We were fortunate enough to catch up with Lazar Lobo-Szaloky (DIRTY SLIPPERS) following the stunning release, ‘Honest Kid’. Enjoy our full interview below!
Hi, how did the band first get together?
Hi, and thank you for the interview. We started in high school with my childhood friend, Tamas Szecsi, who is our lawyer nowadays 🙂 We began with Green Day, Oasis, and Ramones covers, and our lineup changed multiple times, and the reason is that I only focused on the songs, tours and contact with the audience.
We are a hard-touring band so a lot of people don’t accept tired concerts, travelling for tons of hours in the summertime. This January, our band members are Bebi Ferenczi – on drums, Daniel Vikukel – on keyboards, Dominik Felleg – on bass; and I am the guitar player and singer. I think this is our best lineup; the others are really talented musicians and learned in conservatories and university of music schools.
Who influenced your brilliant latest release, ‘Honest Kid’?
Thank you for the kind words; ‘Honest Kid’ is a really energetic song based on the first quarantine story, when a lot of good people died and we, the musicians, couldn’t do anything. I was upset, angry and really sad when I wrote ‘Honest Kid’, which is a song about flying back to childhood when everything was easier for us.
There is a superb video that accompanies the release. Can you tell us about its creation?
We shot it in the legendary Middle-age castle in Hungary in an amazing town called Sarvar (the castle’s name is Nadasdy-castle, you could check it on Google) which spot is perfect for highlighting the feelings behind this song. The paintings and the seccos on the wall are a part of a hard time in history, which also works well with the ‘Honest Kid’s’ message.
What motivates you to make music?
To be honest, my parents infected me when I was a little boy! They always listened to the Beatles, Dire Straits, Simon and Garfunkel and some amazing artists from the UK. I never wanted anything else, just jumped on the stage with my guitar, and I am really thankful to God for it. I’m 33, and I have been on stage for more than 15 years. Before that, when I was really young, I practised it in front of the mirror :))))
You recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London; what was that like?
Amazing and so professional. The whole team is really friendly and great. Every second in the studio is a gift! We are so thankful because we will continue the recordings next week, and this year we will release our first English language album.
What is your biggest mistake in the music industry so far?
I am a really fast-working guy, so maybe some of my songs were released too soon. If I worked more on these songs, maybe that would have made our band more successful. Who knows? 🙂 Secondly, between 2015 and 2020, I made wrong decisions with some ex-band members. I was too friendly, too democratic, and I was the guy who always gave one more chance to some musicians who didn’t deserve it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Stop shitty music from downloadable background music. I think if somebody would like to be a musician, it’s very important to play at least one instrument as well. Nowadays, there are so many awful artists who just download a cheap-sounding music beat and sing something bad to a cheap mic and record it.
After that, they upload it to Youtube and Spotify, which is really shit for the music scene. And we cannot forget what we leave to the younger generations, and maybe I am too old and wooden-headed, but I wish that type of amazing childhood to every young man and woman, as we had. When I was a teenager, we met professional and really great bands like Oasis, Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, Stereophonics, Franz Ferdinand and so on. They motivated me to be as I am now.
What is the best music advice you have ever been given?
There were some, but my favourite is: “A professional musician is a professional because he is always able to adapt to all circumstances.”
What new music are you listening to at the moment?
Oh, it’s a really good year for me because some of my favourite musicians released albums and worked on new materials. Mostly, I listen to Noel Gallagher’s new album, Council Skies, which is a really valuable album to me, with all the musical spices. Sam Fender’s latest album is mega too, and I am waiting for The View’s new album too.
When is your next UK gig?
We got an invitation to play an anti-war concert in London on 27th July at Duke Street’s Greek Catholic Cathedral. We will play with a great UK band called Love Street, we have the same producer, the amazing George Shilling (Oasis, Frank Turner, Blur), and we have more plans, which I must keep in secret yet 🙂
FVMusicBlog June 2023
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