The Spotlight: 2020 Catch Up Interview With Lacertilia By Matt Bladen

MoM: How have the band members been handling the lack of touring and even the lack of practicing in 2020?

Lacertilia: We've all been directly affected by the pandemic as far as employment and personal life is concerned. We've had to change our work shifts about, work from home and In some cases, seek out new employment. It has be a mission adapting to the situation whilst simultaneously trying to maintain a healthy and happy home environment with our families. That's a lot to deal with besides giving time and energy to the band. Add on the government restrictions to movement and it makes it very difficult to get all of us in the same room together. We have somehow kept it all together though.

We've been fortunate that Musicbox Studios reopened in Cadiff when the lockdown restrictions were relaxed. Where possible we've utilised the space, even if it's not with the full band each time, to jam out new ideas. We've worked on riffs that individuals created during the lockdown and started to create tracks for our next album. Its good to have something to focus on during these weird times! We are of course all missing live shows and can't wait to get back out there to tear the place up. 

MoM: Were there any gigs/shows/events that you were particularly gutted to have missed?

Lacertilia: Ah man, we had so many good festivals lined up for this year - Desertfest, Riffolution, Stonebaked Festival, Kozfest, Sonic Rock Solstice, Equinox . . We're absolutely gutted we never got to play any of them. Ah well, we'll come back bigger and badder next year with some new tracks to test out :-)

MoM: What did you have to do to adapt to the pandemic situation, i.e digital releases, videos, live streams?

Lacertilia: We had our new album 'Calling The Quarters' ready to go during the first lockdown so we put our energies into promoting that. Obviously we couldn't tour the album as planned but there were other things we could crack on with. Mike worked on editing footage to make a video for "Cloaks & Daggers', Me and Ed set up our own label 'Proper Tidy' records as a platform for the album (and to release some more Welsh rock in the not too distant future!), we all recorded footage of ourselves for the track 'Furthur' (which Mike also craftily edited!) Me and Ed spent lots of time messaging all the zines, magazines and promo folk we could think of with the aim to get some features and reviews of the album. We've adopted a proper DIY approach to everything - zero budget, no PR company, everything done in house. It's kept us busy that's for sure. We haven't bothered to do any live streaming shows so far, we've been so busy with everything plus we're holding out for a real live gig! Saying that, if this shit drags on, maybe we'll sort something out . .

MoM: What are the plans for Lacertilia going forward in 2021? (Obviously as far as the pandemic allows) 

Lacertilia: We're not holding our breath for any gigs or festivals to take place in 2021. If they do happen that will be a bonus for us. Our plans are to finish writing our album then get it recorded. We probably should sort out a live stream or even a pre recorded sesh at some point. We shall see!