the urinal next to me on one side and Duff McKagan was on the other side and I took that in and just shrugged. Oh and Rob Zombie might have been another. I’ve always wanted to work with that dude and I finally got the pleasure. It was for the 3 From Hell movie. I’m in that. It’s hard to spot me because I’m wearing a mask. But once you figure that out, you’ll know it’s me.

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?

Lew: By far, being an original musician is being able to create something that will last well beyond yourself. You get to create history. Even if it’s just for a few people, knowing that someone somewhere is listening to your song, humming it during their work day or that maybe it helped them get thru a hard time like music has done for me, makes it worth it. I am an artist overall so if I wasn’t a musician, I would still be creating on some level either thru art, movie making, etc.

Billy: Being able to create! Being able to write something that moves a mass of people getting into your songs. That’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. Also to create a persona when you hit the stage and move people with that. Best feeling in the world. If I can no longer do that, I’m already doing my other dream job. Making movies! Another greatest feeling in the world. You create something that makes people react. I love it.

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?

Lew: I like being surprised. It’s always interesting when an interviewer comes up with questions you haven’t answered or would never expect. Not ones trying to “get dirt,” or anything but just something original. So saying that, it’s tough to think of what I would want to be asked. Maybe, what is it that I hope people take away from my songs. The answer would be that they listen to the words, take the time to sit and just really LISTEN. Don’t put it on in the background, actually listen to the instruments, the lyrics, the feel of the vocals. This band definitely crafts songs, doesn’t just throw together some riffs and words. I would say especially listen to the ones written with a message, as I would hope that they take the time to hear it, though some are just written for fun. As for what I am tired of answering, I would say the generic, “what’s your favorite…” I get that it’s interesting to hear but just to have me list things doesn’t really tell you a lot.

Billy: I want them to ask me, “Billy, what do you want to do with your life”? And I’ll go, “I wanna rock”!  I’m also tired of answering that.

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?

Lew: Well I do believe that every misstep led me to where I am now, so doing any over might not have gotten me where I am, so I wouldn’t change anything if I had the ability. As an exercise in “what if,” though, I would say that maybe not allowing certain people in my life that have shown to be self serving or vindictive so that I wouldn’t have had to deal with the drama they caused after the fact.

Billy: I wished I wouldn’t have worn assless pants on stage 20 years ago.

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?

Lew: That’s really difficult to pick one album. There are so many amazing albums out there. I’ll narrow it down to two. First, the first Van Halen album. That was the band before they learned any “studio tricks.” Just to see that band in their raw form, though I would have no idea what I could contribute to if I was there. Otherwise, The Beatles Sgt Pepper. That album is the example of what real studio production can do. There are so many iconic songs, and how it all came together just boggles my mind. I would love to be able to have the kind of budget to be allowed to record something like that one day.

Billy: Any KISS or Mötley Crüe record!! Those albums changed my life!

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Category: Interviews