Within most of the greatest music lies an ingrained tension. The greatest songwriters work with it, allowing it to build, until eventually rewarding their listeners with a resolution. Such is the music of Lida Una...each song energetically pulsing with a natural tension that is released by song’s end. Lida Una’s music builds to gorgeous bursting points, which then unfold into glorious moments of sing-along, stuck-in-your head beauty.
More obvious than this tension though, is simply the raw, driving, and affecting power of their music...unique yet inclusive...instantly gripping and immediate. This surefooted songwriting ability makes Lida Una one of the finest independent musical acts around.
Their set is filled with one infectious, beautifully written song after another -- classic, rousing, triumphant rock with a folk twist. This is music of the most honest, life affirming sort, packed with powerful hooks, a persistent groove, and beautiful guitar-work.
This no-nonsense formula allows Lida Una to steamroll past any cynicism, with even the most jaded concert-goer quickly realizing they are witnessing something unique: four master musicians at the peak of their collective power, sharing supremely beautiful and rewarding music.
“Our songs begin as spontaneous sonic sketches, which we build upon, and finally edit into songs” explains Carter Nieters, Lida Una’s lead vocalist and guitarist. “Sometimes it feels we’ve tapped into something and it just flows through. Often a full song is born on the spot like that.”
This is on another planet from your average band. There’s nothing false here, no missteps to be heard, never a moment contrived or overwrought.
“We have all seen bands drown their music by trying to do too much”, explains Brandon Kleeshulte (Bass Guitar), “For me, and for the band, I think our best moments come when we keep things simple.”
Less is also more for Lida Una drummer, Ron Askew. “It’s the little things for us. For myself it’s the obvious stuff, like: just as important as every note I play, is every rest.”
Listening to each member, you sense that each share the same specific outlook on the band’s musical output. Perhaps this sense of purpose stems from the fact the musicians of Lida Una have been lifelong friends.
Lead singer/guitarist Carter Nieters first met lead guitarist, Scott Morgan in the early eighties. In the decades since, the two separately honed their musical skills to the highest level, Nieters working with several St. Louis area bands, while Morgan took his guitar overseas, honing his skills in Okinawa under the eye of guitar legend, Kenichi Shimoji.
Nieters met Askew and Kleeshulte in the early 1990’s, and after years of friendship, started Lida Una, invited Morgan in after he returned stateside after being stationed in Japan.
For fans, the end result IS for the better: an exhilarating performance defined by the shared connection of four friends, somehow able to communicate shared feeling of times passed through an impossible-to-duplicate, masterful musical shorthand.
Summing up the sound of Lida Una, Morgan explains of his guitar-playing, “I try to duplicate how I've felt at certain times in my life while I’m playing...“No one is always happy, or always pissed off. My hope is that listeners can appreciate the honesty, both in what I’m playing, and in the entirety of our music, and relate to what we are doing on a personal level.”
