Who are Lip Candy? Well, I had to pleasure of finding out Saturday December 2nd. Lip Candy consists of Connor, on drums, Alan on bass, and Thomas on lead guitar and vocals. For a band that’s only been together for 3 months, Lip Candy have already begun to make waves in the local indie scene. In fact, they got this interview by bringing the most fans to a battle of the bands contest.
All three of the guys in Lip Candy are freshmen at Loyola. They all hail from the south which is where they claim their blues influence comes from. I learned this in our interview held at their practice space in Metairie.
How did you three meet?
Thomas Goetz: Well, we are all freshmen at Loyola and we just met through school.
Alan Howard: Yeah I live on the same floor as Thomas and they needed a bass player and they knew I played bass.
How did you get the idea that you were going to start a band?
Thomas: We started talking about music and Connor and I started talking about “Highly Suspect” which is my favorite band and we were just like, “Hey, lets start a band!”
Connor Zaeringer: Yeah, we wanted to be a mix of Blink 182, highly suspect, and weezer.
So where are y’all from?
Thomas: I’m from Forth Worth, Texas.
Connor: I’m born and raised here in Metairie.
Alan: I’m from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
How long have you three been playing music for?
Thomas: we all have been playing since middle school.
Connor: I have been playing music since I was 5. So playing music has been a part of me for a long time.
What made you want to play music?
Thomas: Well classic rock like Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones really caught my attention when I was young. Then when I got older, Pop punk like Blink 182 and Weezer really made me want to play. Now Highly Suspect is what makes me want to play music.
Connor: Yeah I would hear my parents play classic rock so I grew a taste for music very early on right around the same time I started playing instrument.
So who are your biggest influences?
Thomas: I love Highly Suspect.
Connor: Yeah, we play a lot of Highly Suspect songs. We can play some if you wanna hear!?
If you could open for anyone who would it be?
Thomas: Royal Blood and Highly Suspect. I love Catfish and Bottlemen It would be dope to open for them. Have you ever heard of them?
Connor: 21 Pilots or the Foo Fighters would be pretty dope!
So you have a new single out now called “Slippin”?
Thomas: yeah I feel like slippin is just a combination of everything we like in bands.
Connor: Slippin is the best song to define Lip Candy. That is who we are, a little bit a of everything.
Alan: Yeah, we like to combine our influences of different genres and sounds to create our own.
So what can we expect from you this year?
Thomas: We’re just gonna be playing a lot of shows man. Come out and come see us because we are motivated and ready.
The New Orleans music scene and Loyola University are known for cranking out some superstars. G-eazy being the most notable name making headlines in recent years. Next month Lip Candy are flying out to Los Angeles for a show. For a band that has been together for 3-4 months, this is huge growth. You can catch Lip Candy at WTUL’s marathon fundraiser on February 22nd.
PHOTOS: Gwen Snyder
About Leo Gilbert
Leo Gilbert is a Marketing and Communications major who writes for our Entertainment team. He is into music, skateboarding, and fashion, and he once met President Trump!
Leo Gilbert is a Marketing and Communications major who writes for our Entertainment team. He is into music, skateboarding, and fashion, and he once met President Trump!
