Livin Out Loud, a Los Angeles based group, has been breaking down doors and
blowing up in the UK, Europe and Japan and and is quickly becoming the one
of the most buzzed about groups in the LA music scene. Members of the group sat down to answer questions for LA’s The Place.
LATP: How did Livin Out Loud initially come together as a group?
Reuben: Sylvia has know all of us for a while, though she’s known me the longest. We are brother and sister. Sylvia and Lisa had worked at gigs. Sylvia had also worked with Jason at Universal Studios
Lisa: Sylvia said to me, you know what… we could be a group together. So- Reuben, Sylvia and Jason and I all got together. We put it together ourselves.
Jason: We’ve all know each other for years. In the beginning we would bounce song ideas of each other and that naturally evolved into writing songs together. It’s an interesting dynamic. Sylvia and Lisa write melodies in their head, I’ll sometimes put the chords to it and Reuben Produces it. Sometimes Reuben writes the melody and comes to me for chords. Sometimes I have a melody and chords and I’ll go to Reuben for feel or Sylvia for help with lyrics and so on and so on.
Sylvia: We took our music to other people to produce, but no one could catch the vibe that we were trying to convey, so my brother took it and finally just did it himself.
LATP: All the members of the group are initially from Los Angeles. How does it feel to be back in your hometown, after enjoying such widespread success in the UK?
Reuben: We have been working in the UK for a while. “We first hit the airwaves in 2003 with “More Than A Fantasy” supported by BBC1 DJ Trevor Nelson. In 2004, we made the Music Week Club chart for nearly a month with “Why U Gotta Lie”, followed by “Cuz I Gotta Know- two versions, in Blues & Soul Magazine”. UK DJ Steve Sutherland on Galaxy radio, launched our follow on singles “Where’s The Love” and “What About Us” (WAU). WAU made it to #4 on the DMC Urban Chart. The biggest UK success came with the track “All That Really Matters” (ATRM). ATRM was #1 on the UK DJ charts for most of December 2006 and January 2007.
We were loved abroad but nobody at home knew who we were. This year we felt it was time to bring our sound back to the USA. The college radio scene was feeling us right away. By June we were on over 200 local, college and community radio stations. American Idol Underground put our song, “All That Really Matters,” on their first compilation CD and have a distribution deal with Fontana Distribution, a Universal Music Group company, and we are looking to push our single “Lately” for 2008. We’re just starting to get people saying they heard of us, and we expect that to continue to grow. It feels good to me home.
LATP: Any upcoming tour that your fans can look forward to?
Thomas (Manager): We are working on that now.We know we will be back touring in the UK in May 2008, so we are working on dates before and after that time.We will keep you posted.
LATP: What makes Livin Out Loud’s sound unique?
Reuben: We write all our own music to insure the sound is distinctive and original. Our music is rooted in story telling and expressing our feelings. When we want to create a track with an older vibe, we get assistance from world-class musicians who have played with some of music’s greatest including Ray Charles and Miles Davis. As a producer, I continually collaborate with other producers in both New York and London to give a broader ear and better ensure a sound that listeners across the globe will enjoy alike.
We use originality, blending, and authenticity to create our music. We merge live musicians, production and a combination of our unique voices to generate our signature sound. The music is shares and communicates experiences. We stay authentic in each genre, which is dictated by the songs moods, hence the group title Livin Out Loud.
LATP: Tell us about your musical inspirations.
Reuben: Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, and I would also say Marvin Gaye influenced me.
Lisa: My Mom was my first inspiration. She played Gospel music everyday and taught me how to harmonize. Earth, Wind & Fire, and The Jackson Five. Also Terrence Trent Darby.
Jason: My father is my biggest musical influence. He was a jazz singer and musician back in the day. So, I was raised listening to old jazz and R&B like, Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Oscar Peterson, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Marvin Gay, Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers, even a little BB. King and Buddy Guy.
Sylvia: Sarah Vaughn, Gladys Knight, Carole King, Donna Summer and Chaka Chan.
LATP: How does the UK music scene differ from the US music scene?
Reuben: The UK tends to throw different genres of music together more than we do here. You can hear RnB, Hip Hop, and Radio versions of House Music all on the same radio station, such as Choice FM or BBC 1XTRA.The UK have been big into remixes for a while, that’s how I got into remixing my own music back in 2003 with "More Than A Fantasy." Since then we have hooked up with many UK and European producers such as Karl Brown, MJ Cole, Ray Paxxon, 2Darc, Burbree, Kings of Soul, 5AM and others. All of our singles have come out with multiple remixes.
LATP: Which “Livin Out Loud” songs are your favorites?
Reuben: "Brokeass." That’s how I was feeling when I wrote it and when I face a challenge it becomes my mantra. “I can’t stop” is my favorite. It just makes me feel good to hear it. I know there was nothing I could to make it better and I never get tired of singing it. “Lately” and “Do Your Thing” are also up there. "Lately", because of how it was put together. Sylvia gave me a little accepella while we were in the car. I came back to her two weeks later with a track; she said, “You remembered that”. I said, I always remember something good. She was doing the musical “Hair Spray” at the time so we did a lot of work by phone. I flew to her show when it was playing in Chicago and recorded her in a closet. That’s a whole story in itself. It all came together and it is a great song. “Do Your Thing”, because we wanted to do something fun. It is about the dating ritual along with dancing. Did not want to think too much just wanted to have a good time.
LATP: How difficult is the music recording process?
Reuben: The recording process can be tricky. Vocally you have to prepare yourself mentally to be ready to record. It has to sound genuine and not forced. To me the easiest part is recording the musicians. They just jam and I here something and say I know what I’m going to do with that. It’s a lot of fun. I try not to record myself because I need to only concentrate on singing and the honesty of my engineer friends is priceless.
LATP: There are four of you in the group. Ever have any creative differences?
Reuben: I think you must joking… no never. Of course we have differences. We handle it by basically saying the song that is the hottest gets the most attention. Sometimes one person might get on a roll the songs and get more attention. That sometimes can be tough but it always works out. You have two males and two females so that can make it challenging.
LATP: Did you ever expect that “Livin Out Loud” would become such a phenomenon in the UK?
Thomas: Expected …not really, hope for …you bet. We hit a cord the first time we went to the UK. They were open to our sound and they appreciated our musicianship and creative approach.We are pleased to think of the UK as a second home.
LATP: How do your families feel about the successes you have experienced thus far?
Reuben: Our families have been so supportive. We have become closer from this whole experience. We did separate things for years. Now we are a family business and we rely on each other’s strengths. This has been such a roller coaster ride and our families have given us a lot of emotional support.
LATP: When you are not performing, what are some hobbies that you as a group enjoy partaking in?
Reuben: We like to hang out and do a barbecue. It’s fun and we get along so well when all have a full stomach. We also like to go to a movie or get together at watch some reality show and talk about it. Obviously our conversation can’t be too serious. It’s Reality TV.
LATP: I understand that you have each enjoyed individual success as well. Please describe.
Reuben: I am currently working on other projects based upon my production. I really am enjoying doing remixes. The club mix for “Lately’ has been well received in London and I am recognized for doing dance mixes. It just opens up everything for my career as a well-rounded producer.
The next single “Lately” features Sylvia and has been well received in the UK making it to #2 in Soul Nations a list. Sylvia is also doing an off Broadway musical titled “Ray” which is an offshoot of the movie that was done on the life of Ray Charles. Sylvia was in the National Tour of “Hair Spray” last year and was in the original National Tour of “Rent”
JMartini travels with Frankie Valle when he is not performing with Livin Out Loud and he is looking a doing Jersey Boys.
Lisa has been getting her songs on TV with shows such as "The Sheild" which is expanding her song-writing resume.
LATP: Describe the current album and the lead single (style and sound).
Reuben: The first single from the album is Lately. The original version is a soulful down tempo track that describes a woman is rebuilding her life after a break up of a serious relationship. It’s shows growth, self-reliance and hope for the future. The remix version that is at the end of the album takes it one step further; it shows triumph, dancing and a full life after the break up. It is in the spirit of “I will Survive” but with today’s rhythms. The album as a whole shows various life experiences, from being broke “Brokeazz”, having affairs “Hey Yo”, falling out of love “Where’s The Love” and “What About Us”, falling in love “All That Really Matters” and “You Are My Sunshine”, to having a good time “Do Your Thing”, “Make Me Move” and “What You Came Here For” as well as other various stories that happen in real life. The style covers R&B, Hip Hop and Dance sounds all in concert with the various stories being told.
Livin Out Loud Members Reveal the Secrets of Their Success
