Years ago, Lorenzo Goetz jumped onto the CU music scene with their Sublime-esque swagger. Frontman Larry Gates cited the Iron Post as the venue that really gave the band a chance in their early days, even when it would just be them and their girlfriends at shows.
Gates recalls a night early in their career when they played two shows – and got smashed at the first.
“[The second show at the Iron Post] is when Lorenzo Goetz officially became a rock band,” Gates said.
Fans flocked to the Iron Post Friday night, Oct. 13, for one of the band’s final performances.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the group announced that “after almost six years, 300 shows, two EPs, one LP, 18 states and 75,000 miles logged – Lorenzo Goetz will be calling it quits,” according to an online statement.
Gates said that, for the first time, each band member’s situation is tilted. The expenses of touring have become too overwhelming for four grown men who have to pay bills, he said.
“It’s not that hard to get a little fame, but it’s really hard to get a little fortune,” Gates said.
Friday night, fans came out to sing and dance to a setlist spanning the band’s career, from their 2003 EP Allure to unreleased material written after 2006’s The Heavy EP.
Gates said he felt fans didn’t know how to react at first to the Oct. 13 show, considering the recent news of the breakup. However, after the band launched into “Designs,” the crowd became more into it and the show turned into a party like any other Lorenzo Goetz show, he said.
Although most people sat at the tables, the section closest to the stage stood and danced throughout the show; Gates gave out free T-shirts to the best dancers.
Perpetual dance numbers such as “Alright,” “Several Days Away” and “Never Look Directly Into a Disco Ball” kept the crowd in motion.
Gates said he plans to stay in the CU area at least until his lease runs out in the summer. He says he has tons of ideas as to what is coming next. He specifically mentioned possible collaborations with Czar Absolute of Animate Objects among others, as well as the possibility of going into production with Lorenzo Goetz guitarist Josh Miethe.
Gates elaborated that half the next album has already been written, so there is plenty of material with which to work. It seems as if Lorenzo Goetz will not be the last we hear of Larry Gates. He is not sure what the other band members have planned.
“I never expected Lorenzo Goetz to be Aerosmith,” Gates said. He said his expectations were to learn more about himself and where he wants to go in the music business. He feels that he has accomplished this, and said the experience was like school.
Lorenzo Goetz has two shows remaining in the CU area. The first will be on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Rock’s. Gates said they will be playing nearly everything at that show because the owner has invited them to play a long set.
The band’s last show will take place on New Year’s Eve at Cowboy Monkey, with elsinore opening. Gates said that depending on how those tickets sell, more shows may be scheduled.
[Note: This article was intended for last week’s issue. Since then, Lorenzo Goetz has announced an impromptu show this Saturday night, Oct. 28, in a tent in the parking lot of Rock’s in Champaign. Showtime is 9 p.m., come in costume.]
