Described as a “heavy psychedelic rock and fuzzy stoner riffs” band, Lore is an upcoming prospect in the Midwest rock scene.
Andrew Dillman, a senior music tech major at the university, said the idea of Lore came from floating the idea around with another guitar player at the university, Kyle Gowens.
Dillman then asked Eli Pitchford, another music tech major, to play bass for the band.
“I told [Gowens] that I wanted to start a band called Lore, and we got together and played. It just kind of worked itself out,” Dillman said.
Gowens and singer David Rausch graduated from the university in May 2023.
Lore’s first album was released in May 2023. Dillman said the recording process, which began in February 2023, required long hours spent in the studio.
“We were in the studio a couple times a week for like eight hours at a time,” Dillman said. “Some Sundays we were in there for 12 hours.”
The album includes songs written by all the members, but Dillman said most members brought songs to the studio they had been writing by themselves.
“We all had songs we were writing on our own,” Dillman said. “But then there’s a couple songs on that album that we wrote together and they just worked really well”.
Pitchford said simultaneously recording the album while writing music was a race against time.
“It was just like everything all at once,” Pitchford said. “Our goal was to get [the album] done by the end of the [school] year because that’s when we would lose access to the studio.”
Although they restarted a number of times, the band managed to finish the album before the end of the school year. The album was released on Apple Music and Spotify May 26, 2023.
With streamers like Spotify changing their royalty model to demonetize songs with under 1000 streams, Dillman said the band tried to find a way around that.
Bandcamp, an online music distribution platform, is what Dillman called a “LinkedIn for music.” Fans of the band can buy individual songs or the full album, supporting the artist directly.
Through Bandcamp, companies can find music and put them on charts.
“The best way I would describe [Bandcamp] is a networking tool for bands,” Dillman said.
The band’s first shows were mostly on campus, but after an amazing on campus show, they were able to secure more gigs. These include local venues like The Basement, Dirty Dungarees, Shakers and more. In January 2024, they performed in other parts of Ohio, including Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Now, they are putting their sights on a tour on a wider stage. In April 2024, they announced a spring tour with one show in Kentucky and two shows in Nashville, Tennessee. They are also traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana and Canton, Ohio.
Dillman described the feeling of a more expansive tour as “fulfilling.”
“A lot of work goes into setting it all up,” Dillman said. “Once the show is happening, it makes all the work that goes into it 100% worth it.”
Pitchford said the band could not function without teamwork and the bond the members share.
“We all push our own ends to get this one big product out,” Pitchford said. “It’s impressive and fulfilling to be like a part of something where you can see the impact that your work has.”
Despite being a band with a majorly Columbus fan base, Dillman said that it is crazy when he sees fans in other places.
“There’s people who genuinely care because they found our music somewhere,” Dillman said. “We’ve been told a couple of times that we are one of someone’s favorite bands. That’s crazy to me.”
For more information about Lore’s upcoming shows and where to stream, visit Lore’s website.
