Interview w/ Lachlan Tankersley of Room 213
Conducted by Van Bassman | February 13th, 2023
VB: Several movies, an asylum, and a Church of Misery song all reference your band name. What’s Room 213 to you?
- LT: It actually didn’t click with us that the name had some significance. We came up with the name after hotel hopping in Mississippi where three of the room we stayed in were all room 213. Most of the time I chalk it up as a No Country for Old Men reference.
VB: From the blues psych drip of “Going Down to the River” to the dreamy Masters of Reality meets punk rock “Seven years from Suches” y’all have covered a lot of ground in three years of releases. Where are you most comfortable sonically?
- LT: Right now we’re focused more on our punk/psych roots, but a lot of what we do is just us dicking around. We’ve recorded projects under other genres that ended up getting lost.
VB: Was it really “Live at MOMs”?
- LT: It really was. It’s short for Music on Mainstreet. One of our favorite spots run by some of our favorite people, Scott and Alicia Mecredy, who we consider to be parents of sorts.
VB: The rock scene in Atlanta has really grown in the past few years. What ATL bands are you into?
- LT: Some of my favorites are Upchuck and Omni. I’d like to see more bands emerge from Atlanta, I don’t think enough people are in tuned with just how alive the rock scene is here.
VB: Where’s your happy place?
- LT: I like to picture myself behind the Icee machine at the camp canteen from when I was a kid.
VB: What’s next for Room 213?
- LT: Hopefully a decent living. If not then we’ll still be releasing music and playing shows either way. Main goal now is to get a tour put together.
VB: Do you put on your socks and then your shoes – or do you do sock, shoe, sock, shoe?
- LT: Goldbond powder, sock, sock, another sock, shoe. I thought about this one for too long.
Room 213 performs in Atlanta at Boggs Social on 2/17 with Novumora and Terrazzo.