We sent Henry Upton from Lionize some questions to talk about their latest album 'Jetpack Soundtrack' as well as their forthcoming apperance on the Lords Of The Riff Tour.

For those readers who are new to Lionize can you give us a brief history of the band and who your musical influences are?
We formed nearly ten years ago basically as a garage band trying to play any show we could get. We've worked our way to national touring and now international shows. We pride ourselves on being a live band.

As far as influences go we are all into classic Rock, a lot of reggae, DC GoGo, funk, jazz... a pretty broad spectrum. Some specific acts are Deep Purple, Steel Pulse, Black Sabbath, Chuck Brown, and Parliament.

You released your latest studio album ‘Jetpack Soundtrack’ earlier on in the year how would you say it has gone down with your fans and the press?
The response has been great. The fans have really dug it and the critical responses have been almost uniformly positive. We are very proud of it.

How did you find the whole writing and recording procedure for ‘Jetpack Soundtrack’?
Intense. We worked harder and did more revisions than we had ever done before. Lyrics were written 6 and 7 times over. Working with Machine is wonderfully exhausting thing. And that's why he is so good at his job.

What would you say your favourite songs from ‘Jetpack Soundtrack’ are and why?
"Sea of Tranquility" is one. We wrote a lot of the dub section live in the studio late one night and that vibe comes across. Machine also did a great job with making that part very trippy.

I'm also a fan of the bridge of "Lazarus Style" which we also wrote in the studio.

You are currently touring America with Bam Margera how has this been?
We just started last night. The crowd was really good. Nice to see some Lionize and Clutch shirts in the crowd. And on a Bam tour you know everybody is there to have a good time.

You are set to play the Lords Of The Riffs Tour in November, how did this come along and how much are you looking forward to it?
Couldnt be more stoked.The shows with Clutch this past April we were floored by the response. So to be back over so soon with great bands and so much support is an ideal situation.

You are touring alongside Kyng during the tour are you looking forward to touring alongside them?
We've been lucky enough to play with Kyng before. Great band and great dudes.

The tour features 11 shows are you looking forward to certain shows more than others?
Nope. All of them are exciting to me.

If you met someone who had never heard of your band, what one song would you suggest them to listen to, to understand what you are all about?
Probably "Evolve" from Jetpack

What would you say your biggest highs and lows as a band have been so far?
One of the big highs was playing Red Rocks with Lee Perry for 10 thousand people. The Clutch show this past April at the Forum in London was a standout. I tend to block out the lows. But flipping our van wasn't fun...

Where do you hope to see Lionize in a year’s time?
Recording the next album I hope.

One last random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a zebra or Giraffe which one would you be?
Giraffe. Giraffes have attitude. And I'm pretty short so that'd be nice.


Thanks for your time is there a message for your fans reading this?
Thank you guys for the support. Keep up with us on all the social media. We're gonna keep doing it!!

Interview by Trigger