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By Tiffany Razzano
Having toured with Straylight Run, Dashboard Confessional and The Starting Line, Lux was on the verge of making it big. But the band, which has been a staple on the Long Island rock scene since Tepe first formed it as an acoustic duo with pal Adam Loporto in 2001, ended the band after an argument while on tour last September. According to Tepe, the argument was nothing huge. "It was just a band being on the road," he said. "It was stupid, little stuff."
It was this "stupid, little stuff" that caused the growing tension amidst the band to explode. The group cancelled the remainder of their tour dates, deciding to head home for a breather to see if the band was over or not. This was the real test - one the band failed.
"Basically, as soon as we got home we weren't reaching out to each other anymore. It was fading," Tepe said. "Lux has been my baby since I was 17 years old. That's five years. So it had to have taken a lot for me to say, 'Let's go home and we'll see what happens.'"
Tepe says the real problem is the band just grew up and drifted apart as they became adults. Several band members wanted to go back to school. One even had a family that he needed to support. Since the break up, piano player Justin Williams has moved onto the fast rising band, Gracer. Tepe, however, is taking his time before getting back on the horse.
"I have a lot of nothing to do," Tepe admitted. But he's enjoying his free time traveling, mostly because whenever he traveled with the band he was never able to enjoy where he was. "I never had a moment to go out and check [places] out," he said. "Now I have more freedom."
It hasn't been all work and no play for Tepe. He's been writing new material. He even says he's in a position where he could put a band together and record an album right now if he wanted. Having been in the music scene for so long, he knows many people he could work with, but he doesn't want to rush his next project, whatever it may be. "I'm trying not to push it," he said. "The worst thing I could do is rush and that's the last thing I want to do."
Though he's performed two acoustic shows since the band broke up, half Lux material, half new, Tepe dismissed the idea of putting out a solo album. He says his new project will be similar to Lux' - that is, a full, rock sound with a softer, acoustic side. "Essentially, I want to do the same thing, but with different people," he said.
So while he waits for his next band to gravitate to him (which he said will make the project "more genuine"), he's certainly enjoying his time off. But he misses being in a band, and, along with Lux fans, hopes he'll put something together soon.
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Perpetual Toxins © 2006-2007 - All Rights Reserved |
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eloved indie rockers Lux Courageous might have called it quits last fall, but the band's founder, P.J. Tepe, hasn't turned his back on music yet; he's just taking a little vacation.
