EP Focus: Lionizer

Lionizer launch their new EP, Be Alone, at Bar 459 (Rosemount Hotel) on Friday, May 6, with help from The Kuillotines, Odlaw, Yiannos McStavros and Rapscallion. We caught up with vocalist/guitarist, Vez Litten.

You spent April touring around Australia touring in support of the EP. How'd it go and what were the highlights?

The tour was awesome! We had a great time catching up and playing with old mates and meeting new ones. We were lucky to play with some really awesome bands as well. The highlight for me would have to have been playing the Cranker in Adelaide again. The crowd there is always super supportive and energetic and it was awesome to see so many familiar faces again!

Have you ben pleased with the reaction to the EP so far?

It's been rad! It's really humbling to have so many people backing us and enjoying the music we made in our bedrooms. I think this EP is another step up for us songwriting wise and it's great to see other people getting into it.

What has your new bassist, Wheels McKenzie, brought to the fold?

Having Wheels on board has really added a weight to our live sound but also opened up a bunch of doors for us musically within our songwriting. Personally I feel a lot less pressure having Wheels on bass and I can focus more on playing with different vocal melodies and explore that side in a bit more depth, something I struggled with as a two-piece. If we were ever going to add a bass player, it couldn't be just anyone and we're really lucky that the dynamics between the three of us both on and off stage works so well.

Has Lionizer become the band you wanted to be, or something different besides?

When Bailey (Lions, drums) and I first started Lionizer back in 2012, I don't think we ever had an overall goal of what we wanted to be. In fact, we had no clue, we just wanted to make music with each other and have a good time. Anything other than that was just a bonus. Now we've been doing it a bit longer I don't think much has really changed. I still get to play music with my best mates, but now I also get to tour the country and meet some amazing like-minded people as well. I think if anything, that view has really worked in our favour. We never set out to be anything or anyone in particular, which meant we never placed limits on ourselves, our writing, or our shows. 

Originally published in X-Press Magazine