New music from Metro Detroit-based band Lemix J Buckley is in the works.
The guys released their first full-length album "In Service of a Feeling" on Esque Records in August.
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Following the album, they hit the road and spent a chunk of the fall touring with Kurt Travis and Amarionette.
Their first tour brought vocalists/guitarists Gage Welch and Joshuah Gill, bassist Bradley Lockhart and drummer Alex Bazzi across the country as they performed in states like in New York, Texas and California. The tour involved a lot of van troubles and took a toll on the guys, but it helped refine them.
Since their return, things have slowed down, but they are writing new music that they plan to release in the coming months.
When they are making new music, they make it a point to play whatever comes out when they are together.
"We've written some of our favorite stuff spontaneously," Gill said. "But with structuring anything, there does come a point where you have to sit down and give it some good thought."
The band got started with no specific sound in mind, Welch said, and that continues into the music they make now, though they unconsciously stick to the sound they’ve created.
It’s a unique sound, but it doesn’t really come from any of the music the guys in Lemix grew up listening to.
Gill said that while he grew up listening to a variety of music, he considers songwriting to be separate from that. Now, he listens mostly to hip hop.
Welch said he grew up listening to classic rock and got into pop-punk and older Green Day albums, but he doesn’t hear those sounds in Lemix’s music.
Gill described the band’s sound as "a sparkling blend of moving rhythms and honesty."
He said personal experiences influence his music, while Welch wants to have fun and express himself.
"I’m not very good at expressing myself or articulating how I feel, so I try to do that in my lyrics," Welch said.
While other music hasn’t really had a specific impact on the sound, the band’s name is a direct result of influence. In the ‘80s, Welch’s dad was in a band called Lemix J Buckley and the Psychedelic Void Jumpers.
In addition to last summer’s album, the guys previously released two EPs.
They used those projects as a catalyst for change following a shooting at an Orlando nightclub last June when they donated proceeds from their sales to Equity Florida, a civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
"Although we may not be able to contribute much, our music is all we have to offer anyone in this world, and we will gladly use it to at least try and benefit people who are in a time of crisis," Lemix J Buckley posted following the shooting.
In addition to new music, the guys are planning to tour closer to the end of summer, and they will be joining Pines for a weekend tour in May.
Catch Lemix J Buckley in Saginaw on April 29 at Hamilton Street Pub with Vital Sea, Welman and Dogleg and May 5 at the Pike Room in Pontiac with Pines.