LVRBOY
Nashville-based artist/songwriter/producer LVRBOY unveiled his latest single “make it” in collaboration with indie-pop artist STRUAN on March 26th.
Co-produced with Garrett Miller, the pop single is about a relationship ending but not being able to pinpoint why it ended.
On “make it”, the two friends painted a timeless pop record delivering captivating melodies and relatable lyrics.
In addition to this collaboration, the two artists have been writing on each other’s project. LVRBOY will be revealing his debut EP next month.
“make it” is now available worldwide.
Photo credit: Jacqueline Day
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I’m originally from Youngstown, OH and moved to Nashville, TN a week after I graduated college. I had been through a lot of musical phases throughout my artist career, but didn’t land on LVRBOY until moving back to Nashville in 2018 after a quick stint of living in NYC. I began co-writing a lot again, but it wasn’t until I wrote my song, “change my mind,” (that was actually me and STRUAN’s first time meeting) that I knew I had landed on something different.
How would you define LVRBOY, the artist?
I’m a hopeless romantic. I love being in love. I landed on the name LVRBOY after finally accepting that it was who I was, and it described me better than my real name ever could. Before LVRBOY, producers and cowriters would always ask me to “write something that isn’t about a girl or love or heartbreak,” and I never really got that. I think those vulnerable topics are what make the best songs, and those are what I enjoy listening to, so why try to write anything else?
"make it" is your latest single. What's the inspiration behind this song?
“make it” is about a relationship ending but not being able to pinpoint why it ended. For me, I couldn’t really find a reason why things weren’t working, they just weren’t, and it was no one’s fault; no clear “bad guy.” Both for me and for my ex, we saw our future together, but it didn’t pan out the way we thought it would. STRUAN had just gone through a similar break-up and was still dealing with the emotions from it.
What made you want to collaborate with STRUAN on this particular record? How did you guys meet?
Me and STRUAN write everything together now, whether it be for my artist project or his, so a collaboration was inevitable. We met a few months after I moved back to Nashville from NYC. Noreen Prunier began setting me up with a ton of amazing writers (LV u) and STRUAN was one of those writers. We wrote my track, “change my mind,” the first day we met, and with such ease. I think we both knew then we’d be writing a lot of songs together.
Could you describe us the songwriting/production process?
It’s obviously different for everyone and I think it changes on occasion. With “make it,” STRUAN and I had written 2-3 songs prior to “make it” with the intention of doing a collab. I remember thinking we had the song we were gonna cut and then coming up with that guitar lick you hear throughout “make it.” I sent a voice memo to STRUAN and was like “dude, this is it.” He was at a party and went into a closet so he could mumble the chorus melody into his phone and then sent it to me. The next day, in the midst of talking about my relationship, I remember saying, “I really thought we would make it,” and STRUAN’s eyes just lighting up. “That’s it! I really thought we would make it.” We wrote it in 25 minutes and recorded it the next week with my producer, Garrett Miller. The production came together really easily and, with me and Garrett, it usually does because 1) I almost always hear the production while writing the song and 2) Garrett knows how to get it there very quickly. I feel really fortunate for my team.
Production wise, what was the inspiration?
While producing “make it,” we wanted to make sure we were meshing both of our vibes into one track. I think a lot of that is shown in the vocal production and delivery, especially in the second verse when the pre melody changes to what I refer to as a “that’s so STRUAN” melody (ie. “you’d get so angry”). We also wanted the track to be somewhat bouncy, allowing the desire to salvage the relationship outshine the fact that it ultimately ended.
What do you like the most about this song?
There are so many things I love about this song but, if I had to choose one thing, it’s that I got to ‘make it’ with my best friend. We wrote it, recorded it, promoted it, shot a music video for it; just everything, start to finish. We got to have a bro moment haha.
What can you tell us about the music video?
There’s a lot of nostalgia included in the video itself. At the beginning of the video, I walk out of my house in East Nashville (that was just hit by the tornado) and you can see houses and trees that just aren’t there anymore. There are also points throughout the video where you can see the streets surrounding my home before the destruction. It’s like night and day. In addition to that, in what was kind of an accident, we actually shot other parts of the music video in my ex’s neighborhood. We ran out of daylight and decided to go shoot near our videographer’s house where she knew there were tons of streetlights. When we arrived, we were in my ex’s neighborhood. Fitting, to say the least.
As an artist, what do you want to accomplish?
This is always a hard question to answer, mostly because I feel like it’s asking to put a cap on your career. I think it’s important to celebrate your little victories; playing that big festival, hitting 5 million streams, or opening for your idol, but they shouldn’t define you. It all starts with the music; I just want to put out good music and keep working, enjoy the ride, and I can look back on what I’ve accomplished after I’ve accomplished it. I think the sky is the limit.
Why do you make music?
I started writing music when I was 9 and had a band ages 15-20, so music is all I’ve ever really known. It wasn’t until the passing of my father (I was 19) that I realized writing could be a way to help me interpret what I was feeling. When he passed, I locked myself in my room and wrote countless songs, which made me want to move to Nashville. Once I began performing songs I had written, I began connecting with people that have felt the same things. There’s a lot of power in that. I live for that connection.
Any upcoming projects?
To say the least. Haha. I have an EP coming out the second week of May, and then a number of things directly following that. STRUAN and I had to cancel our tour and we began rebooking that for the Fall. You can expect a lot of music before the tour.
What are your thoughts on today's global situation? How are you holding up?
It’s weird, for sure. We’ve been quarantining for weeks now and have been taking it very seriously. I’ve only seen 3 people, STRUAN being one of them. I’m staying with a friend because my house still isn’t livable after the tornado, so I’m lucky to have such good friends for sure. In all honesty, I’ve experienced a lot of different emotions over the last few weeks but, all in all, I’ve been good. I’ve been very creative. I’ve been running a lot. STRUAN and I have either been writing or recording together everyday and I can’t wait for everyone to hear this stuff.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
LV each other.
Connect with LVRBOY: