Heavy rockers Lo-Pan are taking next step

May 10, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Going back to the days of the Nyabinghi, Columbus-based heavy-rock act Lo-Pan loves coming to Youngstown.

“We’ve always had really good experiences there,” said drummer Jesse Bartz. “We have a lot of friends from there such as Rebreather and the guys from #1 Rodeo. They’re all good people.”

With influences ranging from Disengage, Torched, Kyuss, Tool and early Soundgarden, Lo-Pan has evolved over time from its early raw sound heard on its 2006 self-titled debut to its follow-up, “Sasquanaut,” and most recently released “Salvador.” The latter effort came out exactly a year ago and marks its second release on independent label Small Stone.

“Stylistically, it was written a lot more with our new singer [Jeff Martin] involved,” Bartz said. “It has more melodies and driving rhythms. Writing ‘Salvador’ made us feel like we’re going to the next step. He’s becoming a much more integral part of our package, so we feel really comfortable letting him do what he does best.”

The result, Bartz said, are killer soaring vocals on “Salvador” tracks such as “El Dorado” and “Bleeding Out.” However, recorded material doesn’t tell the whole Lo-Pan story. In fact, the drummer believes it’s the quartet’s live show that not only fully depicts the outfit’s ability but acts as a lynch pin to drawing and maintaining its fan base.

“I think the music is secondary to our work ethic,” Bartz said. “That’s probably what’s going to get us to the next level, not necessarily our recorded material. We don’t pay attention too much to how we’re viewed in the scene. We just try to concentrate on doing what we do in writing and stuff like that. So if [the album is] in the right direction, I think that’s good. It definitely has helped us step up and get better shows with more recognition regionally.”

That dynamic is actually about to be expanded to nationally as Lo-Pan heads out for its second West Coast swing. However, that’s not before the band returns to Youngstown on Friday for a show at Cedars.

Diehards attending that show will get a chance to see the group work out material for its next studio effort. Lo-Pan has seven unreleased songs in the mix, with three or four — such as the driving “Eastern Seas” and “NPD” — getting stage time every gig.

“The material is, I guess, more challenging,” Bartz said. “That’s what we tend to gravitate towards when writing.”

Finally, with touring and more on its plate, Bartz is optimistic Lo-Pan is about to take a leap forward.

“We’re pretty nose to the grindstone and really into touring and full-time playing out,” Bartz said. “At this point, it’s all about picking up momentum.”