Christian Lopez Band, ‘Amiss’ — Exclusive Premiere
The Christian Lopez Band will release their debut EP, 'Pilot,' on Tuesday, Oct. 14, and they're giving The Boot's readers an exclusive first listen to one of its tracks.
'Amiss' is the second tune on the five-song EP, and Lopez says the track came out easily and was written in one day.
"I was in a place of uncertainty when I wrote this song," he says. "Whether it be someone you love or someone you depend on, this song is about wanting that person in your life but knowing that they are not the right person. Letting go is a struggle, but almost always, the hardest thing to do is the right thing to do."
At 19, Lopez is still relatively young, but he began playing piano at age 5 and guitar at age 9 and has a reputation as a bit of an old soul.
“The first thing people want to say is, ‘He’s great to be so young,’ but the truth is, he’s just great, period," says Tony White of Grace & Tony, who are Lopez's labelmates.
The singer-songwriter cites many older artists -- the Band, Waylon Jennings and AC/DC's Angus Young, among others -- as his influences.
"You've gotta read to become a good writer, and you've gotta listen to become a good songwriter," Lopez says. "There's a lot to listen to out there, and I've tried to blend that up in my own music."
'Pilot' was produced by Dave Cobb, who also worked on Sturgill Simpson's 'Metamodern Sounds in Country Music' and Jason Isbell's 'Southeastern,' the latter of which was named Album of the Year at the recent 2014 Americana Music Awards. Lopez says the EP highlights the musical sounds of his home state of West Virginia.
"Not many rock bands have an old-time picker and a progressive rock rhythm section playing at the same time," he says. "It is the hint of Appalachia in the guitar, banjo and vocal harmonies that define the region where we come from."
Listen to Christian Lopez Band, 'Amiss':