Bohemians
Written by: Cait Elizabeth - December 2018
Edited by: Travis Ryan
INTRODUCTIONS:
Bohemians are one of the most polished bands in our local music community. They have a sound you immediately recognize as theirs, striking and unique visual concepts, and wonderfully warm personalities to boot. Hailing from Manorville, the members of the quartet have all known each other since high school. The makeup includes Luke Lotardo (vocals/guitar/keyboards), Perry Ladouceur (vocals/bass), Eric “Emil” Milton (keyboards/guitar), and Eric Pubins on drums. Luke and Emil were working on making beats for local rappers circa 2010 when Eric jumped on drums for some recordings. The chemistry was there immediately, so they quickly transitioned into writing songs in their current indie pop-rock style. Once Perry joined in to jam, all the pieces fell into place. As of now the band has six songs out for streaming and download, four of which have gorgeous music videos to accompany them. Their melodies are infectious and constantly keep the audience dancing. One of my favorite things about the Bohemians is their attention to detail: While many of our local bands focus completely on their sound alone, these guys are aware that how they present it matters just as much in terms of overall visibility and exposure. They have an impeccable eye for color, placement, and design that you can trace from band pictures, to music videos, to cover art. Their music videos feature well thought out stories that stay with you long after the video stops.
TOURS & SHOWS
Bohemians has played shows all over Long Island, New York City, and a few in upstate New York and Boston. The band has played the Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue a few times, sharing the bill with national touring acts such as Taking Back Sunday and 311. Some of the most fun nights were in clubs in the City and Brooklyn, where everyone packed in tight with energy radiating off the walls. They got the chance to open for some of their personal musical heroes, including for Zac Farro’s (of Paramore) side project HalfNoise. Luke shared that after opening for another of their favorites, Night Ranger, he had to leave as soon as the Bohemians finished their set. He all but ran out of the back door of The Paramount in Huntington in order to make sure he made his college graduation up in Boston early the following morning. Luckily he made it—but what a night!
INSPIRATION & INFLUENCES
All four members of Bohemians grew up with very different musical tastes that they have melded together. While their current released songs are reminiscent of bands like The Killers and Two Door Cinema Club, they plan on blending more recent influences like Nigerian pop, classic country, and psychedelia into their upcoming new album in 2019.
“A big beautiful shout out to our manager Jason Melker, our engineering/production team of Kyle Williams (who worked on the songs we’ve released so far in addition to our new album) and Ryan Schumer (who’s joined us for the new album), and all the people who have been so supportive of us by sending messages from all over the world and coming to the shows, especially the people who sing the words to us at the shows, that is just so profound and meaningful to us. Also a huge shout out to Matt Tighe, Tyler Macey, and Eric Striffler who gave us a lot of their time working on our all our different music videos and gave us some seriously creative visuals to support our music. ”