lovely tunes: i heard a lion

Today's musical spotlight on lovely tunes is I Heard A Lion.  I may be bias, but I'm not lyin'-they're really great. The band consists of Rusty Blanchard (lead vocals and guitar), Adam Mercado (back up vocals and bass) and Josh Hawkes (drums). I sat down tonight with Rusty (who, in interest of full disclosure, also happens to be my hubby) and got the exclusive.

BL: Who are you influenced/inspired by?

R: "Manchester Orchestra, Dignan, Soil and the Sun".

BL: How long has the band been together?

R: Adam and I have been together one year this month and Josh has been in the band about 6 months.

BL: What is your dream venue?

R: I'd like to play some good house shows but I don't know of many

 venues outside the state of Kansas. In the state of Kansas, probably The Jackpot Saloon or The Granada (both in Lawrence, KS).

BL: Tell me about the EP you guys recently recorded.

R: We went to KC and recorded with our friend Alex Chapman. We were in the studio for three days. The studio was called LA Audio-it was in the country outside of Kansas City, in Olathe. We had a really great time and hung out with some really good friends, made some really good friends.  

BL: Anything else you want to add?

R: We really love being a band and we can't wait for people outside of McPherson to hear and be able to have our music and we're excited for what the future holds. Hopefully a full-length in the near future will be recorded with Alex Chapman and Ryan Cork.

I Heard A Lion will be playing this weekend, Sunday at 4pm, at the Pond Party at Vertical Violet in Wichita.  Their 5-song EP will be available at the show.  

For booking information you can contact the guys at iheardalion@gmail.com or "find us on the street".

Be listening and watching for these guys to come near you.  They're a real treat-if I do say so, myself.

Be Lovely!