So when did the initial idea for ‘Lente Viviente’ come together?
Good morning! Good to be back with you, and thanks as always for your support.
We released an EP in 2019 (Occam’s Foil), an LP in 2021 (Amuse De Q), and a couple singles in 2023 (“Silver Tongue” and “Amber Waves (GoodBye)”). We also toured a bit from 2022-24, and so the momentum we have built led us to the idea of making another full-length album. And when I say “full-length,” let’s be clear…these are Micro-Epics! Meaning, yeah, there are only 7 songs and just over 26 minutes of music, but damn if it doesn’t FEEL longer.
I exited my former non-music endeavor in early 2024, and because I love entrepreneurship and startups, a new business venture also seemed in order. I connected with Arielle Alelunas, a friend who assisted with the shoot for our “Bombs Away” video in 2021. We had both thought about starting a Video Memoir business, as we share a passion for video, storytelling, and preserving legacies. As such, LivingLens Memoirs was born.
The next months have seen me interviewing seniors about their lives. Typically, their families are with them when we conduct the memoir interview, and so we get a chance to hear from the source and then their loved ones. Their recollections of time, place, events, and utter minutiae are FASCINATING. We all see nostalgia and current concepts through our own unique lenses that have been forged by experience and, let’s face it, DNA.
That intersection of a new company and a new album led Little King to conceptualize and then produce our 8th release, Lente Viviente.
How did you get to the title ‘Lente Viviente’, and what does it mean to you?
Building on my last answer, I think the filters through which EVERYTHING is processed by human beings is the main through-line for Lente Viviente. Whether it’s the lens of nostalgia for what we remember as “better days,” or drugs, homelessness, cultural and physical identity, or just how we approach out twilight years, this record examines the way we all see ourselves and each other and WHYS of it all.
Can you elaborate on some of the main themes and influences that run throughout ‘Lente Viviente’?
Sure! The best way is to just briefly describe each song and how it ties in. I won’t overdo it.
“Catch and Release” – Themes of nostalgic memories on a boat with my dad fishing the Yellowstone. He’s alive and well and it was fun to share this one with him. “I liked the fishing themes, Ryan.” Indeed, Len! Polarized lenses allow a fly fisherman to see underwater, as info. Will make sense when you hear the tune.
“Dawn Villa” – I grew up in a neighborhood of the same name in suburban Mercer Island, WA. My neighborhood was incredibly unique and the memories are formative. We actually all stay in touch 50 years or so later, and that’s remarkable on every level. Was just my buddy Tim’s birthday (“Smith Hill” in this song) and we chopped it up like we were still 7 years old.
“Who’s Illegal?” – Little King writes and rehearses at our studio in Downtown Tucson in a kind of sketch area. It’s also just south and east of the Presidio area, which is sort of the cultural and legal center of downtown. I walk it daily, and I was inspired to sing about the different cultures who have occupied and shared this land for hundreds (thousands?) of years. It’s odd to me that all of a sudden, without regard for all of the time passed, that we are so vociferous about “this land is MY land.”
‘Kindness for Weakness” – That’s me…hardcore, but soft in the middle! I see myself waaaay differently, I think, than even my closest family and friends do. There’s a lot going on in here. I think they know that, but the content of it all? Only my son really knows that well, I think.
“Sweet Jessie James” – It’s a secret!
“Pass Through Filters” – Part 2 of the Downtown Tucson saga, this song examines homelessness, addiction, and absolute desperation. It’s so prevalent down here, and really in every major city in the country. Do we have the will? I don’t know…but I DO know that help is needed. The filters into the brain…
“The Living Lens” – aka “Lente Vivente” in English! An anthem for the fight against boredom, lack of gratitude, and a plea for presence. “Shifting 5 degrees/Center left afield/Focus on the trees…” Awesome vocals from my friend Laura Sadie Bette on the choruses. She nailed it.
And how does the record compare to anything else that you’ve done before?
I believe it’s our best work. Having a new rhythm section with Dave Hamilton on bass and cello and Tony Bojorquez on drums really invigorated things. I love Eddy (Garcia, drums) and Manny (Tejeda, bass) a lot as brothers and bandmates. We will jam together again! But for Lente Viviente, having new blood and new ideas was a revelation.
Dave arranged strings and played cello on a few songs on the last couple Little King records, so we are really familiar with each other. We played live about 4 times together, too. Just a great friend and a MONSTER musician. His lines have ABSOLUTELY brought us to another level. Tony is another fabulous and passionate musician and true mensch. We hit it off immediately and our rehearsals were very productive early in March and April.
We really embraced the “micro-epic” concept. There were more than a couple times that we would, as a song ended, check the stopwatch and be incredulous that a song might only be 3:30 long. NO WAY. They felt longer because they’re involved, intricate, and I think thoughtful. Brevity for it’s own sake is a slippery slope, as that can lead to over-editing. But the writing of these 7 songs just evolved as more concise. As a result, the record feels kind of longer than it really is. I am thrilled with that.
Tell us something about ‘Lente Viviente’ that no one else knows?
Okay…maybe people close to me and my life figured it out, but the word “lente” contains my dad’s first name, Len. So does the company I co-founded, Living LENS Memoirs. I am a nerd ex-English teacher and I cannot resist a good pun. Very metal, right?
Who produced ‘Lente Viviente’, and what were they like to work with? (If you produced it, then what was that like, and what do you enjoy the most about working that way?)
I produced the album, but we had a new-to-Little King engineer for the first time since 2004. I met a gentledude named Ricky Wascher on social media, and we shared a lot of things in common. First of all, we are the same age, and that always helps bond people together, I think. You know, same movies/music/cultural and social upbringing. He also lives and works here in Tucson, where I have lived now for the last 5 years. After doing some demos with Eddy in El Paso, I kind of just decided not to do that again. 20 years of working with one engineer is a long time. I know the album is always gonna sound like Little King, but I wanted a different set of ears and gear this time around.
Ricky is pretty OCD like me, and so very little slipped through the cracks and into mixing. His mastery of vocal arrangement and harmonies helped me so much, too. He hears voices! Seriously, I am so pleased with the vocals on this album, both because of the tracking and mixing, but also because of the harmony arrangements. That’s really pretty new territory for us, at least with as many as this record has, and it makes us better. Kudos to Ricky for that! Dave and Tony are great singers, by the way, so the live performances should be even more powerful than the album.
What else can we expect from you in 2025, going in 2026?
Dave, Tony, and I are discussing that as we speak. All of us are rehearsing and jamming separately, and we have an eye on like December for a few shows on the west coast. After that, I am set on festivals in Europe and Canada for 2026. Those are bucket-list items, and I desire to check them off playing our asses off to festival crowds. That’s gonna be new for us, and Dave/Tony/Ryan haven’t played a show together yet. But I am certain we will be ready and meticulous with our performance. Then, when we extend and let it rip live, you’re gonna see some shit…
