LaVancha at 56: Music, Growth, and a Punch in the Gut
By Natalie Dignam
Arts and Entertainment Editor
During his time here as a student, you may have spotted Chris LaVancha playing his guitar on the stoop of the Annex theme house. Since then, LaVancha has continued to work on his music and started a band named You & Us. Last Friday, LaVancha returned to SLU for a solo show at Pub 56.
“I use to write about me about as a person, how I would grow or things that would hinder me from growing,” LaVancha said. “Like love. I like to explore the whole idea of love, the different angles; like heart break.” Throughout the show, LaVancha helpfully identified the “different angles of love” by dubbing his songs “The Angry Song,” “The Sexy Song,” or the very popular “Alcohol Song.”
However, LaVancha said that playing with a band has changed his lyrical style since his solo days at SLU. “With a band it’s a lot less introspective. It’s something you want people to sing along with,” he said. Playing at bars has also led him to create music geared more toward getting people to dance rather than think.
“The band is a jam-band folk fusion. A.J. my guitarist, he knows exactly what I want in a song. We’ve been playing music since 11thgrade. He’s got a Black Keys meets Zeplin style, but with a jam-band chord structure. We all have different tastes in music,” he added.
As for himself, LaVancha is listening to Ryan Adams, as well as Middle Brother, a band made up of musicians from Deer Tick, Dawes, and Delta Spirit. LaVancha pointed out a favorite lyric of his off their self-titled album that would, by his categories, probably be their “Alcohol Song.” Middle Brother advises, “Stay hydrated from a double shot, get my nourishment from a punch in the gut.”
LaVancha added that his solo show at 56 was the most excited he had been about a show in a long time. Come check out KT X (lead singer is SLU Professor Kyle Tupper) at Pub 56 on Friday at 8:30 pm and our very own Brewster Brothers at 8 p.m. this Saturday.