His Dream Of Lions – Cradle

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) Our music is lush/operatic alternative/pop rock. How’s that for a mouth full? Ha-ha!

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) We all grew up listening to the bands that were big in the 2000’s like Jimmy Eat World, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy to name a few. 

Q) Your new single “Cradle” is out now. Where did the idea come from for it?

A) We’re constantly writing songs. We knew we needed to come out with something quickly after the release of our previous record. So, we took all the demos we had made over the year and picked the best song. “Cradle” was a reaction to the radio play our song “Novel” had been getting, which is ironic because its one of the most radio friendly songs we’ve written.

Q) What kind of fan response have you gotten to the song?

A) It’s been really positive! I don’t think people were expecting a lot from us, which in this case was a good thing because we knew we could turn around with something amazing and really stun them. It’ll take a while to play out but so far things have been great.

Q) What is it about “Cradle” that fans have connected with?

A) The song has a great hook and is catchy, but there is a certain energy to the band now that people haven’t seen before. That seems to have resonated with a lot of the long time fans. 

Q) How does the video for “Cradle” fit with the message of the song?

A) When we were hearing ourselves played on different radio stations it was kind of a surreal moment, we felt like we were the audience to our own show. So, we wanted to play off of that vibe with the video. 

Q) What is your process like for writing music? Do you need the lyrics before the music?

A) It varies from song to song. Sometimes Seth [Coggeshall] will sit down at his computer and demo out the whole thing. Other times we’ll jam on an idea and flesh it out later. Usually some initial phrases will come to Seth when he’s writing the vocal melodies, but a lot of the lyrics get written after the fact. 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) It would be amazing to record with Rob Cavallo. He’s produced some of our favorite records. If we could have another singer be featured on a track, it would be Patrick Stump [from Fall Out Boy]. That guy has some serious pipes. 

Q) Your upcoming EP will be released in mid-October. What is the feel and vibe for it?

A) It’s very eclectic, no two songs are the same. We pretty much became a new band for this record. We will always have the His Dream Of Lions sound, but this EP takes it to places we haven’t been before, some of it is a little darker. 

Q) What can fans expect from a live His Dream of Lions performance?

A) Lots of energy! Playing live is super important to this band. Whenever we get in front of a crowd its an amazing experience for everyone. 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) Social media zero’s out all the physical boundaries that have restricted artists in the past. We have fans in Spain simply because of the internet. It’s an amazing thing!

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) We love you all! Without you there would be no HDOL.

ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY SETH COGGESHALL, GUITARIST/LEAD SINGER.