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Lucille come out swinging ahead of Tooth and Claw headliner


By Kyle Walker


Lucille.
Lucille.

Rising from the ashes of Inverness country-pop purveyors Neon Knights last September, Lucille are grittier, grimier, and looking to stake a claim in the Inverness music scene. Ahead of their headline gig at the Tooth and Claw, Kyle caught up with frontman Marc Davidson to get the lowdown

Hello! I’d love to hear about the birth of Lucille – I understand the four of you were in Neon Knights beforehand. How did Lucille come into being? Is the name from the Walking Dead (as I’m perhaps presumptuously assuming) or is there a different meaning behind it?

Yes, the four of us – Marc, Lewis, Gordon and Jack – very much were a part of Neon Knights alongside singer Lauren. When the option arose for Lauren to move back south to concentrate on her teaching degree, and with her being such a fundamental part of Neon Knights’ sound and presence, we deemed it best to end the band with her departure.

After several failed attempts individually to get back into music we decided to get together for a couple of practices where we felt we had something fresh and exciting we wanted to share, and from this Lucille was born. It felt right to bookmark Neon Knights and on reflection the band achieved some great things, which we only dream of emulating with Lucille.

On the name front we have two origin references and we like to mix it up depending on who has asked the question. With you making the connection to The Walking Dead, we would have a little fun and actually lead you to believe the bands name is homage to the late great B.B. King and his renowned Gibson of the same name. However, if you were to make reference to B.B. King we would then tell you we were in fact named after The Walking Dead “character” Lucille.

You’re headlining the Tooth and Claw on Friday with Park Circus and Bethany Wappler – that’s a pretty great showcase of local talent! What can you tell me about the other artists?

It certainly is a fantastic lineup and one we were really keen to push for when we were approached about performing, In the last couple of months we have played a number of shows with the lads at Park Circus and these shows have been some of our favourite shows to date – their energy and charisma is something we haven’t seen locally for some time and it’s very refreshing.

Bethany also is another young and very talented musician and I make no secret of trying to link up with Bethany on a couple of music projects in the past. However due to geographical problems and such we were never able to collaborate, but you never know what the future holds?

That aside we are delighted both these acts want to be involved with us and we are sure it will be a top evening for local music.

Lucille.
Lucille.

So talk me through your songwriting process – how does Lucille come up with songs like Borrowed Time and Whole Again?

I don’t think we have set structure and process when it comes to the writing process, however we definitely take our own unique styles and influences into any new music we write.

For instance on Borrowed Time I had been working away on the basic riff for some time and was planning and using it as a springboard for my next musical project, with its more gritty, gravely feel compared to some of own older material, I knew this was what I wanted the future of the band to sound like. I had however been stuck lyrically until I was inspired by a Pixar Short of the same name, I found substance and meaning from it and found the words just pouring onto the page, ultimately completing what I feel is one of our most complete and dynamic songs.

On the other hand Whole Again was pieced together almost entirely in the rehearsal studio one practice session from just a few notes, its catchy intro hook and big chorus all fell into place and its since gone on to be a big hit with audience and the band alike.

While Lucille the band is only approaching a year old, things have been moving along at a brisk pace for you all – what’s been the standout moment of Lucille so far?

I think we set out to take a different,more relaxed approach and have really just enjoyed being on stage this year and getting to play live. We as a band have had several highlights including the whole process of recording and filming with Steve Bull for the three live sessions we did earlier this year. On the gigging front we would collectively agree the most recent gig at Mad Hatters with Park Circus has to be the stand out moment, where we the bar was bouncing and singing our songs back at us. It was definitely the most fun we’ve had playing live. It has also been great to receive the comments and feedback on the new music and see it revered so well.

There’s talk of a recording on the way – how has that been going? How have you been working out what works for a release and what doesn’t?

Recording very much is still a work in progress, we have put the idea on hold for now until we have finalised what we think is the best selection of our favourite songs but also the songs which reflect the band in the best light. We don’t want to rush something and all come away thinking it’s not the best representation of us, that being said we have concluded on who we will be recording this record with and it’s very much discussed regularly so we still wouldn’t rule out some sort of release this year.

What can the Tooth and Claw expect from you? How would you pitch yourselves to Inverness as a band and live experience?

The Tooth and Claw can expect a sweaty, gritty rock fuelled evening full of catchy hooks, big choruses to get you singing and hopefully your new favourite song?

With us half way through 2018 now, what are Lucille’s plans for the rest of the year?

Going into the rest of the year the aim is to keep the momentum going with plenty more gigs, a potential new record, and definitely a few close guarded secrets being revealed, but all in good time.

Lucille play the Tooth and Claw tonight, with support from Park Circus and Bethany Wappler. Doors open at 8pm and tickets cost £5. For more information, check out the band's Facebook.


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