Nemean Lion hits the stage TONIGHT, a special rock night with three great bands - Sleepwalker, Sons Had Father, and Nemean Lion. Below is an interview with Mike Lutz about his new band - Nemean Lion!

1) The Adelphia is fired up about your new band Mike.  How is it different from your last?  Does it rock just as hard live?

Well, with my last band, Mike Lutz and the Assistance, the songs were primarily singer/songwriter based with a full band sound. The songs that we used, at least in the beginning, were new versions of songs I’d written while performing as a solo artist. With Nemean Lion, it’s 100% different. Our singer, Michael Atkinson, writes the ‘meat’ of the songs, if you will, and the rest of us write around them. Prior to Eric Merrow, current bassist and former lead guitarist from the Assistance, and I joining the band, Nemean Lion performed under the name of Fall of the Empire. They used some of the same songs but in a slightly different way. Eric and I were approached by Michael and Matt Patterson, drummer, sometime around September and after a couple practices, we’d pretty much decided this would be a fun band to be apart of. The songs we’re presenting, again, are completely different from the style used in the Assistance. The material is a good deal heavier with more of a rhythm and effects driven sound yet simple enough to attract people from across the genre pool.

2) What can you tell us about the band’s name?

The name was originally used by Michael when we was performing solo. In Greek mythology, the Nemean Lion was a ferocious monster that lived in the town of Nemea. The beast was raised by Selene, the goddess of the moon, and cast down to earth where it tormented the city. The Nemean Lion was an outcast of society that could not be killed by modern weapons. The concept of the band is the mythological history of the Nemean Lion which is supposed to be a reflection of the life of a modern day person in society.

3) Have you played gigs out of the Mid Ohio Valley yet?

We actually haven’t. With the conflicting work schedules of the guys in the band, the timing just hasn’t been right til now. That being said, we’re hoping this will be the first of many.

4) Who writes most of the songs in Nemean Lion?

As I said earlier, the basis for the songs are written by Michael Atkinson. So far, the way is works is we get together for a practice, he presents a new riff or full song and we go from there. It’s a collective writing process as far as additional parts being added or each of our individual parts.  The songs are interesting because they’re constantly changing and evolving. Sometimes within a practice, we’ll take a song we had already finished and locked in, and switch things around.

5) We aren’t familiar with Sleepwalker, but they sound awesome.  What can you tell us about them?

Sleepwalker. Unfortunately, I don’t have too much knowledge of their story. A few months back, maybe sometime this past summer, a couple friends of mine from another local band had traveled to Morgantown and played a show with them and came back with rave reviews. I’ve personally always been a fan of anything David Bello as been a part of so it perked my interest. After the release of their EP, I was hooked. The songs, in my opinion, are just straight rock’n'roll songs. The whole EP is just perfect. I’m not sure who does most of their songwriting, if any one person does, but I did recognize a song previously written by David. They’re easily one of my favorites in the state right now.

6) What do you see on the horizon for Nemean Lion?  Any touring plans?  New CD?

The  future with this band is still pretty much wide open. I know the plan is to cut a record just as soon as we decide on when and where to do it. Talk of a tour has happened a little, but it would be a while before the timing works itself out. Eric and Matt both play with other local bands, Enzuigiri and Pigeonholes, so we try to work around their show and practice schedules as well as work. All I can really say is that for now, it’s just something we do for fun but I personally hope to see something come of it.

Sleepwalker, Nemean Lion, Sons Had Father

An amazing night of new original original rockin’ music from the new generation!

Nemean Lion
Ambient clasical drone emotive hardcore instrumental post-punk post-rock rock from West Virginia
http://nemeanlion.bandcamp.com/album/live-recording-demo

Sons Had Father
http://www.myspace.com/sonshadfather

David Bello
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpnMJ86jnns&feature=related

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