Interview with american band THE HOTEL LOBBY
— Please tell us about your project, when was it created and whose idea was it?
— The project is called The Hotel Lobby. We are a singing/songwriting production duo, currently focusing our creative energy towards DJing and performing the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) originals and remixes we create. The idea came from Johnny’s passion for going to festivals and EDM events, inspired by the production the top tier DJs created. We have a rich background in musical and visual production and we felt those skills would give us something different to offer the world of EDM. We both came from the performance world and have toured separately in our own respective groups before we met backstage at Wango Tango. We solidified a friendship and a bond in music. When both of our groups fell apart, we reached out to each other and both still had a strong passion to do something but wasn’t sure what direction to go. We started doing our own version of live remixes and use the visual production abilities to put cool videos together. After seeing a few amazing, visually mind blowing, energy filled DJ sets, we were hooked. We knew what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. The rest of the story is still being written.
— Can you tell about each member of your group? How did the members of your project meet? How long have you all known each other?
— The members of The Hotel Lobby consist of Johnny Lee and Tai A.D. We originally met backstage at Wango Tango where we were both performing in each of our respective groups. After, we’d run into each other at different events we’d be playing at or awards shows we’d attend. We also had some of the same movie and show placements for our songs while we were in separate groups. We’ve known each other for about 12 years now.
— Who musically inspired you in your childhood? How did music become a part of your lives?
— For Tai, music was part of his life at a very young age. His mom and sisters would play everything from Motown to Hip Hop to 80’s Pop. His passion eventually stayed in the realm of Hip Hop. He started playing saxophone when he saw his mom light up listening to some live jazz. That first experience with his new instrument lead to interest in all kinds of live instrumentation including piano, drums, violin and finally fell in love with the guitar. Beside the very distinct sound of Hip Hop, he was not so much into genres of music, but more so the vibe and the feeling the music left him with. His idea of genre-less music comes through in much of his production and writing, creating a very unique sound. For Johnny, he was introduced to playing piano at the age of 4. Music was always a part of his daily life so it was a natural transition to meeting other classmates that had similar interested and he formed his first band in high school. Since then he has been a part of many different music groups and even as a solo artist. His love for collaboration with others is what fuels THL today.
— How did you manage to achieve such a success in a short time?
— The team. Our manager Doug and tour manager Matt have been influential in the success we’ve seen. Johnny’s hustle isn’t to be short changed. If there was anyone with more desire to succeed than to sleep and eat, it’s Johnny. The imagination that comes with some of the hair brain ideas is why the most outlandish plans work. For an example, we get up one morning and he decides we need to be backstage at a concert to try and meet Zedd, Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, Halsey, etc. No backstage passes, hookups, GA tickets, or even an idea what it would look like to get back there, but we knew that was the mission. Just hours later I’m at the airport and on a plane with just the clothes on my back and blind faith. Now we’re taking pictures with Taylor Swift, Zedd, Marylin Manson, Jonas Brothers, hell the media had even thought that Jordan Sparks and Johnny were dating for a second! Zero to one hundred is how this team lives and that’s why they’re going to be the biggest thing the EDM world has seen.
— You also write your own music, don’t you?
— We write, produce, mix and perform our own music. Also, shoot our own videos, 100% independent. But we do love us some collabs!
-Tell us about some of your favourite shows together. Why was it the best?
— We probably have different ideas of what our favorite shows were, and every time we perform, I (Tai) find myself having another favorite. So far, it’s our show with Krewella for me. Mainly because when we have mics and can perform our live set, we’re unstoppable. No one is going to have a better show than us. We weren’t given the mics for that show, but the energy we put out was undeniable. I think we went harder because we didn’t have our mics, but everyone felt it! It felt like we tapped into something different that night, but for me it was unforgettable.
— How have you managed to keep your group’s momentum going during the pandemic? What will you do in the future with all the impending covid restrictions ‘knocking again at our doorstep’?
— Having our hands in everything possible helped us stay relevant. Between hosting a radio show, to doing virtual productions, and any Covid safe events we could be part of, we participated. We also wrote our asses off. We released a song a week for 2 months. If we couldn’t be seen, we wanted to be heard and wanted to stay relevant to the fans we’ve made thus far. We were only on for 2 years before Covid, so we could’ve easily been sinking or quit. Instead, we made huge strides forward. If we see a repeat, we will just repeat the steps that made us successful the 1st time. Only now we’re experienced and can execute better.
— I see that your group is a huge advocate for «stopping Asian Hate», Many of our international readers are naive to this situation in America, can you tell us more? How has your group aligned itself to this cause?
— We can speak on our experiences and what we’ve seen. We can’t necessarily educate the international community on what is exactly going on, but we can share our experience to paint a picture of what others may be experiencing as well. This country has a tough record on race relations amongst its own citizens. We (THL) come from diverse backgrounds, immigrant families and have experienced our share of discrimination and hate. In 2020, when our world felt like it was bubbling over and everyone was feeling a type of way about George Floyd and the constant visuals of police brutalizing citizens of color, we did what we knew would make us feel better and we wrote about it. We wrote a song called “Tonight” laying bare the pain we felt during that time and coming together in solidarity with our communities. We were brothers supporting each other in our anger, confusion and sadness. Then, no time later in 2021, we start seeing our AAPI brothers and sisters being brutalized, for nothing. Stories starting coming in daily about Asian seniors being attacked and the most vulnerable brothers and sisters from the AAPI community. Everyday it felt like something horrific was happening. That was the point we felt compelled to do something bigger. The same song we wrote a year prior was relevant, if not more so, a year later. It felt like we were just passing around this hate towards us across cultures. A big movement arose from the chaos, uniting the Black Community and the Asian Community. We didn’t plan it, but the moment hit us head on. We went on various new outlets, TV stations, protests letting anyone who’d listen know what was going on, advocating for our brothers and sisters who felt targeted. We wanted people to know the community had their back and that bigotry and hatred were on notice. We were aligned to the cause because we had a strong personal connection to the cause and a platform to be load about it.
— Future creative plans ?
— Future plans are to keep creating and keep pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible within EDM. The Hotel Lobby has something unique, you can’t help but want to get down with now, so you can say “I remember them when they weren’t worldwide!” In the small amount of time we’ve been around, we’ve been asked to play in markets that haven’t even seen us. They hear we bring a hell of a show and we don’t disappoint. The sky is the starting point for THL and we’ll only take off from there.