PureVolume

Left Me Hollow from Fredericton, New Brunswick, was formed in the summer of 2007. The members came together from the ruins of other bands and knew it was something special from the start. The band began as a 5-piece then narrowed down to a more solid and symmetrical 4-piece unit. Sure the work is harder on Rodney and Kyle, who before needed only to write the guitar parts for songs and now must write all the lyrics and vocal melodies/patterns, but they enjoy writing so much that they took this as a gift.

Kyle's shredding and intense licks/riffs always bring intensity and feeling to a song. Still, although he is known for his speed and handle of the fret board, he has a taste for many genres in music and does not limit himself to writing only fast, difficult melodies. Kyle and Rodney trade off leads and rhythms all the time but more often does Kyle play leads so Rodney can do vocals easier. In fact, sometimes when songs are first written, Rodney is meant to play some leads but once the lyrics are written they decide Kyle has to play the lead. He also contributes a brutal scream and unexpectedly soft high singing into LMH’s songs.

Rodney would admit that he is not quite as skilled a guitarist as Kyle, but close. Instead his talent is knowledge and understanding of music theory. With this skill he can effectively translate emotions, feelings, and effects into music. He always knows “what he is doing, and why” in his writing; he writes everything for a reason. He listens to every genre from hip hop to grindcore and this makes his writing very diverse. While Rodney and Kyle split the responsibility of lyric writing and singing, Rodney is more often the lead vocalist in songs. He has a scream comparable to the throaty vocs of Tommy Rogers (BTBAM). His diverse voice (with a huge range of frequency and tone) was a little shaky in the first recordings but is now being trained with a private vocal teacher. His voice will return in the future recordings with much more control and confidence.

Then there is Ben, who through it all is always there to offer his basement (without which the band would have surely fallen in its early days). He not only provides the means for practicing but of course contributes his drumming skills into the LMH sound. When it comes to his drum patterns, Ben doesn’t settle for less. When LMH starts jamming a new song he’ll play along with the guitar rhythms to begin with but as the song is repeated he will change small things until the drumming is original and much more complex.

And of course Jorge, who always goes above and beyond. When writing he likes to play complex counter-melodies and harmonies to compliment the music instead of settling for root notes. Live, he has been known to mosh while playing and once left the stage at a show only to reappear seconds later on a balcony above the crowd. Jorge not only writes bass to compliment melodies but also makes some guitar leads and rhythms that are used in some of LMH’s songs.

LMH plays shows anywhere in the Maritimes for the time being, but the band has big plans for when they graduate. Starting with local shows and now touring New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, they are taking baby steps in order to ease into band life. This helps to avoid the band falling apart like in other cases where bands rushed and could not handle the pressure.