Matthew Levinson

Here goes nothing: Five Dollar Day

Published on 29/09/05
by matt

I hit on Five Dollar Day when a CD appeared in my mailbag from the guys at Stylus. It was hidden amongst a bunch of leftfield electronic beats, mostly second rate indie rock and sound art. Minimal information by way of sleeve notes, I couldn’t even tell whether the artist was Five Dollar Day or Black Bears, turns out it’s the former and the latter is the latest album from New Jersey-based 27 year old Lt (Lucas True) Lloyd. The album itself was a lovely, messy mix of alt-country twanging goodness, indie rock hooks and reflective moments and it’s been stuck in my CD player for a few weeks.

Five Dollar Day - Black Bears

I just got back from a 12 hour overnight train trip from hell, sorry Beijing, complete with the roar of a violent snorer in the berth above. For various reasons I haven’t slept in a couple of days, so you’ll have to bare with my brevity. Here’s Lloyd on a few of my questions.

Why the band name? Five Dollar Day, really into Henry Ford?

Actually a friend came up with it. He and I were going to work on songs when it started, but he lived in London at the time and I lived in PA. Henry Ford was an ass.

How did you get into music?

My father always had guitars lying around the house, I messed around with them, but realized his were righty, and I played lefty. I finally got a left-handed acoustic right before college and spent more time fiddling with that than with my classes. I actually blame Pearl Jam for opening my eyes to music and the energy it can contain and express.

Five Dollar Day’s been going 6 years, but it looks as though it was an actual band in the past – why did you pare it back to just you?

Actually, it never was a band. I wish it were. I’ve played very few shows and always recruited a couple of friends to play. Five Dollar Day has been a project of mine for about 6 years. I’ve probably written over 200 songs… most of which you’ll never find anywhere other than on my small blue box and on various tapes. Most of them are terrible concepts that seemed adequate at the moment they were recorded.

What’s this blue box?

Good question. Some digital recording device. It’s a nifty treat, but I still don’t understand how to operate 90% of its capabilities.

What sort of things do you write about? Why bury your vocals so far down in the mix?

I usually write about real events or feelings. Most of my songs are missing a verse or two, which might clarify their meaning for the listener. I just get tired of the music and believe the song would be too long if I included the entire set of lyrics. Often times I’m told that my songs make no sense. I sometimes use current events & history to create a song. The vocals are buried because I can’t sing!

I can’t find much mention of your first three CDs anywhere except your site – were they just released locally or is there info elsewhere? How do you release your music now?

The first three CDs were merely compilations for a few friends who expressed interest. I don’t think they are bad songs, I was just a terrible musician/producer when they were written and recorded and have no intention of sharing them with anyone…again. I don’t/haven’t released my music. Not sure I have enough confidence in any of it. I’ve only sent out a handful to various review sites and magazines. I make it available to anyone who asks for a copy of an album.

Is music a job or a hobby to you?

Hobby. If it’s ever a job I will quit.

What do you think of filesharing, legal downloads, basically the influence of the internet on music?

I’m fine with it. Share and be shared. I suppose that’s easy to say when you’re not relying on sales for a paycheck. I might be angry if I were Metallica.

Read my review of Black Bears by Five Dollar Day at Stylusmagazine.com.

The album’s not readily available, but you can download a few songs (including the lovely Cold Hands and a cover of Elton’s Rocket Man) from Lloyd’s myspace page… He does say somewhere above that he’ll make the album available to anyone who’s interested. Chase him up via myspace.

That's it. What Next?

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