Often compared to such influential bands as Muse and Radiohead, Lovedrug proves, among other things, that you can’t judge a book by its cover… or, rather, a band by its name.  In an endless sea of industry-packaged indie-rock and emo bands, this Cleveland, Ohio-based foursome strikes a feeling of familiarity, while at the same time offering something new. 

Having signed with The Militia Group, Lovedrug released their first album, the haunting and melodic Pretend You’re Alive, back in 2004.  Now, the Canton-bred boys of Lovedrug are fresh off their second LP launch and are currently touring with Sparta nationwide.  Since its release, the follow-up record, Everything Starts Where it Ends, has received critical acclaim: Spin magazine put it simply, “[it] has the grungy guitar brawn of bygone flannel rockers, but adds complexity with epic arrangements and moments of unsettling Thom Yorke falsetto.”

The band is comprised of James Childress on drums, Korey Jones on bass, David Owen on guitar and Michael Shepard on guitar and vocals.  For a frontman, Shepard is exceptionally shy - a soft-spoken superhero. He’s a breath of fresh air in an otherwise predictable indie-rock industry.  So, psychoPEDIA sat down with the anomaly to talk about everything from Hanson to a possible Hollywood career: 

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician?
[Laughs] When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a professional basketball player. That didn't work out because I wasn't all that great at basketball. [Laughs] It wasn't until I was 14 that I started playing guitar and realized music was going to take over my life. 

And what is your dream about now, besides making Lovedrug the biggest band in the world?
I would love to be an actor. 

If you could have been in any movie ever, what movie would you have been in and who would you have played?
If I could be Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now that'd be cool. 

What was the last movie you saw in theaters?
We all went to see 300 not too long ago. 

Oh yeah, that was great, I loved it, did you like it?
Yeah I did, I went into it with low expectations and ended up really liking it. It was really fantastic; especially the visual aesthetic, the look of it was so bad-ass. 

I noticed you went to film school for awhile -- are you going to direct any of the videos yourself?
I would love to in the future; I’m always looking for chances to marry those two worlds. I would love to get into writing and directing our music videos. 

Getting back to the music, what was it like to open for Hanson?
Pretty awesome actually. It happened about 2 or 3 years ago, pretty early on. We've been a band for about five-and-a-half years. We got the call that they were coming to our hometown playing the Palace Theater. It was pretty rad actually, they were really nice guys. I wasn't really familiar with their music except for their big hit. They're actually really fabulous musicians, really talented. Some of the stuff they were playing was really jazzy and they were obviously very knowledgeable. The crowd was hilarious; it was comprised of 14-year-old girls. I think there was one guy at the concert; it was funny. Great crowd reaction, they actually liked our stuff. 

There was mass hysteria surrounding them during the “Mmm Bop” era.  How do you feel about mainstream music today?
There’s so many bands out there doing their thing, young guys in tight pants swinging microphones around -- it doesn’t do anything for me, I know it does something for a lot of kids. I grew up at a time when diversity was everywhere and every band had a unique personality. It was a wonderful time for music and now all the bands sound the same. That’s unfortunate. 

Would you be comfortable with fame on that level?
I haven’t really experienced anything like that; I don’t really know what that would be like. We definitely want as many people as possible to hear our music and enjoy it. As far as the other stuff is concerned, I don’t know. I was always socially awkward; I don’t deal with large crowds of people very well. 

It seems like every year, someone new comes through and gets super big. Last year it was My Chemical Romance, now it’s Fall Out Boy. They all sound the same. Do people not notice this?
That's what I keep asking myself, I feel like this trick is being played on everyone, especially the younger kids. Don't they realize what's going on here? 

Not to mention, things are different these days.  Have you noticed that a lot of young people are getting into heavy drugs, like heroin, pretty early?
It's frightening, yeah. It's bizarre how younger kids are getting into that. Oh man, I don't know...The decline of society is becoming more and more apparent every day. I don't know, eventually kids are just gonna be popping out of the womb and shooting up. It's messed up. 

It's crazy, now the Britney Spears generation has got to shave their heads.
I think that's great, she got hooked on drugs and shaved her head. The next thing she has to do is start a rock band and her life will be complete.

On that note, do you have any parting words for the readers who read this?
Um...please go buy our record. 

~Garrett Faber