It’s always fascinating to see a musician who’s been so closely tied to being in bands (and not the lead singer) decides to produce solo work. More often than not we’re welcomed to expectation-defying, totally wonderful tunes. Lou Panico falls in line with this trend. You’ve seen Lou perform in the Drive-Thru Records’ outfit Socratic, his wife Natalie Farrell’s band and Levy and the Oaks. Now, on his own Lou Panico is creating anthems that inspires positivity and fun. In a timeline where we’re still processing, dealing with and recovering from the trauma of the past two years, Lou Panico’s sound is more than welcome.
In this in-depth interview Lou Panico talked to us about his solo work, his rediscovery of his love of the band KISS (which I heartily approve), his emo inspiration, positivity in his lyrics and what wrestler he’d want to write a theme song for.
The Members of My Band Are (Band Members & Instruments They Play): My live band currently consists of Chris Colon on guitar, Frankie Prendergast on bass, James McIntosh on drums and myself on guitar and lead vocal.
Year I Went Solo: 2020. The pandemic forced me to perform solo since budgets for full bands went away. The only live gigs available during the pandemic were for solo singer/songwriters. Venues (especially bars and restaurants) lost their entertainment budgets when the world shut down. I was blessed to still be able to accept gigs during the pandemic. But I had no choice but to adapt quickly.
I’m Based Based Out Of: Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Bands You’ve Seen Me & My Bandmates In: I was in a band called Socratic (Drive-Thru Records) for many years. Got to tour the world and record an album with Mark Hoppus from Blink182. After that I started a band called Levy & The Oaks and I currently perform with my wife Natalie Farrell. Chris Colon was also in Levy & The Oaks. Frankie is in a band called Morningside Lane. James plays drums for Bobby Mahoney and the Seventh Son.
My Sound Has Been Likened To: This is a tricky one since most people have only heard one of my songs so far. But there are plenty more to come! And all have their own flavor. Those close to me and my band mates have compared my music to Modern English, Foo Fighters, Blink 182 and KISS.
Famous/Cool Bands I’ve Shared the Stage With: Incubus, All American Rejects, All Time Low, Mumford and Sons, The Early November, Jack Antonoff (Bleachers).
You’ve been in a bunch of bands playing Asbury Park for years — what was the decision to go solo?
Lou Panico: The pandemic stopped music in its tracks. My full-band gigs disappeared. Once things started to slowly open back up, venues only had enough money to pay solo acts and weren’t producing any full-band shows. So I picked my acoustic guitar, learned a bunch of songs, and wrote a few of my own in the process.
I have my amazingly talented buddy named Mike Neglia to thank for motivating and pushing me to “stop being a little bitch” and to start playing my own songs again. So that’s exactly what I did! Mike and his bandmate Andrew Milea helped me demo out all my song ideas and Mike ultimately ended up recording drums on all my upcoming releases.
I co-wrote with plenty of other songwriters over the past few years. I helped engineer, produce and arrange their songs. I dedicated years of my life to other people’s music. I don’t regret any of it. But it’s time to get back to my own songwriting and give it the attention it deserves.
On July 8th you dropped your first single “Heard a Song” — can you talk about why you chose this as the first single from the new record? Also talk about what this song means to you?
Lou Panico: “Heard A Song” has a guitar riff and vocal hook that I wrote back when I was in college. For whatever reason, they stayed with me for years. So it was only fitting to have my debut song pick up right where I left off back when I was writing my own songs over 10 years ago. The chorus “have you ever heard a song you can sing all day long” was the fist vocal melody I started singing with my acoustic guitar when the pandemic began. I quickly merged the parts together and thought to myself “This will be my first song”.
Lyrically I wanted to promote positivity and keep the message simple — whatever makes you happy, go do it. And never apologize for being yourself and doing what puts a smile on your face. Because playing music is exactly that for me. It’s cathartic.
You mentioned to me you’re an emo kid at heart? What bands inspired you for these new songs — both lyrically and sonically? Also, how did these inspirations open your mind as a writer to create these new songs?
Lou Panico: Truthfully, I was raised on Beach Boys and The Beatles (thanks to my mom and pops). But Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, and Brand New are a few of the bands that really got me through the roughest times of my young adulthood. Being signed to Drive Thru Records back then, most of my spare time was spent listening to their roster of pop punk and rock bands. I loved Midtown, New Found Flory, and The Early November. And still do! But I was definitely that emo kid in high school that had the the hair in my eyes and wore super tight pants and sang as high as I possibly could in my attempt to emulate my favorite singers.
I think these recent batch of tunes were mostly inspired by my journey as a musician. I’ve accomplished a lot in my musical career but haven’t truly put my name on the marquee with any of the bands I’ve worked with in the past. Lyrically, I wanted to promote positivity. I’m a believer that the world needs more positivity. So I wanted to be as uplifting as possible in my lyrical approach to my tunes. This doesn’t always work out, epically when my roots are in emo music, but I do try my best to keep my lyrics and melodies as uplifting as possible.
You’ve got another song “So Damn Happy” dropping on July 29. Can you talk about the story behind this song?
Lou Panico: Sure can! “So Damn Happy” was inspired by all the KISS I was listening to during the lock down. I found myself re-discovering the entire KISS discography when the world shut down and fell in love with that band. Lyrically, I initially wanted an easy singalong, but musically I needed my rock and roll fix. I ended up writing some pretty vulnerable lyrics in the verses reminiscent of a journal or diary entry about the importance family. I lost my mom to diabetes a few years ago and her death really rocked my family. I address in the song the dramatic difference between what family meant to me as a kid verses now as an adult. Especially when you lose a parent, your entire perspective changes.
Speaking of July 29th — you’re doing a record release party at Asbury Park Yacht Club. Will people be hearing all the new stuff at this show?
Lou Panico: Oh yeah! I’m playing all my original tunes with the new band along with a small batch of hand picked cover tunes to get the crowd hot and bothered. My goal is to entertain, to get the crowd moving. It’s going to be a great time!
What do you love about your time (so far) as a solo artist?
Lou Panico: Truthfully? What I love most is that I’m allowing myself to be my raw authentic self without any concern or care of anyone else’s judgment on my music or how I choose to express it. There’s something beautiful about being in control of your art. There’s a complete lack of pressure. Music can quickly became a full time job filled with as much stress as your day job. With my own music, I’m finally for the first time just simply letting it be. There’s a liberation in it. I’ve treated music like a business for so long. And that can take the fun out of it. I make it a point not to take my music for granted and to appreciate every opportunity I have whether it’s when I get to simply sit down and write, play a show, or have recording session in a studio. I’m taking in every moment and it truly is liberating. I wish everyone let go of their inhibitions and simply did what made them happy. The world would be in a much better place.
You’ve been in the Asbury music scene for a while — what’s been the biggest change — both positive and negative that you’ve noticed.
Lou Panico: I absolutely love Asbury Park. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in New Jersey. The beach, the music, the food, the nightlife. It’s such an amazing place filled with wonder and creativity. The biggest positive change is that every year there’s a new wave of local artists and musicians that come through and out their stamp on the culture. I love seeing new bands come in make their name known. I’m proud to live in a town that promotes and supports local music as much as Asbury Park does. The music scene is very inclusive and supportive of one another. It’s like we’re all one big family!
Conversely, the more Asbury grows in popularity, the more expensive it gets to live here. The result is that many of the locals artists and musicians that make this town great get pushed out because they can no longer afford their rent. So my fear is that Asbury will eventually become what it hates. And that the greed will one day completely destroy it. But I’d like to hope that the art will persevere and that Asbury Park wont be completely consumed by corporate America.
What’s a definitive goal you have in mind for the next year?
Lou Panico: To release all 10 or so tracks I’ve already written and recorded. I’d like to have some fun visuals to go along with some of the tunes as well. But ultimately, I’m just going to continue having fun with it. Music should always be fun. Fun to create and perform. So I’m going to make sure I stick to that mantra. I’m going to continue to do what I love unapologetically and anyone and everyone are welcome to come along for the ride!
Finally, I know you’re a big wrestling fan. If you could create a theme song for just one wrestler who would it be and why?
Lou Panico: Oh man! This is a tough one. I think it would have to be Seth Rollins. I know he’s a fan of a lot of the same bands I listen to. I played a bunch of shows with Hit The Lights back in the day and I read somewhere that they were Seth’s favorite band. I thought “how freaking cool is that!”. I can imagine Seth and I having a lot of fun collaborating on his entrance theme because it sounds like we’re cut from a similar cloth when it comes to our musical taste.
