Note: personal fan page to collect and publish stuff I dig. Not managed or endorsed in any way by the artist. "Lions," as you can imagine, is a commonly used name for creative acts. This page is specifically for LIONS, the since-disbanded rock group from Austin, Texas.
Lions (stylized as LIONS) were an American rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 2005. The lineup consists of singer Matt Drenik, guitarist Austin Kalman and drummer Jake Perlman. Trevor Sutcliffe was Lions’ bassist from their formation until his departure in 2009, where he was replaced by Mike Sellman. The band formed following the breakup of The Good Looks, the previous band of both Drenik and Perlman.
To date, Lions have released one studio album; No Generation (2007), and two EPs; Volume One (2006) and Let No One Fall (2009). Since 2007, their music has been licensed for television shows (Sons of Anarchy and Californication) as well as video games (Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010).
LIONS were one of those bands I had the good fortune to see a handful of times over the years. The first show was on a rainy night when I was still living in that shitty one-bedroom in downtown Denver. They went on stage at 11:30 on a Wednesday night at the Three Kings lounge and played to me, two drunks, and a bored bartender.
The next time they came through Denver they opened for The Toadies at the Gothic, playing to a sold-out crowd. They rocked. They were the exact kind of garage-band, thrash-about, loud and rude sort of acts that fit perfectly with a pissed off mood.
Of course, I wish they were still around. Everyone wishes their favorite band stayed together. But, alas, making a living as a full-time musician is next to impossible nowadays. Kids enter the picture, debts pile up, new ambitions are discovered.
Sometimes, the best you can hope for is that their art keeps showing up in all the new ways it tends to do.
Track: Gimmie Riot from a UK EP release in 2009.
