Did you have a great holiday weekend? If not, that's cool; they can't all be winners. I myself had an amazing one filled with lots of sleep, sleep and more sleep. (When you write for a living, sometimes sleep is the last thing on your list of things to do.) Between periods of long napping, I managed to drag my ass out of bed and make my way over to The Urban Lounge this past Saturday, where I was treated to the sweet sounds of Stag Hare, Cult Leader and Eagle Twin. Today we chat briefly with Cult Leader's lead singer, Anthony Lucero, about the band and their plans headed into 2015, complete with pictures from their performance.

Cult Leader (Casey Hansen, Sam Richards, Mike Mason and Anthony Lucero)
Cult Leader on Tumblr

Gavin: Hey guys, first off, how have you been since we last chatted?

Anthony: Good! We've been working hard.

Gavin: We won’t go into the details, but post-Gaza, what made you decide you wanted to continue on as a band?

Anthony: The short answer is that we didn't feel like we we're done playing music together, even though the path we we're on was no longer one we wanted to continue. So we decided to build something new from the ground up and start clean.


Gavin: Why did you take up the front man position and how was it for you stepping up in that kind of role?

Anthony: I wanted to try something new and we needed a vocalist. It wasn't easy, and still isn't, but I enjoy the challenge.

Gavin: Internally, did anything change as far as songwriting and roles within the band outside of music? Or was it more business as usual with a different name?

Anthony: For us, everything about this band is fresh. We know we write well together and we all contribute on multiple levels, but our attitudes and approach feel totally different and it's taken us in many new directions.

Gavin: What made you decide on the name Cult Leader and how do you feel about the name more than a year later?

Anthony: I think we all dug the evocative nature of the name. It still continues to lend itself to new artistic ideas so I'm about it.


Gavin: How did you end up bringing in Sam Richards to the band, and what was it like putting a new member into an established lineup?

Anthony: Sam is a great musician and he gets what we're about. We never had any intention to be the same band with a new name. So even though some is us have a history of playing together, Cult Leader is a new group of dudes doing new shit.

Gavin: How did the writing process within the band change once you had a new lineup and a new direction?

Anthony: Our attitudes and perspective going into this project were fresh and unburdened by past bullshit. So that and the opportunity to pursue fresh ideas that didn't fit in the past has shaped everything about this band.

Gavin: What was it like recording Nothing For Us Here, and what issues did you have along the way?

Anthony: We recorded Nothing For Us Here on our own with Wes Johnson in about a week's time. The process was quick and relatively painless.


Gavin: How was it being signed onto Deathwish and getting their help in putting the album out and getting the word out?

Anthony: Deathwish has been great to us, they're easy to work with, they believe in what we're doing and they work hard for their bands. It's a win-win.

Gavin: What did you think of all the attention and exposure the EP received once it was released?

Anthony: Nothing For Us Here was received really well overall, which is cool. I'm happy people are appreciating the work we put into it.

Gavin: With that kind of exposure and support behind you, how did that influence your 2014 tour?

Anthony: The touring we did last year was great, we had a lot of support from old and new friends and spent a lot of time with some good fucking bands.


Gavin: The last I read in November, you’re working with Andy Patterson on a 7-inch. What’s the status of that release?

Anthony: We still have some mixing and work to do on it, but we're all really happy with it. No release date yet but we'll get it out as soon as is possible.

Gavin: You’ll also be heading into the studio with Kurt Ballou to record a full-length album. What are your thoughts heading into that session in March?

Anthony: We have a ton of new material and we're working hard on crafting songs we're happy with. We take this shit really seriously and we want to be prepared when the time comes.

Gavin: What else can we expect from the band in 2015?

Anthony: You can expect new music and lots of touring.