Success in the ultra-competitive music industry usually means standing out among other artists. How musicians go about this varies, but in the case of the Raleigh band Lilac Shadows, that meant an album release show transformed into an art exhibit.
Lilac Shadows released its first full-length album, No Dark/No Light, Feb. 4. Sam Logan, the creator, vocalist and guitar player for the band, composed and recorded the album.
With the completion of No Dark/No Light, the band members wanted something more memorable than the run-of-the-mill release show. This goal is what prompted them to reach out to artists they knew within the community, Logan said.
“Rather than just doing a regular release show where we have some bands play and that’s it, we contacted as many artists in the area as we knew and asked them if they wanted to design album artwork for us,” Logan said.
The result was 40 unique album covers coming in every style and medium imaginable.
“We gave them the record and said ‘respond in any way you feel,’” Logan said. “We had paintings, ink, charcoal and even a massive, five-by-five foot quilt.”
All 40 pieces were displayed in the Carrack Modern Arts Exhibit in Durham, and alongside each were limited-edition cassette tapes of the album with the artist’s work printed on it. During the two-week exhibit, attendees had the opportunity to purchase the cassettes.
Surrounded by all the artwork inspired by their music, the band played a live show during the release day in the exhibit.
“There isn’t a lot of cross-pollination between music and art, so it was very cool to explicitly combine the two,” Logan said.
The art has since been discontinued and all the cassettes likely sold, but Lilac Shadows is looking ahead. Group members have been writing new material since even before the release of No Dark/No Light.
“We just decided to stop writing songs when we can’t write any more, and we’re still writing,” Logan said. “We’re getting ready to record an EP in a few weeks, and that will be the first time recording as a group.”
Songs from No Dark/No Light and this new material can also be heard live, as the band is continues to book shows, even in the midst of the song writing process. According to Logan, they plan to perform in mini-tours, lasting about three days each month of the year.
“I started the project, but over the last few years it has evolved from a solo project, in which a lot of my friends played the songs with me, to a point now where we are collectively writing the songs as a band. The project went from mine to ours,” Logan said.
The lineup is now comprised of Nathan Price playing the guitar and keyboard, Brian Corrum on the bass guitar and Reed Benjamin playing the drums.
Among all the band’s recent accomplishments, such as releasing a full album, the most impressive thing is the band members did all of it in their spare time after working day jobs and without the support of a major record label. With the amount of ambition and creativity present, Lilac Shadows shows no signs of slowing in the future.
