Thursday, March 28, 2024

#lameassdads: Windsor and Hughes show that pop-punk is anything but lame

The pandemic divided us, limiting our interactions with others and the outside world. However, two decade-long coworkers at the Walgreens Distribution Center in Perrysburg saw it as an opportunity to follow their dreams and start a band.

#lameassdads— Andy Windsor and Ryan Hughes— released their debut pop-punk album, “Greetings from Nowhere, Ohio,’’ on Sep. 3. “When I met him for the first time I (said), ‘Oh, we probably like the same music,’” Hughes said. “He’s got tattoos. He’s got gauged ears. This is the kind of guy I like to hang out with’” The two had always joked about forming a band, but it wasn’t until Hughes moved four minutes away from Windsor that it came to fruition.

Anything but #lame
The unique name? That came naturally. “The name is definitely what gets people’s attention the most,” Hughes said. “I said, ‘Dude, we’re almost 40. We’re just going to be a bunch of lame ass dads. We might as well just call it out before anyone else can call it out for us.”

Recording started in early March, and began as a project to record just one song. The two then decided to go all in, writing and producing an entire album. Windsor and Hughes wrote 10 out of the 11 tracks. The final track, “San Dimas (Acoustic Demo)” was written by Kris Rose of The Ataris.

Inspired dads
For many of their tracks, the duo pulls inspiration from their favorite bands including Bad Religion, MxPx and Blink-182, among others.  “Greetings from Nowhere, Ohio” was recorded, produced and mastered by Hughes. “I always joke with Ryan that I’m just the hired talent in the band,” Windsor said. “He’s the producer. He’s the guy that mixes everything and makes it sound good.”

The title track was written by Hughes and is about moving to Ohio from the Detroit area after getting married. “Ohio was not my favorite place. It took a long time for me to warm up to it,” Hughes said. “But what I realize is that it’s not the place, it’s the people that you’re around and the family that you have.”

Self promotion
Both Windsor and Hughes have played in bands since they were in high school and acknowledge the sometimes difficult path to becoming a successful band. “You just got to get your music out there. Get your name out there. Self-promote yourself,” Windsor said. “Just get your product out in front of the people and you’ll find your crowd. It might take awhile, but you have to keep trying.”

#lameassdads is currently putting together a full band so they can start playing live gigs. They also wrote a Christmas song that will be released the first or second week of December on Spotify’s Unsigned Pop Punk playlist.  “Nowhere, Ohio’’ was also selected to be featured on “Hell is Ohio,” a compilation album being released by Columbus-based Punkerton Records. All proceeds from the CD will benefit Columbus Food Not Bombs.

More information about #lameassdads can be found online at lameassdads.com or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, @lameassdads. “Greetings from Nowhere, Ohio” is available on all major music streaming services.

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