Tour promotes early days of Ludo

The band continues to amass a growing fan base.

By Maura Howard

Published Oct. 23, 2009

Combining smart and witty lyrics with impressive pop styling and electro elements, four-piece Ludo is a band to look out for.

Comprised of Andrew Volpe, Tim Ferrell, Tim Convy and Matt Palermo, the alternative-rock band has been together for six and half years and originally hails from St. Louis.

The band said it did not really get its start until they decided to get serious and make the move to Tulsa, Okla.

"It worked really well," Convy said. "We all came down to Tulsa and we didn't really have any friends, we didn't know anyone so we didn't do anything except play music, book shows and work on the band. I think it made a difference just to get ourselves out of St. Louis and make our lives, well, just the band."

After playing together for about three weeks, the band released its self-titled album Ludo and then two years later released the EP Broken Bride . Ludo is promoting these earlier albums on tour, giving fans a taste of how the band started out.

"Basically we have more fans now," Convy said. "It's cool because a lot of people didn't buy these albums until a while after we put them out, so this is the first time they are ever hearing these songs live."

One of the major changes Ludo has made in past couple years is signing with the major record label Island Records, which Convy said definitely helped the band.

"We spent a lot more time making the record that we wanted to make," Convy said. "We had all the best equipment available to us and we weren't in the studio in our own time counting pennies and counting the hours, trying to get it all done."

This luxury made quite the difference as their latest album titled, You're Awful, I Love You , released in February 2008, put the band on the map in the alternative world. This album included radio hits like "Love Me Dead" and "Go-Getter Greg."

Besides intricate guitar sequences and use of electronic sounds, the album is known for it's original and witty lyrics, which leave fans wondering where these ideas come from.

"Sometimes it's just kind of an idea or an emotion and you just kind of fill in all the blanks," Convy said. "Or take a story and just take it to the extreme. We try to base as much of it on as reality as possible. The emotions are real but the characters or events may not be."

It is this newest album that landed Ludo at major music festivals, such as Lollapalooza, Warped Tour and South by Southwest.

With three records and multiple major tours behind them, Ludo is continuing to build its fan base.

"We're feeling pretty good about things right now," Convy said. "We've been able to pay some bills and play just about everywhere in the country. We really just want to keep going. We've chosen a time when music is tough and we have chosen a tough profession, but we feel pretty good about what we're doing."

Convy also said the band plans to head back into the studio in January to create another record.

The group will be performing Saturday at The Blue Note.