Originally formed at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 1992, Lettuce are a tough band to pigeonhole judging by the variety of sounds on their recently released ‘Elevate’ album on the Regime Inc / Membran label. With this in mind RGM caught up with the members of Lettuce to shine a little more light on their collective interests and influences. RGM is pleased to welcome Lettuce as the latest act to complete The Baker’s Dozen:

1. What is your earliest musical memory?

Sitting at an organ with my grandfather while he sang and played Ave Maria on the piano. - Ryan Zoidis

2. Do you remember the name of your first band?

LETTUCE - Ryan Zoidis

3. Which current artist do you hear and just go Wow?

Anderson .Paak and Khruangbin - Ryan Zoidis

4. Do you sit down to write songs or do you wait until your mojo comes to get you?

Both. I don’t sit down to write a song until I have an inspiration. That inspiration might be a life event or a song that I heard or even a nice walk. - Adam Deitch

5. Big venue or small venue - what's your favourite to play?

All depends on the energy of the night. It’s really dependent on the acoustics of each room too. Sometimes smaller rooms sound better. Maybe more than likely we’ll lean towards a smaller room but there are some larger places that have so much energy and vibe. - Shmeeans

6. Who is the one artist you wish you could share a stage with (past or present)?

Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament Funkadelic in their heyday. James Brown obviously, but with the 1971 band. - Ryan Zoidis

7. Bowie, Prince, Sinatra, Elvis which departed great means the most to you?

Prince. Everyone should know who is a Lettuce fan just how big an influence he was on me as a guitar player and how moved I was by his playing. I loved his tone and his rhythmic use of space and the way he would comp chords and his single line note approach for funk music. He is one of the greatest guitar players to ever do it. - Shmeeans

8. Is a saxophone solo ever not ok?

As long as it’s Zoidis, it’s always ok. - Adam Deitch

9. Should music be free?

I understand that you can reach a lot of people with free releases, but at the end of the day, musicians need to eat food and pay rent. Some musicians are unable to tour due to families or a condition, therefore music that is purchased that directly benefits the artist is very necessary. - Adam Deitch

10. Can you remember the first record you bought and what have you bought recently?

I do not remember the first record that I bought. I do remember getting my very first record that was mine and not my families and that was Van Halen 1984. A lot of us in Lettuce continue to collect vinyl. I bought a vinyl recently - “A Journey Through His Music” and it came with his book “My Music, My Life” by Ravi Shankar - Shmeeans

11. What was the last song that made you cry actual tears?

I shed a tear this past weekend at our old Tour Managers wedding, Whitney Wangsgaard, where we all got up and played Lettuce songs and my 18 month old daughter came up on stage and grabbed my pick to play with me. It happens to me all the time though. I’m a big cryer when it comes to feeling emotion in music. - Shmeeans

12. Do you binge watch Netflix / Amazon / DVD box sets (any recommendations)? Do you have a guilty pleasure in Film or TV you’ll admit to watching and loving?

Besides binge watching Black Mirror, which is the new Twilight Zone and anything Marvel related, I tend to watch mostly music documentaries on Netflix. - Adam Deitch

13. What is the most important thing to you that you can see from where you are right now?

Just the beauty of nature. Currently in Colorado on a hike. - Ryan Zoidis