Photo: Frankie Cavone
Glens Falls, NY based act Lock 9 is getting ready to make their fourth appearance at the legendary Chance Theatre in Poughkeepsie, NY this Friday, November 11th. They will also be sharing the stage with The Playback and School of Rock Beacon. This act comprised of Dustin Neil(lead vocals), Anthony Richichi(bass/vocals), Max LaFarr(guitar) and Ben Hollenbeck(drums) are not only heavy, they are expressive as well. All due to their individual artistic roots. We got to talk to bassist Anthony Richichi a little about their successful run of shows this summer and much more below:
How does it feel to come off a busy summer of playing shows and music festivals?
It’s felt amazing to be back in front of live audiences. Being able to share your work with a live crowd really has an impact on your creative spirits and I think that dawned on all of us these past couple of years with the shutdowns. It gives a whole other sense of purpose and meaning to what you do. The GEM Fest crowds are especially a blast to play for.
You guys will be returning to The Chance Theater for the 4th time, this time opening up for Trapt. What do people have in store for you this time around?
We’re always evolving the live visual element of the show with new props, artwork, and costumes, so there will be some unique things to see there as always. Musically we may play a new track or two and have some creatures onstage with us to help direct things and stay in order. We shall see.
How does creating art outside of the band make for creative inspiration on stage?
Music has always played a big part in my art-making process, there’s rarely a time I work without it on. There was never a line between one or the other. As a child my father had a large vinyl collection and I was always mesmerized by the different album covers. ELP and HR Giger’s Brain Salad Surgery, The Who’s Tommy and Happy Jack. As Lock 9 evolved I’ve always interwoven artwork with our music from the start. Whether it’s onstage live or accompanying each song in a CD booklet. Our album Conception also has a comic book that visually tells the story with all the art from the album booklet and the song lyrics as dialogue. It’s about creating an immersive world of art; audio and visual, and it’s become an obsession.
Back at GemFest 2022, you guys destroyed an art piece and used it as a prop all in the name of rock and roll. Is that a tradition at Lock 9 Shows?
It’s somewhat become a tradition, yes! It started in 2016 at a bar just outside of Boston where I accidentally speared the head of my bass through a painting, mid-song. We’d begun decorating our stage with my paintings to create an atmosphere of strange faces and landscapes surrounding us. I’d never damaged my artwork before so it was kind of terrifying, but keeping to the beat of the song I ripped my bass out of the painting and kicked it away. When the song ended I grabbed it from the corner of the stage to see it only had a giant hole in the upper corner, so I started bouncing it off the stage to the intro drumbeat of the next tune.
Numerous people came up after the show to ask about it and share how disturbing it was to see me slam a giant beautiful painting around, and I felt Yes. That’d be fun to do, but with the fun intention to destroy it live and use as a prop for Henry Fry! I shall make another one! Within a couple shows of doing this the crowds started grabbing broken canvases from the stage as original art souvenirs, asking for autographs and pictures with them, and it took on a life of its own. The Who was also somewhat of an inspiration since childhood to obliterate things on stage, a’la Pete Townshend.
What venues/people have been helping push the support of Lock 9?
Working with a venue year after year like The Chance Theater and opening for national acts is an ultimate dream come true, it was built in 1912 before Rock ‘N Roll even existed, you can really feel the history there. The growth of GEM Festival entering its 7th year and now joining with North Country Arts and The Shirt Factory have also really opened up the local scene and stages for us. We’ve also linked up with an award-winning horror film director who will be shooting and co-directing our next Conception music video.
What can people expect from Lock 9 in the future?
We’re underway working on our next EP which includes our current single “Run” which is out now with a music video on YouTube. There’s also been an extensive music studio overhaul that will be launching next year and will allow us to have a traveling live venue and recording studio. On wheels and wherever you want it.
Who are some of your favorite glens Falls/Capital region acts to share the bill with/ are fans of?
I’ve always been a big fan of Candy Ambulance, they really have a captivating and intense stage presence. Having worked with them collaborating on early Lock 9 shows, they really inspired the feeling in us that success and having fun in this industry is possible. The Midnight Revival Band and Brian Michael of Terrallite are also major influences in this growing 518 scene and have been around since day 1 of GEM Festival.
