Loyal Divide | Photo By Jason Harper

“Take Five” is a new interview series that will focus on Chicago’s ever-growing music scene by giving you insight on the city’s best local acts via the best source possible: the acts themselves. We ask five questions, and they give five answers. Here is the second installment featuring Loyal Divide.

Chicago-via-Columbus, Ohio psych-pop outfit Loyal Divide have been making quite a name for themselves in the windy city’s eclectic rock scene over the past year. Not only with their fun, high-energy live shows, but the violent, stick-figure video they released just this past may for their dark, electro-funk track “Vision Vision” took the blogosphere by storm. Now, they’re getting ready for the inaugural North Coast Music Festival, set for Union Park this September 3 – 5, and luckily we caught up with Loyal Divide bassist and songwriter Adam Johnson to talk about the festival, the status of their upcoming album and that crazy “Vision Vision” video.

LLP: So you guys have been working on your new album, Bodice Ripper, for a while. Is there a release date for it yet?

AJ: We have one last studio session on September 7. Right now we’re trying to get the track order together, which is taking longer than it should. Plus, we’re getting the art finished. So, we’re trying to get it released by the end of September. However, we’re trying to use a publicist for this release, so we haven’t had our preliminary meeting with the publicist. So, it’s hard to say because I figure we’ll be at the mercy of how he wants to release it.

LLP: Now I checked out the new album track “Perv Fury,” which released on music blog Here Comes the Flood. I thought the song was quite a bit darker than your previous work and had sorta of an old-school prog-rock feel. What kind of approach did the band take on the new record as a whole?

AJ: Well, it’s kind of a grab bag, and that’s only because we have a lot of interests. We’re trying to present a focused collection of songs by having each track share different elements. However, we try and limit ourselves as far as styling is concerned from track to track. So, for instance, a song like “Perv Fury” has a real kind of Blade Runner influence to it, while another track like “DDF” has kind of a Nine Inch Nails thing going on. So, it’s all kind of under an umbrella of darker toned electronic music, but there’s no like real intended direction. It’s just what comes out of us.

LLP: You guys are really well known for your exciting and vibrant live shows. For example, I was talking with Jaime Black of Q101 Local, he told me how cool your show was at the Metro back in January when you dressed up in similar outfits and masks. Is that what your live show has evolved in to these days?

AJ: That was kind of a like a temporary thing we did. Then we decided that it was a little too theatrical and a little too gimmicky for how we want to come across. So we don’t really do that anymore. However, we’ve added another singer, and we’re playing with a saxophonist for a couple of upcoming shows. All the songs were more or less written on a pro tools session, for better or for worse. Now we’re trying to adapt those live but use the least amount of samples as possible. That’s kind of the direction we’re going in, and that’s our main focus now that we’re more or less done with the album.

LLP: Speaking of those costumes you guys were wearing during that live show, they showed up again in that violent, stick-figure video you guys made for “Vision Vision.” How did the concept behind that video come about?

AJ: It was a project of a company called bbgun. We’re friends with the editor at bbgun, so we went and played a show out in New York. They have a loft in China town where it also doubles as their office and living space, so we went there. Basically, they had the idea for it. They do a lot of videos, but I’m not so sure on how many of those projects they get creative control. They were really fans of the song, and they had this idea for it. So, we bought all the supplies for the stick figure costumes, and we spent the next 16 hours in their loft shooting it. Then we drove back home to Chicago, and five months later they had it finished. It was very much like their thing. And they’re doing it again for us in October. We’re going to shoot a video for [new album track] “DDF” in the same kind of do-it-yourself style. So, yeah, they’re a big asset for us.

LLP: Finally, Loyal Divide is playing the inaugural North Coast Music Festival on Sunday, September 5. What are your thoughts on the event seeing how the focus is on electronic music, jam bands and hip hop – genres that are usually pushed to the background in other major music festivals?

AJ: I think it’s a cool concept because our music fits nicely within those genres with the exception of jam bands. We have some hip hop elements, and we of course have electronic elements. I really enjoy listening to that kind of music, and I’ve never been to a festival that has those kinds of genres at the forefront like that. I can say, personally, I’m excited to not only play but check out all the great other acts as well.