Lo-Pro is: Pete Murray (Vocals) Neil Godfrey (Guitar) Jerry Oliviera (Bass) Tommy Stewart (Drums)

“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
-Havelock Ellis

Lo-Pro’s journey began when former Ultraspank members Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey’s first demo caught the attention of Staind front man Aaron Lewis. Lewis promptly offered them a deal on his newly formed vanity label 413 Records, releasing their first album on Geffen.

The band’s single “Sunday” rose to the top 15 in three formats at radio, and the subsequent video won FUSE’s “Oven Fresh”. They toured in support of the debut album until late 2004, until they parted ways from Geffen Records. Lo-Pro continued to write and tour with drummer Tommy Stewart, guitarist Pete Ricci and bassist Jerry Oliviera and is now currently supporting it’s latest release, “Letting Go” which serves as a veritable diary of the band’s experiences with the business side of making music.

“We’ve always had the ‘formula’ applied to our records: big producer, big studio, big money,” explains singer Pete Murray. “We’ve always been proud of the result but when you spend that much money right from the beginning, you feel like you’re trying to outrun this dark cloud all the time. We’ve been itching to make a record on our own forever and at this point in our career, we really felt like we were ready.”

The band decided to team up with Santa Barbara producing legend Angus Cooke (Ataris, Mad Caddies, Bad Astronaut). “We were one of the first Santa Barbara bands to record in Angus’ studio when it first opened way back in the Ultraspank days. He’s crazy talented and super fun to work with” explains guitarist Neil Godfrey. “This is by far the most fun I’ve ever had recording.”

“Letting Go” marks a clear milestone in Neil Godfrey and Pete Murray’s writing style. “We stripped all these songs down and played them live as gut wrenching acoustic songs in random little jazz clubs, and they totally worked. It was super fun to then build them back up as electric versions. We knew they already worked so we had a way more minimalistic approach on these recordings than in the past.

Aaron Lewis’ unwavering support and belief in the band has led to phenomenal touring opportunities, including a run on this summer’s Stimulate This! Tour. Perhaps the title track on the EP “Letting Go” best sums up Pete Murray’s feelings towards the music industry today. “The business has changed so much. The technology alone allows you to get your music directly to your fans. It’s a very exciting time to be a musician if you can just let go of how things used to be.”