During a live performance, Lumineers lead man Wesley Schultz stated that “Leader of the Landslide” was a song for those “battling addiction” or “knew someone who has/had battled addiction.”. Phillips and The Lumineers set themselves an formidable task with the Sparks story. We even went on family vacations together a couple of times—me, my brother and Wes’ younger brother.”. We drove the 14 hours from New Jersey, and we didn’t really understand the scene. Is this something good?’ We thought that if it was cathartic for us, then it might be for other people. I know a lot of musicians and some of them haven’t gotten their proper appreciation. “So creating these characters, but saying what actually happened at times and depicting it in a really unflinching way, appealed to me because I didn’t feel like I was hurting that person. He was like, ‘Hey, man, this stuff is so heavy on me right now and it’s very therapeutic to get it out into poetry—to get it out into lyrics and not ignore it, like everything is fine.’”. So it was ironic that we each had these very young infants at our homes and we were leaving and going to work on this very dark subject matter.”. The Lumineers essentially did just that at Bonnaroo to a crowd of 50,000, who appreciated both the intent and the execution. We were thinking that, if we had a thousand people at a show, and we played it third or fourth, then, half the people could leave if they wanted to and they’d be like, ‘Nice, we saw this song; let’s get out of here.’ But then we were trying to create a fan base out of those 500 that remained.”, If, as Schultz suggests, a good song can serve as an icebreakers, then The Lumineers are particularly adept at taking things to the next level in the live setting. Watch HERE. Over the past few years, The Lumineers’ live lineup has included anywhere from three to six musicians onstage. 808.6k Followers, 190 Following, 2,235 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from The Lumineers (@thelumineers) Schultz and Fraites share songwriting duties in The Lumineers, so she opted to strike out on her own to create music. I remember we were living at this really small house and we were working on music. All of this was on display this past summer during the closing day of Manchester, Tenn.’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, when The Lumineers played the penultimate set on the What Stage, just prior to Phish. Still, in reality, the band is a partnership between Fraites and Schultz. It wasn’t an argument as in, ‘I think you’re talking about this too much.’ It was like, ‘I need to acknowledge that we’re talking about this a lot.’ Wesley writes 99% of the lyrics, and a lot of them had to do with something going on in his life, with somebody that he cares about who’s struggling with alcohol addiction. Still, the post-Bonnaroo challenge—as the band kicked off a November European tour—was how to tell that story in concert. That’s what I aspired to do at the time. The Lumineers’ third full-length studio album III is a masterful story, a collection of songs that listens like an Academy Award-winning film, a recounting and a reckoning – it is a piece of work unique to anything in the industry that has come before it. Genres: Folk Pop. She played with Brandi Carlile and has been very sought after because she’s such a talent. “When Wes and I went around the block and talked about it, I explained that it was bringing up dormant—and what I had thought were extinct—feelings about losing my brother to drug addiction. Every night I saw you there In your old wicker chair Singing, ooh You were wrong, I was right Didn't matter in a fight Learn to play guitar by chord / tabs using chord diagrams, transpose the key, watch video lessons and much more. There was an open mic at this place called the Meadowlark. Buy the CD album for $10.99 and get the MP3 version for FREE. He will make two more appearances in Leader Of The Landslide and Left For Denver, released later this month. The tunes are moving without feeling moody or maudlin. I had seen Michael Franti & Spearhead open up for Dave Matthews Band, but I had only caught part of that set. The music I go back to over and over is often darker than that. It was a hilarious start to the festival. SHOTS. Featured peformers: The Lumineers (performer), Jeremiah Fraites (writer), Wesley Schultz (writer). ), “It harks back to something we used to do when we were starting out,” Fraites recalls. I don’t think we really saw eye-to-eye when we first started playing together. Pick up the receiver, I’ll make you a believer. I was creating characters that were sort of a cover for that person and that really helped me avoid backing off some of the details.”, While the album’s backstory is compelling in its own right, there is another profound nuance that is entwined with the very origins of The Lumineers. After that one, we started ‘Donna.’ I had written some music and Wes had a line about not being sober enough to hold a baby. “I just wanted to be out in the real world. 4. I literally said to myself before we started playing together: ‘I will not be in a band with a singer. It turned out I was wrong, and that’s a good thing.”, There have been a number of surprises, such as “Donna,” which has found its way into the encore slot. While Papp eventually moved on to other endeavors, Schultz and Fraites solidified their musical relationship and began writing together, completing between 50-75 songs prior to the release of their debut self-titled record in 2012. “I hadn’t planned out any of this in advance. “I only liked complicated stuff: Dream State, Planet X, Liquid Tension Experiment—prog’s prog. “We’ve learned a lot about how to support those songs in the setlist,” Schultz adds. About “Leader of the Landslide” 2 contributors During a live performance, Lumineers lead man Wesley Schultz stated that “Leader of the Landslide” was a … No one was there for show or for the fashion.”. Initially, I thought that the last chapter, which is sort of the heaviest, needed to be in one chunk. Recommendations for Harmonic Mixing. They felt like temperamental children that needed each other. ... "Leader Of The Landslide" Font −1 +1. Everyone who was there really wanted to be there. It’s almost as if they want to die but, for better or for worse, they’re slowly getting by on this path of wreckage. When we wanted to watch The Office on DVD just to chill out, I had to move my drumset away from the TV. This makes sense: While III is a unique entity, the album’s individual songs share essential affinities with the rest of The Lumineers’ catalog. Is she dead, is she fine Every day, every night. Play Leader Of The Landslide Chords using simple video lessons It was absurd, but we met a lot of people in Denver. I really admired producers like Timbaland, Rick Rubin and The Neptunes. You have like 45 minutes to make an impression on people. He suggests, “Years ago, people would make a music video, and for the most part, it was a paid advertisement for what the band looks like. Her association with the group goes all the way to the first record, where she contributed to “Stubborn Love” and “Dead Sea.” Fraites explains, “We had known her for years. Leader of the Landslide art by anavi_arts on Instagram. At the height of the ‘Ho Hey’ success, we would play that song third or fourth in the set. It was all over the map and mostly covers, but I had a few originals on there. Despite crossing over into the festival mainstream with an upbeat, sing-along anthem, The Lumineers’ story actually began with a personal tragedy. “When we were living on the East Coast, Wes was living in Brooklyn, and I was finishing up school and living with my parents. Of course, it helps that The Lumineers have a fair share of icebreakers, from singles “Ophelia,” “Stubborn Love” “Cleopatra” and “Submarines,” through album cuts like “Big Parade,” “Slow It Down” and “Flowers in Your Hair.”. I got offstage after playing and felt like that was one of the most gratifying, mind-blowing experiences for me. The term "Leader of the Landslide" meansthe leader of what bad things happened, like Junior Sparks' mom leaving. So it’s a weird walk of life, but I do believe that if I keep working hard, I’ll feel proud when what I do is good. Was this info helpful? Still, as Schultz explains, when he and Fraites began writing songs for their followup to 2016’s Cleopatra, they had no intention of crafting a concept record. That’s all I can really do. I saw the worst case scenario of what addiction can do to a single individual, which was death. Schultz explains that the decision to explore the new album in this medium was inspired by Beyoncé’s Lemonade, as well as a series of videos by Florence + The Machine. “Then, we began working on a song that eventually became ‘Leader of the Landslide’ and, again, it was talking about that same subject. So I commemorated a moment that was so special to me, and I asked people to put their arms around each other while we played ‘Gun Song’ because that one’s about my dad. It reinforces the concept of how addiction is most devastating behind the white picket fence, as family members must put on brave faces for the rest of the world, while enduring their private, personal suffering. Tuning: E A D G B E. Capo: 1st fret. Bonnaroo is of particular significance to Schultz, who attended the inaugural event in 2002 as a fan. We were talking through it for weeks, even months. But he’s the Leader of the Landslide now. The songs are stirring and reflective, as they chronicle the insults and the injuries that yield both direct and collateral damage. The song peaked at No. There's a handful of songs that I can remember off the top of my hea... d that were written while riding. Fraites explains, “Wes and I grew up a mile apart from each other. 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