by Jessica Nguyen
I like heavier sounding music- hard rock, heavy metal. But lately, I found myself not so impressed with some newer age heavy metal and I haven’t paid as much attention to it as before. Lucky for me, Lo-Pan was a great discovery. They’re a metal band who deserves much attention not only from me but from the heavy music world. I had to get their albums immediately. Currently, they have two- Sasquanaut and Salvador. A band since 2005, Lo-pan is quickly becoming well known and tour quite often.
The band is based out of Columbus, Ohio and currently touring with Goat Whore and High on Fire. While unloading gear and getting ready for a show in San Antonio, singer Jeff Martin took a break to chat with That Mag. “Last night was the first night of the tour and I ended up being forced by Sammy from Goat Whore to drink Fireball Whiskey,” he says after I told him to tell me a funny tour story.
He had a lot of stories he could have mentioned, since they tour so often. With so many shows, I had to ask what makes a show stand out. “When the crowd doesn’t judge us against other bands on the bill,” says Martin. “When the bands are not trying to out d0 each other.” Hopefully, all their shows stand out then. Martin is excited to tour Seattle, not just because it’s an awesome city but because they’ll be there on his birthday. Don’t worry- they’re coming to Philly, too. And soon.
This Thursday, the band will be at Union Transfer. “I used to live in the museum district of Philly for five years,” Martin says. “Philly is one of my favorite places to play in- it’s just a great city.”
Martin cites touring as one of the ways the band stays strong together. “You find out who you are as a person and it forces you to interact with people,” he says. It’s nice to know your band has your back and can stick together. “We played with a band from Sweden who gave off that rock star attitude,” Martin says. “It was a situation where we had to bite our tongues but it kind of sours you a bit.”
Exciting projects coming up for Lo-pan. “Besides more touring, also more filming of music videos,” says Martin. With such a cohesive group of band mates and a great tour going on right now, Lo-Pan shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
