Two years since the creation of The Living Statues in Milwaukee, audiences from Madison, WI to Los Angeles, CA have been knockin' their heads to the raucous sound of this incredible three-man group. The outfit consists of Tommy Shears on vocals and guitar, Alex Thornburg on bass, and Chris Morales on drums. April 8th saw their official debut, Knockin' EP. To celebrate the event, they held release parties at the Frequency in Madison and at The Exclusive Company in Milwaukee. While at the Frequency I was able to talk to lead singer Tommy Shears regarding the making of the EP.
Trembling with the adrenaline of just finishing a stellar live set, he jumped right in to expressing how beneficial Rubber Tracks Recording Studio was to this process. Converse, recently establishing a free recording studio in Brooklyn, welcomed the Living Statues for four days of recording.
Knowing they had a limited amount of time, they came with demos, and walked away with a great final product. With the help of the sound engineer at Rubber Tracks, they were able to grow in the direction they wanted, while taking new and different paths to get there. The experience helped them open up to new ideas, while never having to take away from their main vision.
Alex Thornburg also helps convey their main vision through vibrant and, as Tommy termed it, biting, graphic designs. Designing their new logo and cover art for the debut EP, he has managed to epitomize the vibe of the band beautifully: bold red, white, and black aesthetic coupled with classic imagery and font. Keeping the designs “in-house” also helps to boost the power behind this trio.
As The Living Statues' popularity grows thanks to glowing reviews from On Milwaukee, Artist Direct, and Filter Magazine, to name a few, it will be thrilling to see how they grow and evolve. Seeing as their debut EP packs such a punch, I can't wait to see what they come up with next.
-Ariel Wood
