LOMM: Can you give a little biographical and historical info; who is involved in the band, and how did you guys meet up?
Percy Bergeron: I went to north gate tavern, Matt sat next to me and asked if I played music. I said yes. He asked me to jam after, but he got kicked out of the bar. I moved from Houma to Baton Rouge to play music with new people. I met Matt through a roommate named Dorian Machia. Matt was invited over to my house to hangout cause he played guitar. Matt Conradi walked in my room with an acoustic guitar with hand wired electric guitar pick-ups and a fuzz peal. My eyes grew a bit. He asked to use my amp. Of course, I say yes and sit behind the drums, cause I’ll jam with anyone who is willing. At the end of our session we thought Matt blew my guitar head. He felt terrible, got it fixed, and showed me Womanikin, the first Shadow people demo without me. I told him I was into it cause it was the weirdest thing I’d really ever heard. Shadow people was born.
LOMM: Pandemic has taken an emotional toll on everyone yet the arts have been hit especially hard. The musicians are vulnerable to financial upheaval. How have you guys have been holding up?
Percy: We’ve all managed to get by together with our jobs since covid started. My pay was cut a good bit. My managers and friends helped.
LOMM: On the other hand you seem to have had a productive time. Is that right?
Percy: we definitely did. The writing process has been really cool. All the ideas are flowing together. It’s easy sometimes, and sometimes we really work at it with different rhythms.
LOMM: Modern sounds are my thing J How about you? What does your genre means to you, why did you choose this genre?
Like I said earlier, it was the weirdest thing I’d really heard having been in several bands throughout life. I showed Matt some music, he showed me some, and we gradually started making cooler shit. The acoustic guitar with the fuzz pedal was wild and now he uses a del Rey. Very cheap guitars, but made for Matt. Ha
LOMM: How did the initial musical and thematic elements evolve?
Percy: Showing each other the both like really helped us evolve.
LOMM: Are you happy with your product? I mean, what aspects of it do you think you guys nailed, and what parts do you think you could improve
upon?
Percy: I’m happy with the elements that it came from and became. I think secrets was the best album we’ve done. It was produced well.
LOMM: How has the overall reception been?
Percy: Pretty fucking good. I’m happy with it.
LOMM: Have you ever been on a tour? Given live performances? Is it tough for you not to be able to do so now?
Percy: Never toured. Played around the areas of Baton Rouge, Houston, Lafayette, and Houma. No one is hosting shows, so it has been tough, but very productive.
LOMM: What do you see for your future? How is it looking?
Percy: Lots more shadow people. We have decent amount of fans from the past eight years. I love them all. They are my friends and new friends. They keep me going.
LOMM: Could you tell us about the lyrics / themes /concepts you focus on or plan to focus on? How did the ideas come about, and how do they influence the writing process? Who is writing the lyrics?
Percy: Matt is the mastermind behind most of it. I focus on being a better drummer because I play in more than one band and get a lot of influences all around from my best friends. Matt writes the lyrics.
LOMM: Which is more exciting? Being on the road or studio?
Percy: Personally I like the studio, but I love playing live as well. It’s really the long drives I don’t dig, but ce la vie.
LOMM: Who is composing the songs?
The artist: All of us.
LOMM: What bands do you draw your inspiration from?
The artist: As cities burn
Norma Jean
The chariot
Underoath
Fear before the March of flames.
Etc..
LOMM: What’s more important to you? Catering to the audience or music for its own sake?
The artist: Why not both?
LOMM: When you look back your music career, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
Percy: Putting out several albums at a time and never giving up.
LOMM: Anything else you think your fans should know?
Percy: You can ask us anything.
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