Carrying the Pop-Punk Torch: An Interview with Leon Chayet of Love Beats War

This week I had the opportunity to catch up with Leon Chayet, lead singer of the local pop-punk group Love Beats War. LBW (as they are commonly referred to) are often compared to the great Blink-182 in terms of musical style. At times, you could easily mistake the voice of Chayet with that of Tom Delonge. While vocally the band can be compared to Blink, hints of New Found Glory can be found in their catchy guitar riffs, and they often take on the rebellious attitude reminiscent of Sum 41 circa All Killer No Filler. Although all of these influences can be heard in their music, they have also put their own twist on pop-punk, making the genre their own, rather than simply conforming to it.

Love Beats War

Love Beats War formed a year and a half ago and have been playing local shows at Soma and Epicentre, slowly building buzz about their band, as well as creating a very devoted fan base. Chayet says that along with Blink and New Found Glory, their influences include Dashboard Confessional, The Starting Line and even Third Eye Blind.

In October of 2009, LBW released their debut, 7-song EP titled Too Cool For School, which included five songs previously found on their MySpace as well as two additional new tracks. In this album, Chayet sings about things such as life experience, addiction, social pressures, family, girls and friends. While the songs have a fun sound to them, they often contain deeper messages about spiritual experiences and finding your own way. While listening to these songs it is easy to connect to them on a much deeper level than you might expect.

This Friday, March 5th, LBW will be playing the Skinnie Mag Top 100 show, headlined by Rufio and Unwritten Law at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. This show will provide them with the chance to attract the attention of record labels and sponsors, as well as a possible spot on the Skinnie Mag Top 100 bands list.  Tickets for the show can be found here.

They will also be playing the House of Blues for a show sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving with One Hot Minute on March 14th.

Be sure to check out LBW on their MySpace and buy their EP, Too Cool For School, available on iTunes.

Love Beats War - Too Cool for School

On-air interview and full radio show:

LBWinterview