Meet Alt Rock Band

Crickhollow Music recently sat down with Luventhariel Ascarloss, Leader of the Alt Rock Band, and the rest of Alt Rock,
and asked them a few questions.

CM: So, how did the Alt Rock Band come to be?

Luven: Well, Drummor and Daffin were my first mentors, they taught me how to play, along with all those wonderful folk
in Breakfast Club and Dulcet Tones. They were the ones who gave me the Music Bug. And then Friday nights I started playing
with the Second Breakfast Army / Confused Hobbits at Bread & Jam. It was during that time when I heard the Lollipops
and Mardi Gras Party Band. Majika and Kenghis gave me the Band Bug. It didn't take long to figure out that this was something I really wanted to do, make a band of my own.

CM: How did you all get together?

Luven: I first met Perr in Bree. She was running around the Boar Fountain, hitting people on the head with a stick.

Perr: It's what I do...

Luven: Well, I tried to get her to stop, but she said,

Perr: I like hitting things!

Luven: Yeah. That. So, I had an idea. And I took her with me to the Pony, and bought Perr her first drum kit.

Perr: Yup! And then we met Lorrell and Mithwyn, and later Theobell and Lindialeth! And lastly Doriian (who kinda looks like a guy).

Doriian: I am. A guy.

Perr: She's been our Lutenist for a while now. She's really funny!

Doriian: Ughh.

CM: How did the band get its name?

Lorrell: It's a play on words. Since we are all Luventhariel's alts, and we play a whole lot of Alternative Rock.

CM: How would you describe your band's music? Is it all Alternative Rock?

Luven: No, not really. I mean, we do play a whole lot of Alt Rock, but we'll play just about everything.

Lorrell: Yeah, our Songbook is probably 30% 80's Hair Metal, 25% 90's Metal, 20% Classic Rock, 15% 80's Pop, 10% 90's Pop,
and 10% Other stuff.

CM: That's 110%.

Lorrell: And that's exactly what we give you.

CM: How do you decide which songs to play?

Luven: That all depends on the Event. For Shirefest and Winterfest, those are 50 min sets, so we like to use those to
their fullest by taking the audience on a magical musical journey, by telling a story through songs.

Theobell: It's like making The Wall, man. But by using music from all different bands, not just Pink Floyd. It's like, far out, man.

Luven: At Bread & Jams, we like to either show off (test) our new songs, or we'll pick our own little "Theme" that we'll
go with. Or just play something that comes to mind after someone else plays something. After midnight, however,
the gloves come off.

Lindialeth: Hellsyeah! That's when we totally rock out! m/ O.o m/ We break out the Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, Disturbed,
Alice in Chains, Rammstein, Korn, and David Allen Coe!

CM: Do you have a signature song?

Luven: Not really. When we were a 4 piece we'd wrap up with Dream Police, by Cheap Trick. But now we usually use the Theme
for Blazing Saddles, as we ride out into the sunset. But I wouldn't call it a "Signature" song.

Lindialeth: We have a Signature sound, though.

Luven: Yeah. We love to pair up the "chunk" of the Sprightly Fiddle with the "extended chords" of the Bardic Fiddle on the same
notes. Like the hit of the pic on a guitar with the strum of the chord that follows. Then we throw in some deep bass with
the Horn and ramp up the Theorbo and Drums, while the Clar and Flute sub for vocals on most songs.

Lindialeth: Many of our songs feature dueling guitarists in the form to two pairs of Bardic and Sprightly.

CM: What's the best time that you girls have all had together?

Doriian: I'm a guy.

Luven: Any time we get to play and someone enjoys our music besides just us, is a highlight. Our favorite moment so far,
however, is during our last Shirefest song, we played "High" by Jimmy's Chicken Shack and it seemed like the whole crowd
was jumping up and down.

Perr: People went Nuts!! I think they felt that in Hobbiton.

Mithwyn: *nods a lot*

CM: What about when things didn't go so well?

Lindialeth: I got sick after the first song on that same set at Shirfest. Had a few too many shots of Dwarven Whiskey
before the show, heh. Playing "Du Hast" for the first song didn't sit well.

Luven: We had to cut a whole song for the delay, but she learned her lesson.

Lindialeth: Yup. Stick to the Ale.

CM: Are you girls thinking of doing a regularly scheduled concert sometime in the future?

Luven: We'd love to. But we just don't have the time. Between work, and festivals, and Second Breakfast stuff,
running Crickhollow Music, and running all over Middle-earth to fight the forces of Evil, there's really just no
time for it yet. But we'll see.

CM: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about your group?

Luven: Sure! I write all my own lyrics for the songs that have lyrics. I've never used someone else's .abc files
(except when playing with others, like DT or the Army), I transcribe my own midis using Maestro, and have even written
a couple using Anvil Studios. I love listening to other bands just as much as playing, and if by dancing and cheering
I can make another band happy, then I will absolutely dance and cheer!

CM: That wraps up our chat with the Alt Rock Band, for videos of Alt Rock performances, check out these links:

LOTROstream Winterfest  and Druidsfire Shirefest