In “On the Rise,” the Daily Bruin profiles up-and-coming musicians in Los Angeles. Though our subjects do not necessarily have direct connections with UCLA, they are local artists who take advantage of opportunities within the city’s thriving music scene.
Lostboycrow lost his voice during a performance in Boston – but the show turned into one of his best.
The singer didn’t know what to expect from the crowd that night in 2016 since he had never visited Boston before. But seeing no other option, even though his voice was gone from the previous night’s show, he held out the microphone to the unfamiliar audience in blind faith.
“Everyone in the room started singing the chorus right away at the top of their lungs,” LBC said. “It was the best feeling ever.”
The Los Angeles-based musician launched his career with live shows and began making his way onto listeners’ playlists two years ago with his first single “Adolescent.” LBC has had his songs streamed over seven million times on Spotify and featured on its New Music Friday, Indie Pop! and Alternative R&B playlists.
“You know you have a magical voice when you can rack up hundreds of thousands of plays on Spotify, but play it acoustically and have it resonate just as strong,” said Dustin Heveron, LBC’s friend and fellow musician. “His elements of creativity make him captivating whether he’s in front of a thousand people or at a friend’s house.”
[Related: Student’s music career set to scale up with upcoming album]
LBC prefers to be recognized as an artist only through his stage name. He said his music is about self-discovery and hopes he can impart this same message to his listeners.
But before he was known as LBC, the musician said he grew up in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, and was passionate about playing sports. He originally envisioned himself following the footsteps of Michael Jordan and becoming a professional basketball player.
Incidentally, he said he first saw a future in pursuing music during basketball practice. LBC jokingly sang “Your Body Is a Wonderland” by John Mayer one day at the drinking fountain, where some teammates who were also in choir overheard his voice and convinced him to join the school chorale.
LBC was hooked. Influenced especially by the rock music of the band Journey, LBC grew out his hair into his now-signature golden locks and started engulfing himself in pop-punk music when he was 16 years old.
“It started with me getting a ride home from like the only other punk-rock emo kid at the small school I went to being like, ‘Oh, we should start a band,’” LBC said.
LBC said he initially spent most of his early singing and songwriting time jamming in garages. Nowadays each day has a different routine – one day he might wake up, take a jog and watch Netflix, while on another day, he might record in a studio or prepare for photo shoots.
“If you spend any time with Lostboycrow you’ll see how he seamlessly transitions from just speaking into singing beautiful little snippets out of nowhere, as if you’re part of a musical,” Heveron said. “He’s literally always thinking in song.”
“Adolescent” was the first song he wrote years ago on acoustic guitar, and eventually released under the name Lostboycrow in December 2014. Its lyrics portray a conversation between his older and younger self.
“Real Name,” set for release Friday, reflects his discovery of his true artistic identity as Lostboycrow. Growing up in Oregon, he traveled throughout his childhood to locations with wide-open spaces in nature, such as Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota.
“These places are like home to my energy and my spirit,” LBC said.
Lostboycrow is not just a stage name, but also a representation of his role as an artist to connect with people and places on a personal level.
Having resided in Los Angeles for the past three years, LBC said it took coming to a big city for him to fully appreciate the peace, comfort and beautiful scenery of his home city and state.
“I want people to hear my music and see the world in a new perspective – whether it’s a relationship, an epiphany or different cultures around them – and questioning and understanding that,” LBC said.
[Related: UCLA student finds catharsis, closure in first album ‘Red EP’]
Taylor Hotter, a contributing cinematographer for his music video for “Love Won’t Sleep,” said she met him around the time his first extended play came out in 2016. She said she was drawn to his music’s visual storytelling and how it reflected his love of nature.
“He’s a man of the world – he has deep ties to nature, goes on spiritual pilgrimages, is very cultured and is open to embracing people and different things,” Hotter said.
Hotter recalls one music video shoot that required them to wake up at 4 a.m. and shoot at the beach until sunrise. LBC remained positive throughout the process.
Drummer Cole Peterson accompanied LBC during his nationwide tour with indie singer-songwriter VÉRITÉ in December. Peterson said that as a freelance musician, he’s felt fortunate to be performing music he can stand behind.
“The quality of the music is so high and genuine,” Peterson said. “He doesn’t sell out on any level.”
Finding his identity as LBC was only the beginning of his journey as an artist, and he said the adrenaline and excitement of every performance make it feel like his first time all over again.
“If you are so about and into what you’re doing, that’s infectious,” LBC said. “That’s something I’ll always remember when I’m about to take the stage.”
