Hershey, PA alternative post-hardcore act Lives Lost has released their latest single, ‘Letting Go Of Ghosts’. The hard-rocking, radio-ready single is a personal one for frontman Tanis Pellegrini. “This song is very simply put us letting go of the ghosts of our past,” explains Pellegrini. “Toxic relationships both familial and romantic tend to weigh people down for years and they struggle to let go of the past. This is a call to action to lose that toxic sludge and let go of the past with us.”

We had the chance to interview Lives Lost as part of our Refrain Interview Series. Check it out below.

Refrain Music Blog: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. You have a new single out now. What’s it called?

Lives Lost: It’s called Letting go of ghosts.

RMB: What is the song about, in terms of lyrics? Any overarching messages or themes?

LL: It’s about letting go of the toxicity of the past with both familial and romantic relationships and that no matter how hard it is, we must let go of our ghosts to grow.

RMB: Is this single part of an album?

LL: Yes, it’s part of our upcoming EP A Portrait of Loss which is a concept album about a character we have written (whose name isn’t revealed yet, we just called him the protagonist)

RMB: How does this single differ from your previous work?

LL: I think the whole EP is a more concentrated effort. We have essentially experimented through all of our singles except Forward Yesterday which was incredibly well thought out, but we tried a bit of everything and feel like we have more or less refined what we consider OUR sound.

RMB: What’s the story on how it was recorded?

LL: Jeff McKinnon and Evan Seeberger (who are absolutely amazing btw) recorded this track with us at his studio in Lancaster. Took 2 sessions and about 14 hours in all.

RMB: Tell us a little about the band.

LL: We’ve been a band for about a year now, it was formed by myself (Tanis Pellegrini, Lead Vocals, Guitars, Principle songwriting) as a passion project to make music that I always wanted to make. After writing that music, and finalizing the first couple singles, I brought on two of my closest friends Alan Thompson (drums/keys/Backing vox and Aaron Perry (Lead Guitar) who was also lead in my other band at the time as well. After we did the first handful of singles were recorded and released, we acquired two more awesome bandmates in Josh Krizan (Bass/Backing Vocals) and Dylan Kasprzyk (Rhythm Guitar/Co-Lead Vocals/Programming).

RMB: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

LL: This is tough cause I feel like we are all all over the place influence wise, so I’ll list off what I know for sure. For me, it’s a SUPER long list haha. I’d say AFI, Alexisonfire, Atreyu, City and Colour, Coheed and Cambria, Chevelle, Deftones, Fightstar, Funeral for a friend, Killswitch Engage, Metallica, Thrice, and Slipknot. For Alan, I know he is inspired by 70s rock, but also stuff like A7x, EDM, Tool, and Toto. Aaron I know is inspired by lots of pop, but mainly these bands A7X, AFI, John Mayer, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Smiths, The 1975, and Slipknot. Josh is inspired by Counterparts, Four Year Strong, Senses Fail, Silverstein, and The Wonder Years. Dylan is inspired by Attack Attack, Counterparts, Oceans ate Alaska, and Secrets.

RMB: What’s the one thing you are most proud of in your career so far?

LL: For Lives Lost making two quality songs/music videos and wrapping up the process of our Debut EP A Portrait of Loss (Slated for a January 2023 release) is the biggest for us so far.

RMB: If you had to pitch your music to a potential fan in less than 10 seconds, what would you say?

LL: If you want to Rock the fuck out, but also potentially shed a tear from the lyrics while having the chorus melody stuck in your head all day, we are your band!

RMB: What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that you think everyone needs to hear or that has meant the most to you?

LL: Everybody has the potential to be great, but great men are separated from good men by naught more than work ethic and luck.

RMB: If you could go back in time, what’s a piece of advice you would give to a younger you?

LL: Start this band way sooner!

RMB: What’s coming up next for your musical project?

LL: Our EP A Portrait of Loss slated for January 2023 release.

Lives Lost is:
Tanis Pellegrini – Lead Vocals & Song Writing
Alan Thompson – Drums/Keyboards/Backing Vocals
Josh Krizan – Bass/Backing Vocals
Dylan Kasprzyk – Co-Lead Vocals, Guitars, Programming
Aaron Perry – Guitars

Connect with Lives Lost:
Lives Lost LinkTree