Little Lizard is a fun band to see. Their music is funky, punky, experimental and dreamlike happiness. Their videos are awesome and we’ve shared quite a few but seeing them live is the most fun and it sounds like they have an amazing show planned to release their latest album Big Lizard on October 26 at The Cloudland Theater. Also fun to get some backstory from Shea and Lizz in the band with the answers below.
Rumor has it Big Lizard was meant to be a farewell to Minneapolis? Are you moving?
S: Yes, it was but then we decided to stay. The plan was to move to New York and finish the album there. Then the pandemic started and moving no longer seemed like a good idea. So we took what we had written, added a couple new songs and went a different way with it. That became ‘Big Lizard’. I would have missed Minneapolis anyways and I don’t think the album could have come together like it did anywhere else.
L: I love Minneapolis and I think by working together on the album I was able to get my way and convince Shea we should stay. ‘Big Lizard’ became a love letter to the Twin Cities.
Most of the song titles have a clear connection to the Twin Cities, what’s the connection to 5am?
L: For a number of years my shift started at 5:30am so I would get up at 5am and scurry down the block into work at The Wedge Lyndale. Frequently I would be waking up for those 5:30am shifts after playing Little Lizard shows. Luckily most of my mornings don’t start that early any more!
I love the song Super Cute, I love the video. (Of all of your songs, Super Cute is the one I hum most.) You do such a great job with videos do you have plans for more songs on the album? And previews you can reveal?
S: Yes, we are currently in the process of making a video for the song “Bigfoot” but don’t have anything we can preview yet.
L: Think cryptid creature feature meets romcom!
Please tell us more about SF featuring Love, Ulysses. How did that collaboration happen? How was it for you to work with so many lyrics?
S: Featuring other artists and especially rappers has always been a part of the Little Lizard agenda. We met Brandon (Love, Ulysses) a couple of years back at a friend’s birthday party and we hit it off right away. He was really excited to work with us and the process was pretty straightforward; we made the beat and he worked out a part for it. It takes a special kind of MC to do what Brandon did on the track and it still amazes me how much he crammed into 2:48.
L: I could listen to Love, Ulysses rap about wizards and wooly mammoths all day. I’m so glad we crossed paths and got to collaborate, can’t wait to see what all we brew up in the future. If you listen close at the end you might even hear your favorite lizards helping with backing vocals.
Please tell us where folks can see you play live, especially to celebrate the upcoming album?
S: We are having an album release on Thursday October 26th at the new venue Cloudland Theater on East Lake Street. We will be joined by a multi-genre bill including Shrimp Olympics, Zen Is In and Butter Boys. Get your tickets on lillizard.com and don’t forget to wear a costume!
L: We are also excited to be hitting the road for a few shows. See you soon Chicago, Sioux Falls, and Fargo.
Mostly Minnesota 