DJ Interviews: No Drinks For Jimmy's Kurt Lobdell

 Here's my interview with Kurt Lobdell of  the band No Drinks For Jimmy

Here are the questions

How'd you get started in music?

I got started in elementary school singing in the choir and I continued singing through high school and college. No Drinks for Jimmy started in 1999 as a cover band in the Washington DC area with me, and brothers Doug Wilson (drums) and Dan Wilson(bass). Our guitarist Joe Chicetti joined in 2003 and we started working in some originals. The band went on a long hiatus and played one off shows up to 2017 when we decided to record our EP Find the Fourth, a way to properly record our old originals. We decided to do a proper album in 2021 and released a full length album Verse Chorus Rise on all streaming platforms. 

Who are your inspirations or influences?

As a singer I prefer tuneful melodic singers such as Maynard from Tool, Myles Kennedy of Alterbridge and Slash's band, Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, and Marc Labelle of Dirty Honey to name a few. As a band our writing is influenced buy melodic guitar rock like Weezer, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins,etc. We take our inspiration from hard guitars with biting leads and strong melodic vocals.  

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

For the singers out there I say sing whenever and wherever you can to keep your voice strong. I sing almost everyday in the car to keep sharp. I also believe in listening to other performers tricks of the trade and advice. I have learned so much about performing, recording, and vocal maintenance from current and older performers. Be willing to listen and use suggestions to make yourself better.  

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

As a band we believe in strong riffs and melodies. We believe by the second chorus you should be able to hum the riff and sing along. Our guitarist Joe is the riffmaster and we build from there. Dan adds some killer bass parts especially on our song Going Home from Verse Chorus Rise. Drummer Doug brings the thunder and is the backbone of the band playing hard driving beats and writing most of the lyrics. 

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

In 2021 we did two livestreams and we plan on bringing out an EP with the best live performances from those. We also plan on at least one new original for the project. We hope for a spring 2023 release. Bassist Dan recently moved to Brunswick GA and is currently writing songs for our next full length release taking inspiration from the punk scene there, so expect some hard hitting melodic punk on No Drinks for Jimmy's next release hopefully late 2023!!!!