UCLA student band The Street Hearts will be playing at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at UCLA Saturday in Drake Stadium. Spencer Lloyd, a contestant from American Idol’s season 13, will be joining them.
The Street Hearts – which has recently added two new members, first-year ethnomusicology student Nate Schwartz and second-year ethnomusicology student Nick Velez – were initially connected to Lloyd through a mutual friend of Schwartz.
During Lloyd’s time on American Idol, he was one of 13 finalists.
The Streets Hearts is currently molding and growing, said Nick Valentini, a third-year cognitive science student and The Street Hearts’ keyboardist and vocalist. The band’s sound is changing with the changes in membership.
“We added two members and unfortunately lost a member, so the sound is changing,” Valentini said. “I think this is a new period, we’re writing new music.”
Lloyd is rehearsing with The Street Hearts in preparation for the show, where they will do a mix of covers of popular songs and originals by The Street Hearts and Lloyd.
Daily Bruin’s Casey Kovarik spoke with Lloyd about his time on American Idol and performing with The Street Hearts.
Daily Bruin: When did you start singing?
Spencer Lloyd: I started singing at a pretty young age. I was about 8 … (and) started in my youth band when I was about 14 years old. It was more of a thing my mom forced me to do, to sing and to lead worship at our church. I think she saw that I had the ability to potentially become a good singer, but at the moment I was not a good singer.
DB: You’re still pretty young. Have you always known you wanted to sing and perform as a career?
SL: You know I didn’t always know that. When I was younger, I was always into acting. Acting was more enjoyable to me at the time because I knew more of what I was doing while acting than I did while I was singing. I was still an immature musician and singer at that point. Through time and effort, I realized that I’m not terrible at (singing) so I may as well try it. I continued on with singing and enjoyed it more and was able to be more creative and make my own stuff.
DB: What made you decide to audition for American Idol?
SL: My friends encouraged me to do it. I had thought I wasn’t going to (audition for) a show or anything like that. I was just going to stick to doing what I have been doing: leading worship at my church and writing songs here and there, just having fun with it. It was almost an impossible dream I had of becoming a professional musician. I never really saw it as a real possibility because I doubted myself continually.
DB: What was the most nerve-wracking round of auditions for you?
SL: Definitely Hollywood Week; it was a constant struggle. I counted it up and in total I had about 10-12 hours of sleep that week. It was a struggle just trying to find the time to practice and figure out what sounds good. That was the toughest round I ever had because it was so hard to focus with so little sleep and all the stuff they were constantly throwing at me.
DB: You said that your audition song emphasized your message more than your ability to sing. What is your message, and why is it so important to you?
SL: I’ve grown up at church since I was young. My youth group has made me the person I am today, being around those people and in that church environment. It was important to me that I convey this is who I am. … My message is for people to value who they are, not to change for anyone and to recognize (they) are a beautiful creation. Other people can say things and judge you, but you can’t let those things get to you.
DB: How did you get in contact with The Street Hearts?
SL: I met a friend – his name is Michael Miller – while I was on the show, who has helped me a lot after the show. … (He) has been a great friend and a blessing to me in a way. He was in contact with Nate Schwartz from The Street Hearts and was talking about Relay for Life. He said he thought I might be interested in playing with them since I was already planning on being in L.A. at the time. I was all for it. I love working with other people who share a passion for music.
DB: Are you working on any projects currently?
SL: I’m working on stuff now. I’ve been writing with other artists. I have been getting some stuff prepared and am hoping to come out with something in August, whether it’s an EP or an album. Whichever it is, I’m working my hardest to get it out.