Interview: Liar Thief Bandit

Recently, DutchMetalManiac’s Tim van Velthuysen interviewed Liar Thief Bandit.

Hey, how are you?

I’m very good thank you! Trying to stay healthy and keeping busy with the upcoming release, exciting times!

Can you tell us something about the history of Liar Thief Bandit?

The band started out in late 2014 and we’ve been taking every opportunity to play live since then. Debut album Gun Shovel Alibi came out in 2016 and after that touring really took off. We did our first European tour in the spring of 2017 and since then we’ve done 8 tours through mainland Europe and the UK, released our second album Straight Ahead and a split single with Grande Royale. Our latest achievement, the third full-length album called Deadlights, will be released on The Sign Records on May 14^th.

For people not knowing Liar Thief Bandit (yet), how would you describe your music?

We tend to blend classic rock, hard rock and good old-fashioned rock’n’roll in a trio setting. Heavy focus on melodies and making the arrangements pop, our main goal is to make the audience feel something extraordinary while listening, watching and experiencing our music.

When someone doesn’t know Liar Thief Bandit yet and you can choose one of your songs to present yourself, which song would that be?

Good Enough. It has that fast punk rock feel, melodic chorus and the lyrics are meant to pick you up. This song represents Liar Thief Bandit in many ways and it gives you a hint of how a live experience with this band can be.

What makes Liar Thief Bandit unique?

Being one of the hardest working live bands around with a DIY mentality, it comes to show in every performance both live and in the studio. Whether this is unique or not is up to others to decide but the fact is that we see a lot of bands on the road and on social media that could absolutely need that kind of attitude to get out there and making a name for themselves.

Any future plans you can already tell us something about?

The 4^th single Feather will be released on April 23^rd and our new album Deadlights will be out May 14^th. More plans are being made for the summer and fall but it’s a little too early to reveal any details. All I can say is that even if we won’t be able to play live for some time there will be more music for your ears!

Any upcoming gigs for Liar Thief Bandit? Maybe coming to The Netherlands?

We are always looking for new places to play! We actually had plans to go to The Netherlands last year in May but as with many other bands our tour got cancelled. We are planning to make those shows happen as soon as we can hit the road again!

How do you think your life would be without music?

I can’t even imagine. Horrible, I guess. A lot of my inspiration in life comes from listening to, writing and performing music. Touring in a band reminds me constantly how lucky I am being able to meet so many great people from all parts of the world. If it wasn’t for music, I really don’t know where I would belong. I’m thankful every day!

What advice would you give to young and starting bands?

Put energy in the song-writing – don’t rush it. You’ll have so much advantage if you take your songs seriously. Start networking, talk to other bands and use your social media channels to actively reach out to others that are doing the same thing. Remember that there shouldn’t be any competition, we are all colleagues. Make friends not enemies! And if your heart is in making and performing music – never give up. 

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac’s readers?

Make sure to watch out for Feather on April 23^rd, listen to the 3 singles that are out already and on behalf of the whole band: We can’t wait to get out there to play for and meet you guys! Stay safe, see you soon.

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