“I remember watching Foo Fighters footage and thinking, ‘I need a band like that!’ No click tracks or extras – just real amps, real drums, real everything”: Meet Lowlives’ Lee Downer, the British rocker who just needs a cranked amp – and 169 guitars...
You might know the name Lee Downer from The Defiled. Now relocated to sunny LA, working in Guitar Center, his new band is all about '90s alt-rock, no tricks, “meat and potatoes rock”
(Image credit: Allyssa Cornier)
In his last band The Defiled, Lee Downer spliced elements of nu-metal and industrial into a fiery package that turned them into one of the most exciting acts in Britain.
Following that band’s dissolution in 2016, Lee moved to California, working as a buyer for the vintage department of Hollywood’s Guitar Center, and started new group Lowlives.
The alt-rock quartet’s debut album Freaking Out was released in May through Universal imprint Spinefarm and they have been booked for Download in the UK as well as US festivals Aftershock and Louder Than Life. You could say it’s all off to a good start…
“There was one Foo Fighters gig I was obsessed with as a kid,” Lee tells TG. “I think it was on their first UK tour and they were so good. I remember watching the footage and thinking, ‘I need to be in a band like that!’ For this project, I wanted no click tracks or extras, just real amps, real drums, real everything.
“We’re heavily influenced by Alice In Chains and Nirvana, stuff that’s probably now considered classic rock, plus later groups like Superheaven and Dinosaur Pile-Up. It’s not super techy or heavy, but it’s fun to be playing guitar live again!”
The group flew to the UK for sessions at London’s Chapel Studios, but by their own admission some bad decision-making led to them needing to re-record the lion’s share of the guitars at a later date. You live and learn, as Lee explains…
“All I needed was a Les Paul and I stupidly brought something else,” he admits. “I redid all the rhythms with my white 1976 Les Paul Custom, which is now banana yellow.
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“I’ve owned a lot of white Les Pauls over the years and this one sounds the best. Plus it looks so cool – Dave Grohl was playing one on those early Foo Fighters tours. The Manic Street Preachers had one, so did Randy Rhoads, though I’d probably say Steve Jones from Sex Pistols is why I got my first one.”
The Les Paul was plugged into a modded Marshall JCM800 with a Maxon OD808 providing some extra dirt en route, and the only other pedals used were an old Shin-Ei fuzz, a Rat and a Small Clone.
Ultimately, the sound of this band is a Gibson into a Marshall amp, says Lee, though he does have 169 guitars at home to choose from.
“I own a lot of gear but I still prefer the sound of the most basic rig,” he laughs. “No tricks, no messing about, just meat and potatoes rock!”
Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).
