By: Isabella Luciani, Fiction Editor and Music Coordinator
I corresponded with Max Lucas over email in early April to ask about his concept album Johnstown. Here are some highlights of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.
When did you start creating music?
LEG officially formed in the spring of 2019. Josh and I (Max) were part of a punk band, called Captain Billy. We ended up making an electronic song as a joke on a day when our band could not practice. However, in the process of making this song, we both realized there was a great amount of potential in the medium. Josh is a formally trained Jazz percussionist, and I am a self-taught producer. We both have a similar sense of humor, so it made sense to situate our artistic efforts in the guise of a joke.
Our first full-length musical effort was a concept album about the local State College bar Sharkies Pool Hall because we thought a joke our friend made about it was hilarious. As we spent time making the project Josh and I found an opportunity to talk about deeper philosophical ideas and work in story elements. Our collective influences led both of us to be infatuated with the cohesive nature of concept albums. After releasing our first story-based album to a very mild success we thought it would be interesting to up the ante—the result was Johnstown.
What kind of music, musicians or writers inspired you?
LEG has a number of influences musically. From the work of Frank Zappa and Bill Buford to the Wu-Tang Clan and Danger Mouse. On top of musical inspirations, literary influences include Hunter S. Thompson, Philip K. Dick, and Albert Camus. Honorable mentions include the comic book artist Grant Morrison and manga artist, Katsuhiro Otomo.
We have a great deal of respect for the art of fiction, and although neither of us writes fictional narratives by ourselves, writing is always a critical part of our creative process. There are many loose storylines and narratives in a number of notebooks that contain shards of LEG’s many musical adventures.
Besides our shared love of music, it is likely we use music as a tool in these stories because of its unique cinematic qualities. Just as fiction allows a reader to escape into a certain part of their imagination, music serves as a key to a unique part of a person’s brain. Sometimes when the stimulus comes from another angle, it opens the brain to new and unique ideas. Plus, how many raps songs with loud bass about obscure narrative elements do you know? It’s a small niche, and that puts us in a position to succeed with our authentically goofy sonic adventures.
What led you to create this album, “Johnstown”?
Originally, just like our other projects, Johnstown started with a focus on humor. Retro Futuristic content is in no shortage in our current media landscape and Josh and I, again, thought it would be funny to create this type of story in a relatively depressing city like Johnstown. The album Johnstown was started in early 2020 before the onset of Covid-19, but most of the project was crafted within the context of the pandemic. Due to the complex reality 2020 pushed on Josh and me, the album Johnstown shifted its lens a little bit. While living in an age that felt like technology was our only means for human connection, we ended up exploring what it entailed to be human in an ever-encompassing digital reality.
What’s the most difficult aspect of producing an album like this?
Besides the difficulties of meeting with people during a pandemic, the LEG creative process presents a unique set of challenges. It is a balancing act of trying to create a reasonable ratio of narrative to music. When seeking to tell a story like Johnstown it sometimes feels like the entire thing should be dialogue; however, the music plays a critical part in the telling of a tale. There also is a drag to write music for music’s sake, something we are not opposed to but typically try to avoid. LEG’s music also manically flips back and forth from pop-like hard-hitting hip-hop tones and experimentally prog-rock and jazz influences. Finding the perfect sweet spot of pushing and boundaries and being accessible is an impossible and constant battle in our creative process. LEG isn’t seeking to create a pop hit album or even songs most people like—rather our pursuit focuses on creating a fundamentally timeless piece of art that explores the parts of humanity too gray to put to just words. It also must be funny…
Can you tell us more about the storyline of this concept album?
Many elements of the storyline are not explicitly stated in the album, because we didn’t want narrative exposition to interfere too heavily with the music.
The overarching idea behind Johnstown is that man has replaced God with technology and finds that technology still cannot answer questions of meaning.
Beneath that idea, many smaller conflicts are playing out. For example, Gunther is a test tube baby, and AHAB is an artificial intelligence. Both of these beings were created as projects in a technology education class, taught by the mysterious Doctor Zoon. The history of Gunther and AHAB suggests an interplay between technology and spirituality. Because they were both created through artificial means, these characters are firmly technological in nature. However, their feelings towards Doctor Zoon as a “father” suggest a deeper level of humanity.
To compensate for the lack of exposition, we have attempted to add characterization through music. For example, AHAB is a childlike being who is not ready to accept the reality of a post-flood Johnstown. The abrupt end of “AHAB’s Theme” is symbolic of AHAB’s inability to smoothly transition into maturity after the sudden loss of his classroom family to the Johnstown Flood of 2032.
The feud between Gunther and AHAB represents the war of ideas that must be played out to determine the future course of humanity. In the end, these two beings end up meeting each other halfway. Gunther is converted to a digital being, which brings him closer to the experience of AHAB. And, after exploring Gunther’s mind, AHAB learns to feel emotion, which makes him feel grief at the loss of his classroom family in the flood of 2032. As a result of this grief, AHAB crashes the ARC into the Johnstown Inclined Plane.
What happens after the crash? We are exploring that in our third album.
Who else worked with you on this project?
A few of the vocal samples from the songs are recordings of our friends but besides that, the entire story, music, and video were created by the two of us. The album is truly a labor of love.
Anything else you want readers to know about LEG or this project?
LEG is in the process of writing more music. Our third full-length album LEG III should be out by the end of the year.
Also, please check out the video for Johnstown!
LEG music is an experimental electronic music duo in the State College area. Comprised of Josh Morgan and Max Lucas, two students currently attending University Park, LEG music has found and crafted its identity at the Pennsylvania State University. LEG blends cutting-edge sonic textures and engaging storytelling to create a distinctly unique audio experience, unlike anything you have heard before. LEG is the music of the future.
Isabella Luciani is a junior English and Psychology double major. Isabella has been reading and writing stories for as long as she can remember. She’s also on the Fiction and Copy-Editing Committees of Kalliope, Klio’s sister magazine. She is a member of the Volé dance org and has been dancing for seventeen years. In addition to writing fiction stories, Isabella also enjoys writing and playing music on her piano and guitar. She loves hiking, traveling, spending time outside, and archery. In the coming years, Isabella hopes to write and publish her first novel.
published 4-14-21