Lake Street Dive Ready for Joyful Rebellion with “Good Together”

Akie Bermiss says Good togetherthe new album of Diving into Lake Streetis about joyful rebellion against the heaviness of today’s world. The band knew they wanted to focus on keeping the music fun, according to the keyboardist and singer.

“It’s a complicated time to be living in the world right now,” he said.

The band literally tried a new approach to writing. First, all the band members stayed at drummer Mike Calabrese’s house and wrote together rather than separately as usual. To encourage creativity and give an element of chance to events, the band set parameters:

“Bridget (Kearney, bassist) had a 20-sided D&D die that we rolled to get the key, tempo and time signature, and then we used that to create songs, some of which actually made it onto the record,” Bermiss explains.

Bermiss says the change has resulted in songs that sound more like a blend of the band’s different styles than on previous albums.

Good together finds Lake Street Dive working again with producer Mike Elizondo, who also produced 2021’s Obviously And which Bermiss says always brings out the best in the band. The producer respects the band’s concept while giving it “a cool edge” that’s harder to achieve with five people trying to agree on something.

Singer Rachael Price often likes to embarrass Bermiss on stage by telling the audience that she was a fan of his before he joined the band in 2017, first as a touring musician. Bermiss, who is still pursuing a solo career, says there was a certain mutual admiration. Bermiss brought a Motown, R&B and soul-influenced sound to Lake Street Dive, influenced by artists like Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight.

“I always wanted to be a Pip. And I think that’s still true!” he said.

According to him, Lake Street Dive has managed to survive and thrive, despite the sometimes bleak landscape of the music industry. He says the band isn’t looking to put out a shiny, flashy package, but rather to provide a memorable experience for listeners, especially on stage.

“I give a lot of credit to Rachael, who is just an incredible communicator as a lead singer, and I think she really creates a bond and connection with the fans at the shows,” Bermiss says.

Bermiss says that every time the band returns to a city they’ve played before, the audience seems to grow a little bit. The growth has been steady and organic, with listeners finding the band through satellite radio, social media or even good old-fashioned word of mouth.

“We really want the shows to be extraordinary and we try to transmit as much energy as possible on stage,” he says. “We want people to come and be transported by their lives and have ecstatic moments.”

The band’s goal is to “serve the idea of ​​community at that moment,” he adds. On the other hand, when Lake Street Dive isn’t on stage, the band is pretty low-key on the road.

“Our idea of ​​a great after-show party is to order pizza for everyone and watch Stranger Things on the bus,” he laughs.

Most of the members go to bed before midnight when they’re on the road, but they often find activities to do together during the day, like bowling or indoor rock climbing, when they have time. Besides a shared musicality, what helps Lake Street Dive work is that they have personalities that mesh outside the studio and off the stage, he says.

Lake Street Dive is touring throughout the summer and into the fall in the United States and Canada, including a concert at The Greek in Berkeley on July 28.

“We’re all really excited about this music coming out, but we’re also thinking about what might happen next,” Bermiss says. “We don’t all live in the same place. So when we’re on the road, we’re all together and we have our instruments. That’s where the ideas come from. There’s always something on the horizon. It’s cool to be in a band where, even when we’re putting something out, we’re also thinking about what’s next.”

Follow Rachel Alm on Twitter at @thouzenfoldon Instagram at @a thousand timesand on Bluesky at @thousandfold.bsky.social.