"What the Stones were, what the Dandy Warhols should've been."
--Magnet Magazine
When you get kicked in the balls, you have two choices: double over and cry, or force a lying smile and tell the motherf***er, "You missed." After a rough experience with a large US label--one that involved recording an (unfinished) "lost record" in Los Angeles, and being pursued by legendary producers like Todd Rundgren and Bob Ezrin--Lions In The Street are here to say, "You missed." Following an 18 month goose-chase, L.I.T.S. decided they'd had enough: they hired a great lawyer, and retreated to a damp Vancouver basement, where they wrote some rock AND roll inspired by both the frustration of their situation and the excitement of doing things their own way; then they recorded an equally desperate basement album of this material, more than 20 songs in total. Seriously broke, post label debacle, they recorded their new material using the only piece of recording equipment available to them: a cheap 8-track unit and some half-broken microphones. In this case, primitive recording techniques were the perfect complement to gut-bucket rock and roll.
The band’s determination and resilience, in the face of struggle and disappointment, is apparent in Faces/Stones-inspired romps like "Already Gone," "Mine Ain't Yours," and "You’re Gonna Lose." The personal cost of their ordeal—broken and strained relationships—is chronicled in ballads like "Lady Blue" and "Feels Like A Long Time."
However, the man can't keep a good longhair down. And L.I.T.S. are not ones to feel sorry for themselves. They’re giving their music directly to the people, for free: In the spirit of DIY, they released their Cat Got Your Tongue EP on May 20th, via free download. It's available on their website, and on your favorite peer-to-peer site. They've also made homemade videos included on the EP: two of them are up on their official website, their MySpace site, YouTube.com, and PTP.
So far L.I.T.S. have played with Jet, Kings of Leon, Ambulance LTD, The Dirtbombs, The Pony’s, The Zutons, and Robbers on High Street, and a bunch of others. Look for their songs and videos online. It’s your chance to side with rock and roll against everything else.
