Steven Horner – Lo Mejor – Uber Rock Interview Exclusive
Written by Mark Ashby
Sunday, 22 February 2015 03:10
A journalist walked into a bar… yes, it sounds clichéd, but that’s what happened at the tail end of June last year, when your humble scribe visited the Pavilion bar in Belfast to check out a new band. Only, it turned out that they weren’t so new, as former Hunger’s Mother guitarist Neill McIlfatrick was ripping out the riffs, while one-time Swanee River frontman Steven ‘Blues’ Horner was raising the roof with his fiery style.
Now, a little more than six months down the line, the band are about the release their eagerly-aniticpated debut EP. So, who better to bring us up to speed with the story of Lo Mejor past, present and future than the affable singer?
The best place to start, obviously, is at the very beginning. The members of Lo Mejor are all – shall we say – seasoned musicians, with lots of experience in other bands, so how did this particular band come together?
Yea, it’s been about eight months actually since our first gig! When Swanee River was on its way out, Neill and I had met at a house party and discussed putting a band together. We actually had the idea since Swanee River split up, and had been in direct contact since then. It all came together fairly easily, both musically and in general. We simply booked a load of gigs and it has taken off from there!
As we’ve mentioned, Steve was previously in Swanee River – a band that had attracted rave reviews and global interest (they even did a tour of India), had a recording deal with a national UK label and seemed to be on the verge of moving on to the next level: then, all of a sudden, it was announced that the band was splitting up. At the time, not much was said about the reasoning behind that decision: now that some time has passed, is the singer at liberty to shed a little more light on things?
It just didn’t work out… too much ego and drama lol
But, that’s the past, and the guys are very obviously now looking to the future. They’ve just finished recording your debut EP…
It was recorded at Einstein Studio in Antrim with Frankie McClay. Frankie is a good friend and I knew that he would be the perfect choice for our debut EP.
The whole thing was actually written in about two days’ practice sessions, and is more a statement of where we are right now and where we possibly want to explore in the future.
There are five songs on the EP: I ask Steve to talk us through them, in terms of the creative process behind them – who writes what and how do the songs come together?
There were songs like ‘Gracie Blues’, ‘Grey’ and ‘Worry’ that I brought to the table and Neill immediately put all his standard guitar arrangements on them. ‘Ready’ was a piece of music that Neill had knocking around for a while from start to finish and I fiddled with it and we created the song. ‘Watch Me Bleed’ is a blues stomper riff that Neill brought to the mix and I wrote the song around it. Neill will then put on all his guitar arrangements as he goes, and likewise with me, with harmony arrangements etc. We actually do a lot of our writing via email! We would send our ideas and the other would put a spin on it/finish it – then it’s a song!
Can you tell us a little about each of the five songs and what they’re about, lyrically?
‘Gracie Blues’ is a song in tribute to my beautiful daughter Gracie. ‘Grey’ is a song about being in a dark place and struggling! ‘Worry’, again, [is] about anxiety, having a heavy soul and wanting some escape from it, etc. ‘Ready’ is all about being part of a new band and getting the ‘plan’ together to show the world. ‘Watch Me Bleed’ is kinda the aftermath of the bad times – explaining the whole story from start to finish and how the old life of madness and parties is still calling ‘to write my fate’.
There’s also going to be a limited edition bonus version of the EP: tell us a little bit about that…
This is actually a cover of T-bone Walker’s ‘Call it Stormy Monday’, or ‘Stormy Monday Blues’, which was recorded at our live gig at the Atlantic Bar in Portrush – it can be found on YouTube. We are just waiting on licensing details on that. It is actually a pretty sensational performance and would stand up to ANY live performance from the ’70s hard rock catalogue!! – So we have been told… ahem!
And, the band isn’t standing still – at least on the recording front, as they’ve already talked about plans for your first album later in the year…
Well, it will be some time in the next 18 months, though the writing process has begun!
The band have only really played a handful of live shows over the past year: how important is it for Steve (and the rest of the band) to build the band’s profile through playing live, without at the same time over-exposing yourself in this context?
Over exposing is not an issue; I think it’s important to over expose within reason. We are just playing things a little different than previous bands, and we are actually getting the same results!
Now that the EP is finished and ready for release, will there be any live shows to promote it?
Yes, we are surely! We’ve gigs at the end of March in Portrush and Ahoghill, and then it Belfast, ‘Derry and Draperstown in April. [See below for details].
They also have a few festival dates in the pipeline…
Well, we have confirmed RockStock on August 30 and will be confirming more throughout the year!
It’s often argued that there are a number of issues with the Northern Ireland music scene, and particularly the rock scene: too few decent venues, too many bands playing this handful of venues too often, fans not willing to turn out and support local bands… in Steve’s experience, is there any validity to these arguments? Or are bands/those involved just making excuses?
I think that if you are good and you do things right, you will rise anywhere!
Is there one thing he would change about the local music scene to make it more conducive to the success of local bands?
No, not really. Like I said, doing things right, talent and a bit of smart work will take you anywhere. The only limitations you have are the ones you set yourself. Lose the FEAR! Lol!
Finally, the band’s name is taken from the Spanish for “the best thing”… is the choice of name cockiness or a statement of intent?
I think this question will answer itself the more we come into our own and unfold!!
As mentioned, Lo Mejor play a number of live shows in March and April to promote the EP’s release:
Friday 27th March – The Atlantic, Portrush
Saturday 28th March – The Diamond Rock Club, Ahoghill (support to The Quireboys)
Saturday 18th April – Pavilion, Belfast
Saturday 25th April – The Underground, Draperstown
Details of the ‘Derry show are still to be confirmed at the time of writing.
https://www.lo-mejor.net
https://www.facebook.com/LoMejorBand
https://www.twitter.com/mejorofficial