The most psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll band of Baton Rouge is barely legal
Hanging out with the guys in Loudness War is like being in a real-life version of Wayne’s World, even if it’s only for a moment.
There’s Matthew Urquhart, the guitarist and vocalist of the rock band. He’s like Wayne Campbell and talks the most. Stevie Spring, the other guitarist and vocalist, is Garth Algar. Spring has blonde hair and glasses and responds to most questions with a snide laugh and, “Pssh … yeah.”
The rhythm section of the band—bassist Quinn Tull and drummer Ryan Welsh—are like Wayne and Garth’s fun-loving camera operators Terry and Alan. They don’t say much, but they are happy to be along for the rock ’n’ roll ride.
In short, these 19-year-olds are having a blast writing old-school rock music. Quickly, Baton Rouge is catching on to the distorted megaton voltage of their riffs.
The band met while attending St. Michael the Archangel High School. They were all in the jazz ensemble.
“That was the jazzness war,” Urquhart explains. “We had such a strong rapport that we decided we should expand to rock.”
They tried covering The Beatles—no dice. They played “funk rock” like Red Hot Chili Peppers—that wasn’t their bag, either.
Then around 2013, while seniors in high school, they heard the blaring sounds of Ty Segall, a critically acclaimed guitarist and songwriter out of San Francisco known for his prolific psychedelic rock. Combine Segall’s music with seeing other younger bands playing shows at the now-closed Baton Rouge venue Here Today Gone Tomorrow in early 2014, and the guys in Loudness War were ready to create their own rock.
In August 2014, Urquhart and Spring got to work on Loudness War’s debut Garbage Rock.
“Initially, the idea was we were going to record something and surprise everyone,” Urquhart says. “We recorded this thing, and it was a secret. The first CD I made, we went to the Ty Segall show in New Orleans, and I went up to him nervously and said, ‘I love your music. You got me into this type of stuff.’ The first CD was given to my idol.”
“Obviously, he thought it was terrible,” Spring interjects, joking. “He said, ‘Yeah man, thanks for the Frisbee.’”
Jokes aside, Urquhart gave a copy to Alex Abel, another young Baton Rouge rocker who leads The Chambers. Abel then relayed the disc to Tess Brunet, owner of Lagniappe Records, who fell in love with it and put copies of the CD next to the register.
By the fall of 2014, Loudness War started playing Spanish Moon. Lagniappe Records has hosted a few of the band’s shows as well.
“Whenever we made the CD, I didn’t expect much to come of it,” Urquhart says. “We weren’t trying to get exposure or anything.”
In early February, Loudness War is still following in their idol’s footsteps. They’re putting the finishing touches on a second album, tentatively titled Extraterrestrial Hangover, to be released this year, just months after their debut.
“It’s more sophisticated,” Spring says, another joke.
Tull says the new album is less amateur: “It sounds like three times as good.”
Sure, schoolwork is calling, as all but Welsh—who is at a trade school—have gone into Louisiana State University.
“I started in engineering,” Urquhart says. “Now, I’m in business. I don’t feel any desire to go into other different majors. All I care about now is doing stuff with music.”
Where to get Loudness War’s music
You can get a copy of Garbage Rock at Lagniappe Records and download a digital copy (at your own price) at loudnesswarband.bandcamp.com. The band is putting the final touches on its follow-up album, titled Extraterrestrial Hangover.
Where to see the band perform
Loudness War performs at Spanish Moon April 17. They’ve also played at The Library at Northgate and Lagniappe Records. Stay tuned to facebook.com/loudnesswarband for updates.
