Photos by Adam Wallacavage
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Latimer Does being in a band really help your love life? You'd think the boys of Latimer, with their scrappy good looks and big rock riffs, would get more than their share of propositions from groupies. Not so, contends guitarist/vocalist Jeff Doring. He hasn't had a relationship since the Bush era ("uh, no pun intended," he notes). Bassist Dylan Cotton and drummer Rob Sherman have also had rocky love lives, but both are optimistic about their new, blossoming relationships. Guitarist Kevin Morpurgo, a recent recruit, is by far the most lucky in love, currently in a relationship that he says borders on "common law." ("But he's new to Latimer," jokes Sherman, "so maybe in a few months that may get blown to bits.") Doring, Latimer's main lyricist, admits that many of their songs center around romantic frustration even though the sentiment isn't always apparent. Don't expect to find a lot of introspective ballads or emotive analysis on their second album, Live From Sour City (World Domination). Be prepared for some testosterone-packed, badass tunes that recall the glory days of mid-?70s glam rock. It's the kind of stuff that should have the groupies lined at up the stage door in no time. But is that what these four Philadelphia bachelors really want when it comes to love? EarSHOT gives them the third degree on rock 'n' romance. Is being in a band like being in a relationship? KM: When you've got four guys in a van on tour for a long period of time, it makes you pretty weird, like an unnatural sadomasochistic relationship. But that feeling comes more from the experience with [my former band] Dandelion than Latimer. DC: A band is much worse than being in a relationship because it's like being involved with three or four people at once and it's often too much. What do guys look for in a lover? RS: You can play all the games that you want and say "I like the way Jewel looks," but that's bullshit. Ninety-eight percent of the ballgame is finding someone who can stand you past your barroom glitter bullshit talk. JD: I'd like someone who has her own interests and would almost never come see us, so it wouldn't put us in the same place at all times. RS: I'd like a library nerd with terrible glasses and no fashion style, but underneath all that she'd just make you crumble. Do you ever write songs about love? JD: I think most songs have love undertones. The lack of romance in my life bothers me so it's always there somewhere. Are you inspired at all by the lack of love? JD: Yeah, but it gets boring. Maybe a new interest would help for a little while and then I'd have to destroy that somehow. Being a little pissed off helps with writing. RS: I have a fucked up history. I was very popular in the fifth and sixth grades and had really good looking girls then. Over the next six years, well, the rules changed. The thugs became popular and I was a cute little pussy. Right now, it's actually quite odd, I've gotten lucky. So, you're currently in a relationship? RS: No contracts have been signed. JD: [To Rob] Do you know her? RS: What, do you think I'm kissing pictures of Jewel? I've met someone and she's fantastic. Rob, why do you keep bringing up Jewel? RS: Well, it's kind of embarrassing to say I like her... 'cause Jewel is the top for so many space cadets. JD: Just for one song. RS: It's not that. It's the Alaska thing and she's so nice. JD: It's her need of dental work. Rob used to work for a dental supply company so he's got some obsession with her need of dental work. RS: She doesn't need any dental work. Her teeth are perfect. Dylan, do chicks dig the big hair? DC: Yeah, but I find that different women react to different lengths of hair - certain women like long hair, others like it short. In general, though, lots of girls can automatically relate. I know this sounds bad, but women are definitely interested in their hair. So they'll comment on mine for the same reason. Actually, I was thinking of cutting it off, not super short, but it doesn't have to look this ridiculous. Have your love lives improved or gotten worse since you've been in playing in bands? DC: It's hard to say. I've been in bands longer than my love life. I started to play around 15 and lost my virginity at 16. One relationship ended because we were on tour for three and a half months. But we haven't really toured much as of late, so it hasn't been an issue recently. JD: The band has definitely hindered my love life completely. RS: I think being in a band is a substitute for real intimacy. Real people have a girlfriend or boyfriend, they go out together, they talk and have fun and go home. We pick up equipment, sweat like hogs onstage and then take the equipment home. |