HT Interview: David Livolsi of Kung Fu

HT: Nice, what does that energy enable you guys to do on stage?

DL: There are certain things that happen without anything being said beforehand. And often we’ll look at each other like, ‘Oh wow. That really just happened.’ It just happens at that particular moment… And I really connect well with Adrian. And having a relationship with the drummer, as a bass player, is really important. We just have a great time playing with each other and we feed off of each other.

HT: What have you learned from playing with these guys?

DL: Timmy, I mean, Timmy is just the most amazing guitar player on the planet. So I’m constantly learning stuff from him. And even when I’m listening to recordings or going back to video, I’m just constantly amazed at what I’m hearing. And Todd, nobody plays the keyboards like Todd Stoops. And everybody in the band; there’s nobody that plays the drums like Adrian. He’s just got an amazing energy. And Rob brings to the table a unique thing where he’s a really good front man, and his soulfulness is a nice contrast to some of the more technical, “notey” stuff that we play. It’s almost like a good contrast. Although he’s got chops, he’s such a mature player he takes his time and he builds his solos and he brings out the soulfulness of the band more.

HT: What do you think you’ve added?

DL: I always keep out what I add. I’ll leave that to somebody else.

HT: You’re too humble. But really, I think humility is something that’s really important for a band.

DL: Absolutely.

HT: Still, you guys are pretty new. Where do you feel you have to improve?

DL: Well, we need to get into the practice room more often. I mean, every time we get together it’s like, ‘Nice we just accomplished something.’ But we are going to start getting together a lot more… And I think thank God we’re still looking for our sound. I think sometimes when you think you know your sound, you can get complacent. So I think it’s good that we’re constantly searching and staying fresh.

HT: Where do you think your sound is now?

DL: There’s such a strong groove element to our music now, which there always has been, but I think more so now. I love to see the audience grooving to our music. But I also like the notey stuff. So I think coming up with songs, like our song Gung Ho is a perfect example, it’s notey but people can still bop to it. I want to write more songs like that, where we can still have the element of fusion/funk and still have it grooving hard.

HT: Earlier you mentioned listening to recordings. Is this something you do often?

DL: Typically I actually like to stay away from doing that, because as far as I’m concerned it’s already been played. Whatever’s been played in that moment is already gone, so… It’s always fun to listen to it again, but I don’t like to get stuck in that. But I’ve been sort of forced to listen to these things because I’m pretty (integral) in putting our videos together.

HT: It kind of gets to the conundrum of you want to improvise and be fresh and be different all the time, yet at the same time, you want to be tight, so where’s that happy medium.

DL: That’s true. But (improvising), it’s just going to happen with this band. We can’t help but get into a room and just when we’re playing a live show, no one’s afraid to go somewhere. So that kind of teetering on the edge is scary yet exciting.

HT: The band first started playing together during a residency at Stella Blues in New Haven, Conn. Was the initial plan just to play those shows or was there already thought about a longer future?

DL: That’s a good question because I think there’s a little bit of confusion there. People say, ‘Oh, it started from a jam session at Stella Blues,’ but that’s not the case. I actually was the one who went down to Stella Blues and booked the gig. It was never a jam session. In fact, I was pretty certain and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do with this band and it’s pretty much happening. I mean, obviously you always need to see how it goes when you start a band. But my idea is kind of unfolding and it’s manifesting itself.

HT: Looking ahead, you guys have announced some summer festivals, but are there any tour plans to get out across the country?

DL: You know, just even today things are starting to pour in. It’s crazy, I’m so excited… We’re talking about the possibility of doing a South run in September perhaps and maybe doing a Midwest run in October. Maybe a couple of weeks each. We all have families, too… So it’s not that easy to do this, but we’re making a commitment. And thank God, our wives are pretty understanding.