Getting to Know… Livonia | Interview 🎤

Hitting the #60 mark in interviews, The Musical Hype gets the goods on rising London / Milton Keynes pop punk band, Livonia.

“…We play a very fast energetic form of pop punk… just 5 dudes making a very British sounding pop punk tunes sticking to our roots.” That sounds, well, quite British Livonia.  It’s fitting considering the pop punk band, who appears on the 60^th interview on The Musical Hype, hails from London / Milton Keynes. Livonia is comprised of James Bates, Robert Cone, Mark Craig, Tom Matthews, and Chris Walters. Besides providing some background and insight into the band, they also discuss their debut EP, Hate. Relate. Regenerate.. Sigh, that’s a pop punk title if I do say so myself! Without further ado, ‘for fans of Neck Deep, You Me at Six, Don Broco, The Story So Far,’ and anybody who digs pop punk, here is Getting to Know… Livonia: Interview #60.

Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype (Faulkner): Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with Livonia, what would you say makes your distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Livonia: Well, we play a very fast energetic form of pop punk, and we don’t fall into the trap of sounding American or overly cheesy, just 5 dudes making a very British sounding pop punk tunes sticking to our roots. I think like any band these days, we leave nothing held back at our live shows, we like to get hot and sweaty and move about a bit, sometimes in sync sometimes just out of control, just some nice energetic vibes.

Faulkner: Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Livonia form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

Livonia: We all worked at the same company in London except Mac who joined later, and we would overhear each other’s playlists when moving around the office as you do. Then, before long, we are sitting there in a YouTube hole not getting any work done, getting a bollocking, and yeah, we decided why not make some tunes of our own in our own time. Early on, it was just about seeing whether we could combine all the types of music we liked into some tracks and then we got the bug for it, our songs got better, and began just taking the whole band thing more seriously.

Faulkner: Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Livonia: They have changed completely; we’ve written more songs that we ever imagined, and people are actually digging them. We put our debut single [“Talking”] on Spotify and I’m pretty the novelty still hasn’t worn off. Our goal is 100% to get signed and just take our music to bigger stages, larger audiences and see how big we can really make this thing. Aim for the sky, why the hell not?!

Faulkner: Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?  

Livonia: Bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse and Foo Fighters we all grew up listening to. Every member of those bands is soo talented, and they are the ones that made us pick up an instrument in the first place. Seeing them perform live show after show with our jaws dropped to the floor is pretty moving so say the least.

Faulkner: Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

Livonia: We played a show once and Rob, our lead guitarist, had just broken his foot falling down some stairs, he went against doctor’s orders and played the show anyway. He carried out his usual preshow routine of having some beers and smashed out the set list hopping around in circles on one leg. Every now and again you could see him land on the bad foot and wince, but did it affect his guitar playing? NOT ONE BIT! He’s an absolute animal.

Faulkner: Animal indeed! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

Livonia: As cliché as it sounds our favourite song so far is definitely our debut single, “Talking.”  It is our strongest and most positive message we’ve ever written into one of our songs. It’s about how you can really rely on your friends and trust them when you’re down, you can lean on them and they will pick you straight back up, that’s what being mates is all about. Of course, because it’s out on all the streaming services people who watch us tend to know the words and it’s always a special feeling to see any of your songs sung back to you, especially when it’s one that means a lot to you.

Faulkner: Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Livonia: Nearly every time we go for food and beers after we practice, we always see Ian Wright there, that’s pretty left off center and cool right? No? Just us? Well we are just pretty normal dudes just doing what we love, what you see is what you get!

Faulkner: Closing this thing out, what is you/your band currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

Rob, Livonia: Our debut EP, Hate. Relate. Regenerate. [arrived] March 13^th, so we’re really excited … to see what people think. We’re playing some local shows over the next couple of months to promote the EP and then we’ll see what happens – we’d love to tour later on in the year and get back in the studio!

Faulkner: Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Livonia