There’s a new band in town, although you might recognize the players in Deep Dark Lake. They are releasing a moody, nostalgic lo-fi cassette with a show at The 331 Club on September 27. It was great to get a sneak peek and hear about work behind the current with Craig Peck and Lane Soderberg.
Please tell us about Deep Dark Lake. And maybe some of your other ventures for context.
DDL is myself (Lane), I sing and play guitar. Joel plays drums and is also my main collaborator. I typically send him my rough ideas for a song and he helps it all make sense. Or he sends me some instrumental stuff that I make into something. Craig plays bass and helps us all stay sane. He’s more extroverted while Joel and I are introverts, so it’s a good balance. I’ve never been in a band that gets along as well as we do. Band praccy is our therapy.
I was also in a band called Houston that I played bass in, and I have a one man black metal band called Mahtowa Death March, but that has been dormant for a bit. I have a bunch of songs for that recorded that I need to finish and put out. Joel and Craig also play in The Rockford Mules.
You have a new release coming out September 27 on cassette. Why cassette?
For the aesthetic mostly. And I’m doing my own artwork on all of them so every one will be different. It will of course be available to stream, but that’s boring. And since the vibe of the record is decidedly lo-fi, it made sense. I don’t imagine many people have the equipment to play a cassette, but if they do I’d like to think it would be kind of a treat.
You sent me the music in two files – side one and side two. Usually, I get a link to streaming service. The experience of listening to the music “by side” as opposed to “by song” is different. An unusual retro new twist on music. Side Two felt like music I would have listened to in someone’s basement as a kid. Kind of punky rock, kind of moody. Side One feels like I’m looking back at that kid. How would you describe the whole work?
It’s funny you say that. I think all of my songs come from that sort of nostalgia. It’s a longing for the idea of being a kid, when everything is amazing and new and the possibilities are endless, but being old enough to recognize and appreciate that sense of wonder. It’s a dream world that I’m trying to will into existence, even though I know it’s impossible. A lot of my art tends to be pretty dark, even though I’m quite happy in the process of creating it. It’s the closest I get to that childlike utopia.
What inspired this new venture?
I like the tempo.
One of my favorite records is “Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt” by John Frusciante. It’s so raw and emotional that it makes other music sound fake. It was recorded on a four-track in the early 90’s and has such a cool lo-fi vibe. I wanted to emulate that in my own way. It’s funny because you’d think that making a record that sounds intentionally “lo-fi” would be easy, but it’s not. I wanted to buy an old Tascam four-track to record on, but to find one that still actually works is difficult.
And we have another record coming out soon that sounds pretty slick and is well produced. So I wanted to put out this cassette as kind of the opposite of that.
Please let us about the upcoming release show.
It’s at The 331 Club in Mpls on Sept. 27. Errl and Modern Dads are also playing. We tend to be pretty loud, but I think music should be felt emotionally and physically.
Mostly Minnesota 