Patty Fantasia | LoveSick Radio Finds a New Home in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is known for being a city of dreams, a Mecca for entertainment and the place to come for those looking to take a chance. So it’s no surprise that some of our latest residents, members of a hot young band called LoveSick Radio are hoping to hit that Trifecta. They made their debut as Sin City locals rocking two shows at Ravello inside the M Resort Spa Casino on Friday August 10th and are looking forward to playing sporadically while they produce and record their second album, which is at this time still untitled.

Presently, the band is spending most of their time on the writing phase for their new CD with help from Mark Spiro, who has 45 gold and platinum records to his credit. They appreciated the diversion from the amount of time they’ve been spending now in the studio and the chance to test the waters and play in front of live audiences.  “Working in music is a process,” Josh said adding that you can’t force creativity.  At the moment they have 10 songs done, of which 5 or 6 may end up on the new album.

LoveSick Radio

The Las Vegas kickoff helped take the edge off not “gigging” for awhile, which is something LoveSick Radio obviously enjoys.  Besides playing their music they like experiencing new environments and meeting people. So touring is part of the fun.  The band has travelled the world twice and Josh admits he has fun working the crowds.  “We like diversity,” he concluded.  This is one of the reasons the group is happy to call Las Vegas home.  They’re also set to perform again on Saturday, August 25th at 7pm at the House of Blues as one of the 12 bands competing in Mix Radio 94.1’s Battle of the Bands for the coveted honor of performing during their Bite of Las Vegas Event on September 29th at Desert Breeze Park.

All four members of the band, Justin Theriault (Vocals), Josh Masters (Bass & Vocals), David Harris (Guitar & Vocals) and Scott “Smalls” McCann (Live Drummer), hail from Columbus, Ohio.  Since they’ve been together they have had a song in the Top 50 on the pop charts; performed with numerous acts including Three Days Grace, Kid Rock, Bon Jovi, Hinder, David Cook and New Found Glory and been featured on MTV.

Well-known in the Midwest, the band has developed a devoted fan following and have performed twice overseas for our troops scoring their first big break when they beat out thousands of bands across North America by being selected as one of the thirteen winners in the 2010 Bon Jovi “Wanted: A SuperBAND Tonight!” contest. Over three million votes were cast by fans during the intense competition with the winners opening for the legendary group during “The Circle Tour” and being able to perform 20 minutes of original music. Since then LoveSick Radio has received many other accolades including winning two days on the 2012 Warped Tour and last summer being selected by the Recording Academy to play in Los Angeles during the GRAMMY Block Party held by the LA Chapter at their Santa Monica Headquarters.

Describing itself as a rock and roll band that doesn’t mind showing itsemotional side, the group admits being influenced by musical icons such as Bob Dylan, Poison and The Rolling Stones.  The original foursome consisted of former band mate Josh McGee, David Harris, Josh Masters and Justin Theriault. Guitarist Harris met the other three when they were part of the already formed band Cleverin. He hit it off immediately with front man Theriault and the duo wrote two songs during their first meeting.  From there the band came together as a four man group. After several attempts to settle on a name and feeling as though nothing was quite right, they hit upon their moniker when McGee, who has since left the band to become a firefighter in Ohio, came into the studio following a breakup and said, “It seems that every song on the radio is about love – doesn’t matter what station it is, it’s all lovesick radio.”

Despite the success they had with their first full length album Heartbreak 4 Dummies, which was released in November 2010 and featured the hit song “Boys Don’t Mater”, they weren’t satisfied with their management or the direction they were heading in at the time.  Fate intervened when they met Ohio native Cat Thomas, who is a programmer for CBS Radio in Las Vegas, at an Ohio State Football Game alumni party. They were still under contract at the time, but Thomas was impressed with their sound and kept in touch.   When they were free they worked independently for a short time handling their own booking and marketing until Cat introduced them to their current manager Susan Joseph, the CEO of Justice Entertainment Group. As a result they have a healthy respect for the effort it takes to keep a band in the public eye and were thrilled to be taken under Susan’s wing. They are comfortable with the feeling of family her firm encourages and appreciate the resources and opportunities she has been able to provide so they can continue to keep growing.  As for Joseph, she found the band’s unique sound and dynamic chemistry refreshing and believes talent wise they’ve yet to reach their full potential.  “In the enormous pool of indie bands, it is often difficult to wade through the mediocre to get to the great, but this band swam to the top. The lead singer, Justin Theriault is an amazing front man who sings and raps; the musicianship is great; the writing is great and they are awesome live. I have every belief they are one of the few that will make a serious impact on the industry,” Susan said.

Despite the recent move to Las Vegas, the foursome hasn’t had a chance to do much exploring.  However, they like what they’ve seen so far. “Honestly I’ve been here for 3 weeks,” Josh laughed explaining that he’d barely unpacked his suitcases before having to leave for Miami to attend a family gathering that included a bachelor party.  He has noticed, “There’s a whole lot of flavor here in Las Vegas,” Justin added, “Anywhere but home is a cool change for me.”

Justin managed to fit in a wedding to his girlfriend and quick honeymoon before making the move and likes the fact that Las Vegas has something going on all the time. Although he hasn’t been able to form much of an opinion yet on the entertainment scene, he did find time to check out the show Absinthe at Caesar’s Palace, which he described as crude, but great.

LoveSick Radio
Photo credit: Patty Fantasia

LoveSick Radio credits their hard work and an impressive track record of live performances with helping them reach their current level of success, which continues to build.  As bassist Masters concluded, “Our goal is to write great songs and keep playing until the world realizes how good we are.”  Although it may take a little while for the world to catch on, Las Vegas is already taking notice.