Eight years ago, Stephen Barker Liles, Eric Gunderson and Brian Bandas came together to form country band Love and Theft. After two albums and the departure of Bandas, the now duo has continued to climb its way up the country music charts.
While on a tour to promote its upcoming album, Love and Theft made a stop at LSU as the headlining act for this year’s homecoming concert. The Daily Reveille sat down with Love and Theft to talk about its inspiration, performance and this weekend’s homecoming game.
The Daily Reveille: How did Love and Theft begin?
Stephen Barker Liles: We met in Nashville through another artist named Canaan Smith in 2005 on the campus of Belmont University. I was there playing a show, and Eric was also there seeing a friend. We were brought together again by some producers, and the original goal for us was to be a four piece, Eagles-like, country band. We went through some names and came up with Love and Theft because it’s a Bob Dylan album, and he’s one of our big influences. One guy quit, and we just decided to be a trio. Then after the first album, another guy quit. We’ve been a duo for almost four years.
TDR: Other than Bob Dylan, where do you draw your inspiration?
Eric Gunderson: The Eagles are probably one of our biggest inspirations, and for me personally, Jackson Browne. We both grew up listening to Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. A lot of classic country and a lot of classic rock.
SBL: I’m a preacher’s kid, so he wasn’t bringing home Metallica at night. He was bringing home Three Dog Night and stuff like that. Nirvana was also a big influence in me learning how to play the guitar.
TDR: Have you played in Louisiana before? If so, what was your experience like?
EG: Every time we play here, both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, we like being a part of such a live music scene. We have a bunch of friends from Nashville who live in this area. We have a pretty good following down here too, so it’s always a pleasure.
SBL: It was awesome waking up and being on LSU’s campus. And “College Game Day” was there, so I got on ESPN today with some of the students.
TDR: Speaking of the University, how is it being here during Homecoming Week?
SBL: The vibe is really good here. We bought some gear earlier. We jogged over to the UREC, and you could just tell how excited people are about the weekend.
TDR: What are your favorite songs to play live?
EG: My favorite song to play is probably “Running Out of Air.” It’s got a cool, uptempo vibe, and it’s a little different than a lot of our stuff.
SBL: I like playing “Angel Eyes” because that is our biggest hit, and when we play it, even though people don’t know the words, they’ll most likely sing along with it. If no one sings to any of our songs, they usually sing to that one.
TDR: How do you feel about people who say country music is “boring” or “depressing”?
SBL: People who say country music is boring or depressing are just ignorant because it’s the second biggest genre in the world behind pop radio. It’s taken over the rock scene. It is the new rock and roll because rock radio is dead. If somebody wants to be a rock artist, there’s no money in it unless you have hits from back in the ’90s or early 2000s. They just need to listen to country radio right now because it is awesome. It’s so diverse. We have bluesy country, a little pop country and some with a little rock in it. There’s not many depressing songs I can think of.
EG: I think a lot of older country was slow and depressing, but it’s the opposite direction now.
SBL: Yeah. Another great thing about country radio is there are actual instruments being played. On pop radio, it’s all digital. It’s still good, but when we record, we record with a band live. Now, I love EDM, and I love pop radio. But I also, as an artist, respect people playing their own instruments.