By Jason Yarrow, March 2021

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Jason:  Hey Dwight.  Welcome to Tru Rock Revival Magazine.  Today, we're gonna do a bit of rapid-fire interview.  Let's get this thing started.  You guys are from the Carolinas.  Why not Carolina Maybe? 

 

DD: I was in the Chicago airport and I overheard someone say “She gave me the ol’ L.A. Maybe!” referring to how L.A. folk can be notoriously flaky and fickle - always looking for something better to come along and never committing. I loved that phrase and came up with the band name “The L.A. Maybes”. Then Foz [drummer] recommended we drop the “s” and here we are.

 

Jason:  You know, that's a first.  We've had some bands who've told us they sat at their computer and read through the adult classified ads in Craigslist and came up with their names that way.  

 

DD:  I actually keep a running list of band names (mostly funny ones) that we’re constantly adding to. It’s over 150 names long at this point and there are a couple on there we tossed around before landing on The L.A. Maybe, most notably Outrun The Weekend. Our album name, "Dirty Damn Tricks" and a song name from the album “Oh Sugar” all came from that same list!

 

Jason:  Put an ad out there for bands looking for a name.  Maybe make a couple $ from the list.  So, the band has been around for a few years now.  Who are the players?

 

DD:  The L.A. Maybe is Alvi Robinson (vocals), me (Dallas Dwight, guitar), Drizzle Silvera (guitar), Josh Thompson (keys), Rahsaan Lacey (bass), and Ryan Fosnow (drums).

 

Jason:  Six of you.  Breaking the mold.  Most bands the past few years seem to be 4, maybe 5 players.  How did all of you meet?  Any interesting stories here?

 

DD:  Sparing you too many of the boring details, the band got started after some of us left a Journey tribute band we were playing with to write our own rock n’ roll. We went through several lineup changes but in the summer of 2020, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, we solidified our perfect lineup and got to work recording our debut album, Dirty Damn Tricks.

 

Jason:  You guys have a classic, hard rock sound.  I hear some influences like ACDC, Jackyl, and some other hard rock bands from the 80's.  your thoughts on that?

 

DD:  If we’re doing our job right, our music clearly conveys the 80s heyday of hard rock and heavy metal. Of course we sprinkle in just the right amount of modernization (through production techniques and other elements), but I think it’s obvious what we’re trying to do!

 

Jason:  I hear it in all your songs.  Nice job.  What's your take on this?  Over the past few decades, rock music has been the “red headed step-child”, rarely even mentioned on award shows like the Grammys, which has become very irrelevant.  Do you feel that rock is starting to climb the ladder again. 

 

DD:  Oh, I definitely think so. There are so many amazing rock bands out there right now. It annoys when I hear people say things like “music isn’t the way it used to be” or “everything’s made on a computer now”. Great music is out there being made right now by incredible artists that need you to find them. Start looking!

 

Jason:  As far as those amazing rock bands out there, who are some of your musical influences?

 

DD:  Of course we’re inspired by all our heroes, many of whom I’m sure you can immediately name upon listening to our music…but who really inspire us are our peers. Bands like Dirty Honey, Small Town Titans, Joyous Wolf, Blacktop Mojo, South of Eden, Greta Van Fleet, and so many more. They keep us hungry and excited to be a part of the New Wave of Classic Rock.

 

Jason:  We're big fans of Joyous Wolf and the guys from Blacktop Mojo here at Tru Rock.  We've interviewed both bands and Matt James has become a friend.  He's a great guy and has some serious pipes.  The new album.  Really solid effort and great songs all around.  How do you guys write your songs?  Is it a collaborative effort?

DD:  We’re blessed to have a group full of guys who are willing to put in the hard work that it takes to make it in a band these days. So we do well with everyone taking a relatively fair share of the work and owning their tasks. The result is that we’re able to accomplish a lot more, a lot faster than if just one person did everything.
 

Jason:  Speaking of collaborative, if you could get together with any band or musician to record a song together, who would that be?

 

DD:  I’d love to work with Pat Monahan from Train. A brilliant songwriter, phenomenal singer, and funnier than most comedians. On top of that, Pat is perhaps my biggest songwriting inspiration. 

 

Jason:  He definitely has the voice down.   Personally, if you could choose a few bands to hit the road with, who would some of those be?

 

DD:  All of our New Wave of Classic Rock peers. So bands like Dirty Honey, Joyous Wolf, South of Eden, Small Town Titans, and so many more. Plus Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC. We’re big fans. ;)

 

Jason:  Nice list.  What is your most memorable show, good or bad?

 

DD:  For these kinds of stories and so much more behind-the-scenes goodness, I recommend listening to our upcoming podcast “Your New Favorite Band”. There are simply too many to mention, and we’ll be covering them all in great detail on the show!

 

Jason:  What would be your dream show?

 
DD:  To see? I’d love to see The Black Crowes open for Guns N’ Roses. That’d be great. To play, how about The L.A. Maybe opens for The Black Crowes who open for Guns N’ Roses. That’d also be great.

 

Jason:  Man, that would be pretty kick ass show.  I'd be there.  This next question, I like to throw it in here because you never know what's coming.  And, we've heard a lot of crazy things.  For you, or for the band for that matter, what has been your craziest fan interaction?

 

DD:  One time at a gig we finished a song, I turned my back to the crowd to tune my guitar, and a couple seconds later felt someone put both arms around my waist. I heard a voice whisper, “that was incredible,” and I look up startled to see a drunk, middle-age woman standing on stage with me whispering in my ear. Highly inappropriate.

 

Jason:  Lol.  Hey man, drunken mom's love rock music too!   For the rest of 2021, hopefully the pandemic starts to level out and lessen.  If that's the case, what’s on the table for the rest of the year?

 

DD:  We’re going big and swinging for the fences. We’ll play as many shows as we’re allowed to.  Beyond that, in the next 5 years we hope to be touring as a national headliner with a strong batch of releases under our belt. Now…back to work to make that happen.

 

Jason:  I'd like to see that happen too.  Keep swinging.  Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to or thank you to?

 

DD:  We’re just totally blown away by the response to our music so far and we can’t wait to share more. So shout out to every single person that has taken the time to check us out. If you want to know more, head to www.lamaybe.com and join our mailing list to get 10% off everything in our store. It’s the best place to stay in the know about when new things are coming, and when we’ll be in a city near you!