LA Edwards: “For the first part of our lives we didn’t listen to much non-church music until we were teenagers.”

Text: Rafif Thoriq
Photo: LA Edwards

LA Edwards, the band defined by their laid-back Americana rock sound, has grown from a humble family band into a critically acclaimed Americana rock talent.

We’re on tour across Europe and have a chat with frontman Luke Edwards to explore the band’s evolution, his solo career and their latest album Cake Cityand the challenges and rewards of having a successful music career as a band among chart-topping solo artists.

It’s fascinating that your family are your bandmates – despite what they say, keep personal and professional separate. What significant impact does this agreement have on your creative and professional abilities?

My two brothers Jay and Jerry play guitar. We just always made music together. It’s just kind of a family affair. So, you know, I love it. It’s great to be able to play with your brothers, be on stage together and travel around. We’ve done it our whole lives. I’ve gotten used to it.

Does this inspire your creative process when making music? Are they actively involved?

Yes, but my older brother Jay and I always wrote songs together. We wrote our first song together for our mother, so it’s wonderful to be able to play with my brothers and then write together, especially with Jay. Yes, it’s great. I guess it inspires and makes writing easier because one of my brothers has an idea for a guitar riff or a lyric or something.

How did growing up around church influence your sound and music?

We didn’t listen to much non-church music in the early part of our lives until we discovered secular music, so to speak, as teenagers. This discovery had a significant impact on our lives. For a long time we were primarily influenced by hymnal church music. So it had a significant impact on our sound.

Knowing that you come from Nashville, which is known to be a melting pot for many types of musicians, how does this journey of becoming a musician yourself impact you?

You know, Nashville is fine. In my opinion, Nashville has lost its uniqueness. It’s almost as if Los Angeles has lost its uniqueness. It’s just kind of… whatever. So yes, everything is fine.

I had to leave Nashville because it’s not that cool anymore. So I went back to Seattle, where Pearl Jam and Nirvana are from. Yes, Nashville honestly kind of stinks, but that’s just my opinion Opinion, Man.

Would you say Nashville is overvalued right now?

I would say it is way overrated. Have you been there? It’s really not that great. I was forced to distance myself from a series of bachelorette parties and mediocre songwriting with TV presenters. Yes, I had to get out of there.

Your top listeners on Spotify are majors in many other countries. Did you expect your music to appeal to non-Americans?

Hopefully the music finds its way to its rightful home. Whether here in Spain or wherever you are, we hope the music finds its rightful home. The music we play on the world stage is now basically available on the internet and everyone can hear it instantly, which is amazing.

This means you can make new friends wherever you go, which is why we’re performing our opening show in Madrid tonight. I think it’s really remarkable that we were able to perform our opening show in Portugal the other night. The audience was enthusiastic and knew all the songs. I’m not sure why it’s foreign related.

We haven’t toured the United States in a while. So they practically only existed in Europe and the United Kingdom. So I don’t know if it’s intentional or if it’s just because we’re finding more audiences abroad, it seems.

Given that your music is similar to Americana rock, I think it stands out as a unique voice among the multitude of rock genres. It’s quite rare to hear such unique voices in Asia. Could you elaborate on what makes American rock so unique?

I think it’s just because storytelling is at the heart of our sound. Our sound is primarily about storytelling, complemented by brother harmony, which is our secret to success. It’s a combination of storytelling, big guitar and the brothers’ harmony. This is our unique blend of Americana. In general, Americana is mostly about storytelling and songwriting, with the option to incorporate other elements. We lean a little more towards 80s heartland rock.

With our recent recordings we sound more like Bruce Springsteen or even Billy Joel. But I think that’s exactly what we’re doing.

When soloists like the guys from Nashville top the charts with Telecasters, how do you keep up as a band?

Well, I guess we just don’t – we’re our own little planet, so to speak. We are like Pluto. We don’t get much recognition anymore, as you know, Pluto used to be a planet, but not anymore. We’re just in the far corners of space and there are some people who really love it and think we should be a planet, but other people disagree, okay, so I think you know we do just did our best at the end of the day.

We just try to do our best. We compose our song, then we get on stage and stomp our feet. And I think that’s about it.

Fast forward to your new album, Cake City (2024), which takes place in your hometown. What are the most unforgettable memories you have of this place?

Childhood is short. Now that I have children, I realize how short childhood is, something you only realize when you’re older. I suppose one of the recurring themes in the record is the fleeting nature of childhood. As a child, you are not aware of this fact because it seems to be an endless process. But you know, you’re just like 10, and now that I’m getting older, I’m like, “Wow, it’s been another year,” and it just seems like time is getting shorter and shorter and that is not the case.

Oh, do you know what a wonderful memory is? We live about seven miles from our school, and one morning my brother and I woke up early to skateboard the seven miles to school, even though the threat of a mountain lion attack was high. Luckily we survived.

Listen Cake Citythe vibe I get while listening to it is like driving down an empty street on a road trip. Is that a vibe you’re going for when making this album?

Not really. That’s why a lot of people say it sounds like some kind of open road road trip music. Although I appreciate the musical style of Jackson Brown or the Eagles, I think it fits seamlessly into our sound. I wouldn’t say no, but yeah, it’s kind of a cinematic open road road trip; It’s just a bit like a great American road trip.

How does it feel when one of your songs is featured on the TV show? Yellowstoneand what steps does this process include?

The show attracts a large number of viewers. You know, millions of people watch the show, so they’ve heard the song, and it’s a great honor to be on the show. There’s a lot of excellent music on the show, so a lot of people these days are discovering music through TV shows and movies.

Any advice for an aspiring young musician, especially one who prefers American rock or country genres?

Just focus on writing really powerful choruses. I think it’s best if you can write a powerful chorus, sing it halfway decently, and develop your own unique singing style. Just focus on the chorus, man. Don’t bore us.

What do you wish someone would tell you when you first started becoming a musician?

The key is to really enjoy the process. Play music for the right reasons, but most importantly, enjoy it. First of all, you have to love writing songs and singing and both. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really enjoyed it, as well as the opportunity to play with my brothers and bandmates.

What other activities might you enjoy given your existing interests? Maybe you play a sport like soccer, surfing or golf and enjoy it. You understand what that feels like, and you don’t aspire to be a professional surfer or golfer; You just love it. If this were the case with music, it would be similar to many people who play music and feel that it is a timeless passion. I’m going to stop making music. That’s crazy, right? That’s why you should love it and enjoy it like other things.

We always rehearse before the tour and it’s great fun to play with people of this caliber. And while we play super loud, we play in front of a few thousand people at night. It’s an enjoyable experience, but my advice would be to just love it and have fun. You can’t really consider these other factors when deciding why music is a career.