Home Spun
I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer
By Michel Cicero 08/13/2009
Random acts of creativity
It conjures images of sleazy Malibu, circa 1975. Hairy chests, expensive cars, white slacks and cocaine. Celebrities mingling with low-life dealers. Hedonism in paradise. But truth is, the name I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is “totally meaningless,” according to band founder Chris Bykowski. People always ask the origin of the name, but it’s nothing more than a catchy phrase. “I liked the image it put in my head,” says Bykowski, who had never even heard of John DeLorean, the automotive engineer who was famously acquitted of drug trafficking charges in the early 1980s. The title for the band’s new CD Strong Drink Is Raging was also the result of Bykowski’s random creative process. Having finished off a couple bottles of wine, Bykowski picked up a Bible from a bookshelf. He’d never really read the book so, curiously, he opened it to any page and entered into one of those defining, serendipitous moments that seem to punctuate the life of the artist. What he stumbled upon was the wisdom of Solomon from Proverbs 20:1: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived, thereby is not wise.”
Word to the haters
Taste, by definition, is subjective and therefore cannot be qualified, yet there are those who would argue that it is possible to distinguish between good and bad art. Despite the uneventful birth of I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer’s name, the drama it evokes is fitting for a band that has suffered the slings and arrows of its detractors. Mention them and you’re bound to get an impassioned response — people seem to love ’em or hate ’em. Bykowski’s rantings on Craigslist haven’t exactly won the band fans, but negative reaction to the band’s music may be more about geography than anything. “In my opinion, lots of people don’t like it because we live in a beach town,” says Bykowski. “If it’s not punk rock or pop music, then nobody wants anything to do with it.” I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is indeed neither of those, though the subtle influence of both is not completely absent from the record. “I’m not gonna punch someone in the face if they say my band sucks,” says Bykowski, “but I’ll argue with them. When it comes down to it, it’s a matter of taste. There’s a line between good and bad music, but I could never explain it.”
Roads less traveled
The word that arises most in attempting to describe the music of I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is the one that also least defines it: experimental. The band’s MySpace profile is full of phrases such as “structurally straightforward, yet unavoidably complex,” and “dreamy oscillation between post-rock pressure and indie-rock dance appeal.” It could also be dubbed manic, surreal, apocalyptic, artistic and, at times, oddly romantic. Lyrically, themes of the darker side of human nature run rampant with occasional references to the sea — a product of Bykowski’s time served in the military — and one lone love song that he wrote for his girlfriend. Released this week on Sweet Debauchery, his new label, Strong Drink Is Raging was produced by Jon Debaun, who also produced Franklin for Short but is best known for his work with the Mars Volta. The band has gone through its share of personnel changes but is now maintaining a solid lineup with Patrick Crowley on bass, Dario Slavazza on keyboards and saxophone, Kyle Garcia on drums and Bykowski on guitar and vocals. I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is set to leave Ventura for a regional southwestern U.S. tour that begins with their CD release show at Spaceland in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Aug. 13. For more information visit www.myspace.com/ iwasaloverband or www.myspace.com/ sweetdebaucheryrecords.
It conjures images of sleazy Malibu, circa 1975. Hairy chests, expensive cars, white slacks and cocaine. Celebrities mingling with low-life dealers. Hedonism in paradise. But truth is, the name I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is “totally meaningless,” according to band founder Chris Bykowski. People always ask the origin of the name, but it’s nothing more than a catchy phrase. “I liked the image it put in my head,” says Bykowski, who had never even heard of John DeLorean, the automotive engineer who was famously acquitted of drug trafficking charges in the early 1980s. The title for the band’s new CD Strong Drink Is Raging was also the result of Bykowski’s random creative process. Having finished off a couple bottles of wine, Bykowski picked up a Bible from a bookshelf. He’d never really read the book so, curiously, he opened it to any page and entered into one of those defining, serendipitous moments that seem to punctuate the life of the artist. What he stumbled upon was the wisdom of Solomon from Proverbs 20:1: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived, thereby is not wise.”
Word to the haters
Taste, by definition, is subjective and therefore cannot be qualified, yet there are those who would argue that it is possible to distinguish between good and bad art. Despite the uneventful birth of I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer’s name, the drama it evokes is fitting for a band that has suffered the slings and arrows of its detractors. Mention them and you’re bound to get an impassioned response — people seem to love ’em or hate ’em. Bykowski’s rantings on Craigslist haven’t exactly won the band fans, but negative reaction to the band’s music may be more about geography than anything. “In my opinion, lots of people don’t like it because we live in a beach town,” says Bykowski. “If it’s not punk rock or pop music, then nobody wants anything to do with it.” I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is indeed neither of those, though the subtle influence of both is not completely absent from the record. “I’m not gonna punch someone in the face if they say my band sucks,” says Bykowski, “but I’ll argue with them. When it comes down to it, it’s a matter of taste. There’s a line between good and bad music, but I could never explain it.”
Roads less traveled
The word that arises most in attempting to describe the music of I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is the one that also least defines it: experimental. The band’s MySpace profile is full of phrases such as “structurally straightforward, yet unavoidably complex,” and “dreamy oscillation between post-rock pressure and indie-rock dance appeal.” It could also be dubbed manic, surreal, apocalyptic, artistic and, at times, oddly romantic. Lyrically, themes of the darker side of human nature run rampant with occasional references to the sea — a product of Bykowski’s time served in the military — and one lone love song that he wrote for his girlfriend. Released this week on Sweet Debauchery, his new label, Strong Drink Is Raging was produced by Jon Debaun, who also produced Franklin for Short but is best known for his work with the Mars Volta. The band has gone through its share of personnel changes but is now maintaining a solid lineup with Patrick Crowley on bass, Dario Slavazza on keyboards and saxophone, Kyle Garcia on drums and Bykowski on guitar and vocals. I Was a Lover, DeLorean Was a Dealer is set to leave Ventura for a regional southwestern U.S. tour that begins with their CD release show at Spaceland in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Aug. 13. For more information visit www.myspace.com/ iwasaloverband or www.myspace.com/ sweetdebaucheryrecords.
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