Lthrboots

Dj Lthrboots

Jerry Jones, the man behind Lthrboots, has rather impressive talent. Playing as a one man band he covers vocals, keyboards, programming, drums, musical arrangement and songwriting. His first album as Lthrboots “No Restraints” was released in 2004 and is currently working on the follow-up album tentatively titled “Domination”.

Maximum Ink: I have heard it said that if you like a STOMP in your music you’ll love Lthrboots. Do you care to elaborate on that? How would you describe theLthrboots sound?
Lthrboots: When I first started out, my fans were describing my music as having a “STOMP” to it. Every time I create new songs, they seem to have that “STOMP” element in them, whether I intended it to be in there or not. I do have some slow songs which don’t have that element in them, but anything that is danceable seems to have the “STOMP” in it. The Lthrboots sound stems from my love of the music of the 80’s blended with the newest styles and sounds of today. I describe it as a combination of Cyber-Industrial, Electro and EBM. I am often compared to NIN, Depeche Mode, Suicide Commando, Gary Numan and Nitzer Ebb.

MI: Can you tell us a little bit about where you are from, how it influenced you and what led you to the music?
LB: I was born in Brownwood, Texas and lived all over Texas until I went into the U.S. Army for 6 ½ years. After that I lived in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and ended up back in Texas again. My Texan background involved listening to a lot of country music, but during Junior High I started listening to club music and bands similar to The Cure. Once I went into the Army, my radio dial was all over the place, listening to everything from Goth Rock to Classical music. During my tour of duty in the Army, I had some training in Egypt, and when I first heard the Middle-Eastern rhythms coming from the music store, I was hooked and rushed in to buy a handful of cassettes. Those rhythms sparked my percussion curiosity to the max. I think that moment may have been the beginning of the creation of my “STOMP” sound. It was sexy, irresistible and powerful, and it made me want to dance. What led me to the music was the musical background of my family. It must be embedded into my genes, because from the time I was a toddler, I was banging out rhythms on pots and pans, and singing and dancing. Music was my sanctuary and my best friend. I learned percussion in school and taught myself piano after that. My great grandmother was a self-taught prodigy on the piano and I think I inherited some of her musical talent.

MI: What genre would you classify your work under?
LB: I would classify my music in the Industrial genre, but some of it is more danceable and crosses over into the Electro and EBM genres. I think it would most likely fall into the Cyber-Industrial genre.

MI: What other musicians have influenced your style over the years?
LB: Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) was my biggest influence. I love his sound and lyrics, and also love the fact that he was also a one man band in the beginning. Other inspirations were Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, Depeche Mode, Suicide Commando and Combichrist. The hard edge of classic Industrial music has always left me drooling.

MI: Is it challenging to be a one man band? Do you have any advice for others that would like follow in your footsteps, as far as learning to
manage so many tasks?
LB: Yes, it is a huge challenge being a one man band, but it also has its advantages. Doing a stage show is always the hardest part, because I have no other band members to help me load the stage. I have to rely on my friend’s help and he just cringes when I tell him I have a show coming up. I have a lot of gear. The advantage of being a one man band is that I don’t have to worry about other band members not showing up for rehearsals and I have full control of my musical creativity. For anyone wanting to follow in my footsteps, I suggest learning stress release exercises. The amount of practice combined with the huge amount of promotion time will knock you for a loop. Being my own promoter is a full time job and it can get exhausting at times, but it is well worth it in the end. I suggest consolidating as much of your song into manageable sections before you hit the stage. Sometimes, having less to do during each song will let you put more emotion into the vocal delivery. Although, one thing I would suggest you avoid is standing on the huge stage and staring at a laptop computer. Engage the audience by moving around, playing other instruments and getting into your music. If you simply stand onstage and stare at your laptop the whole time, your fans will most likely never come back to see another show. To me, that is the biggest insult to your fans. You lose their admiration when they see that you are nothing more than computer software on a laptop.

MI: Of all the tasks you do perform, which do you enjoy most and least?
LB: My favorite task is performing on-stage. There is nothing else like that feeling. My least favorite task is loading the stage and setting everything up. I always dread having to load all of my gear onto the stage before my shows. I hope to make it big very soon so I can have my own stage crew.

MI: How do you think your work differs most from others in your genre?
LB: Most others in my genre are strictly Industrial, Electro or EBM. I tend to be categorized as Industrial, yet tap into Electro, EBM, Techno, Club and more. I hate to be limited by a one-genre label. I think it’s time for a new genre to be created for mixed-genre artists like me.

MI: What are some of your hobbies?
LB: I love hiking, riding my bicycle, editing videos and photography. Being outdoors enjoying nature is a treat for me. It relaxes me and gets my mind back on track.

MI: What do you think you would have become if not a musician?
LB: I actually wanted to be an archaeologist growing up, and still have those cravings. At one time, I did gymnastics in High School and wanted to be an Olympic Gymnast, but after two spine surgeries, that dream is gone.

MI: What future projects can fans look forward to? Where can they get the latest information?
LB: Future projects for Lthrboots include creating music videos for my new album, a major collaborative project with an amazing singer named ILONA EUROPA, a possible U.S. and/or Europe tour and a Lthrboots remix contest is being put together right now.

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