Libido Reign
I am beyond excited to unveil a project that my cousin Bryan and I have been talking about for years which we finally realized in 2019! Click the text below to hear the sounds of...
Our uncle Steve Sardella was the keyboardist in a new wave band called Libido Lane, which self-released a 2-song 7" single in 1986. You can hear the original Libido Lane songs here. Info for the original songs can be found here (Steve is the one with the mustache). I sincerely hope that you will check out those tracks, if you haven't already. Bryan and I have always loved both of the songs and a couple of years ago he half-jokingly suggested that we should cover them someday.
Steve turns 60 on July 31st. Our family had been planning a surprise party to celebrate both this occasion and our aunt Susan turning 70. Bryan and I decided to make his suggestion a reality—to record the Libido Lane cover songs and unveil them to the family at the party, which happened this past Saturday.
Special thanks go out to my multi-talented, longtime friend Luke Awtry, who put me in touch with Urian Hackney (and also let us crash at his place for two nights). Urian engineered and co-produced the two cover songs at his studio, The Box. Bryan and I made the 3-hour trek to Burlington, Vermont to record over the first weekend in June, and I made another trip up there on June 15th for the mixing session.
Man, was it a blast! I highly recommend booking studio time with Urian—he's fun, funny, laid back, professional, and passionate. Recording with Urian held special significance as well—his band, Rough Francis, originally started as a tribute band to his father Bobby Hackney's proto-punk band, the incredible Death! It was pretty serendipitous that two cousins got to record a tribute single for their uncle with a guy who started a band as a tribute to his dad.
While Bryan and I were in VT, recording the songs, we had a photo session with Luke, who is one of Burlington's premiere photographers. As you can see above and below, the results were spectacular. To see some of Luke's prolific work, please visit Luke Awtry Photography.
On the drive back from VT for the tracking session, we were still struggling to find a name for our tribute "band"/release. We wanted to find something appropriate and clever that alluded to the original band. We had tossed some names back and forth for a while, including Sardella Street (though Bryan is a McGrath) and Sex Drive (too many other bands have that name already though). Bryan texted me after we arrived home and suggested Libido Reign. I thought it was perfect, and fitting, as it incorporates parts of the names of both of the cover songs and still rhymes with the name of the original band!
Luke also put me in touch with Ryan Cohen at Robot Dog Studio, who mastered the songs quickly and proficiently. I didn't get to meet Ryan in person, as time didn't permit me to make a third trip to VT, but his communication, receptiveness, and work were top notch. He got the songs sounding punchy and tight! I highly recommend his services as well.
OK, so enough backstory. We put our hearts and souls into these covers, we're really proud of how they came out, and we hope that you'll enjoy them too! The link above or below will bring you to the songs, where you can stream or download them. This was always, first and foremost, a passion project, but if you have a couple of bucks to spare and want to purchase the songs, it would be immensely appreciated. Without further ado, I present to you...
Read on for the full story...
Our uncle Steve Sardella was the keyboardist in a new wave band called Libido Lane, which self-released a 2-song 7" single in 1986. You can hear the original Libido Lane songs here. Info for the original songs can be found here (Steve is the one with the mustache). I sincerely hope that you will check out those tracks, if you haven't already. Bryan and I have always loved both of the songs and a couple of years ago he half-jokingly suggested that we should cover them someday.
Steve turns 60 on July 31st. Our family had been planning a surprise party to celebrate both this occasion and our aunt Susan turning 70. Bryan and I decided to make his suggestion a reality—to record the Libido Lane cover songs and unveil them to the family at the party, which happened this past Saturday.
Special thanks go out to my multi-talented, longtime friend Luke Awtry, who put me in touch with Urian Hackney (and also let us crash at his place for two nights). Urian engineered and co-produced the two cover songs at his studio, The Box. Bryan and I made the 3-hour trek to Burlington, Vermont to record over the first weekend in June, and I made another trip up there on June 15th for the mixing session.
Man, was it a blast! I highly recommend booking studio time with Urian—he's fun, funny, laid back, professional, and passionate. Recording with Urian held special significance as well—his band, Rough Francis, originally started as a tribute band to his father Bobby Hackney's proto-punk band, the incredible Death! It was pretty serendipitous that two cousins got to record a tribute single for their uncle with a guy who started a band as a tribute to his dad.
While Bryan and I were in VT, recording the songs, we had a photo session with Luke, who is one of Burlington's premiere photographers. As you can see above and below, the results were spectacular. To see some of Luke's prolific work, please visit Luke Awtry Photography.
On the drive back from VT for the tracking session, we were still struggling to find a name for our tribute "band"/release. We wanted to find something appropriate and clever that alluded to the original band. We had tossed some names back and forth for a while, including Sardella Street (though Bryan is a McGrath) and Sex Drive (too many other bands have that name already though). Bryan texted me after we arrived home and suggested Libido Reign. I thought it was perfect, and fitting, as it incorporates parts of the names of both of the cover songs and still rhymes with the name of the original band!
Luke also put me in touch with Ryan Cohen at Robot Dog Studio, who mastered the songs quickly and proficiently. I didn't get to meet Ryan in person, as time didn't permit me to make a third trip to VT, but his communication, receptiveness, and work were top notch. He got the songs sounding punchy and tight! I highly recommend his services as well.
OK, so enough backstory. We put our hearts and souls into these covers, we're really proud of how they came out, and we hope that you'll enjoy them too! The link above or below will bring you to the songs, where you can stream or download them. This was always, first and foremost, a passion project, but if you have a couple of bucks to spare and want to purchase the songs, it would be immensely appreciated. Without further ado, I present to you...
LIBIDO REIGN!
(click the text above to hear and purchase the tracks)
(click the text above to hear and purchase the tracks)
Outtake photos for your enjoyment:
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