Welcome everyone to This Was The Scene, the podcast that takes a look back at the late 90s / early 2000 Nj Jersey Punk scene, I am your host, Mike Doyle.

LWL is a three piece pop-punk band from the quaint woodland community of Bernardsville, NJ. Their band members consisted of Steve on guitar and vocals, Rob on bass and Ivan on the drums.

Unlike the many other punk bands which call NJ their home, LWL had a magnificent sound all to their own. The fierce but catchy guitar riffs combined with the overpowering tone of the bass and the blazing speed of the drums created a sound which is all but dull. Add in melodic vocals and stirring harmonies and you've got a masterpiece. No, wait, you've got LWL.

Thank you Sputnikmusic.com for doing the work for me on that write-up. I was able to reconnect with Steve a few weeks back and break down the origins of the band.

In this interview, we talk about -

• We briefly talk about Avery
• How they started playing shows
• Dan from Joystick
• How he preferred local bands over bigger bands
• Taxicab Samurais
• What is Left Wing Lester
• Which songwriting style was easier to write, a pissed off song or happy song?
• Rob joining the band and how it benefited the band
• Our weekend tour with them
• How Steve’s geeking out on the WWE got me into it
• Jay Pinball
• Their school bus
• What was up with Dunkin Donuts
• More Dan from Joystick
• Why other bands made it and we didn’t
• Heath Midtown almost being in the band
• How he reconnected with Chris Badami after listening to this podcast
• And a shit ton more

Before we being, mark your calendars for July 21 at the Debonair Music hall in Teaneck NJ my old band Lanemeyer will be sharing the stage with our buddies Humble Beginnings and Jettison. Pre-sale tickets are currently available for $15 and then $20 at the door.

Tickets are definitely selling so get in on the action before it sells out. You can find tickets thiswasthescene.com or in the show notes.

There will be some more surprises in the upcoming weeks which I will talk about in the coming weeks. One thing that I will be mentioning is the after party at Debonair once shows is over. The venue will be open until 2 am and we are getting a special guest DJ who will be spinning some punk rock. 

Thank you again to the people who’ve donated to the podcast. If you’d like to do so just go to thiswasthescene.com and send whatever you’d like. It helps me with the $20/month to keep this thing live. I’m actually in the process of making shirts so keep checking the thiswasthescene facebook page or thiswasthescene.com to see if they’d be something you’d rock in public.

And also, thanks again to everyone who has text or facebook messaged me with your kind words about the show. I love hearing from everyone and am surprised that so many people are actually listening to this thing. It’s very thoughtful and I appreciate all of your messages.

Feel free to subscribe, leave a review and share this with anyone who would love some nostalgia.

With that said, let's get started.