Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is a band that’s known for its edgy, female-fronted rock. But according to Potter, everything the band did before edge-wise is shadowed by The Lion, The Beast, The Beat, the band’s latest album.
“It’s been really interesting because this is some of the edgiest stuff we’ve written,” Potter said.
The band is also just hopping off an unlikely tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw.
“Not only are we a rock and roll band on a country tour, but I’m the only girl on a tour called the Brothers of the Sun Tour,” Potter said. “I think it’s the most punk rock thing we’ve done – to be this rock band that saunters out into a country tour and plays their hearts out. Some people are horrified, some people are mystified, but some just have their minds blown.”
As much strength as it may take to perform in front of a crowd that may not appreciate her style of folksy rock and roll, it took Potter even more to confront some of the darker aspects of her inner self during the recording process for The Lion, The Beast, The Beat.
“This was a more drama-filled process than our previous few albums,” she said. “I had to step away from everything and reassess what we were doing. That process led me into some of the darker corners of my lyrical phase. I had insecurities about the music we were making … Those reflections were deeply personal and really scary. But I think that it made for a better record because I let some of that darkness in that I usually try to avoid.”
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals will return to Grand Rapids, a city where she has fond memories.
“Grand Rapids, baby,” she said. “We played there with The Black Crows; in a van, before we had a bus. We finally got a DVD player in the van, and we watched Spinal Tap and had one of the most rock and roll nights of my life. I can’t tell you all the details, but it does involve a stripper with bullet holes in her ass.”
