In a brand new interview with “Lipps Service With Scott Lipps”, LIVING COLOUR guitarist Vernon Reid was asked if the band has commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2017’s “Shade” album. He responded: “Corey [Glover, LIVING COLOUR singer] and I started working on a song. We’ll see where that goes.”
As for what possible lyrical themes the new LIVING COLOUR songs will cover, Vernon said: “We’re processing what exactly this period… ‘Cause a lot of folks, their immediate reaction, a lot of [musicians] are [writing songs about] George Floyd-type things,” referring to the unarmed Minnesota man who died last year at the hands of police. “We’re really looking at absorbing it, because I don’t wanna just do a George Floyd hook. That situation was so traumatizing, and we wanna think that the world was shifted. And the world gets traumas every now and again. The murder of Martin Luther King was traumatizing. And eventually you get something like ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’ [by U2]; it’s a beautiful song. But the underlying issue and underlying problem never seems to go away. And it’s the not-going-awayness of it that’s what I would wanna talk about.”
He continued: “There’s something this litany of names, the constant litany of names [of victims of racial injustice]. Whose will the next name be is what concerns me as opposed to being stuck on a particular victim. Even though what happened to George Floyd was particularly egregious, there’s another part of the phenomenon that is where the Breonnas [Taylor] and the Ahmauds [Arbery] — and the names keep going. Lately, there was a victim; his name’s Winston Smith. And it strikes me very strongly, because Winston Smith is [also the name of] a protagonist of George Orwell‘s ‘1984’. And it’s those kinds of things that are what LIVING COLOUR are gonna go; those are the kind of places we’re gonna go.”
In June 2020, LIVING COLOUR released a video for its classic song “This Is The Life” featuring footage of the peaceful protests that swelled across the U.S. and around the world over the death of Floyd at the hands of police. The original version of “This Is The Life” appeared on LIVING COLOUR‘s 1990 album “Time’s Up”.
In a statement accompanying the video’s release, LIVING COLOUR said: “‘Time’s Up’ was released 30 years ago and sadly we’re still fighting the same fight. If you don’t like the current agenda, it’s your responsibility to go out an VOTE!”
A few days after Floyd‘s death, Reid took to his Twitter to write: ” Of all the shocking mobile phone recorded extra judicial Police killings, the murder of George Floyd is the most depraved exercise in contemptuous disregard for human life I’ve ever seen. Next time you see it- if you can stomach it- pay attention to the hand in pocket posture.”
LIVING COLOUR will join forces with EVERCLEAR, HOOBASTANK and WHEATUS for the “Summerland” tour. Kicking off later this month, the tour will make its way through cities such as Atlantic City, Houston, Cincinnati and Fort Wayne, to name a few.
“Shade” was released in September 2017 via Megaforce Records.
