Here is the interview I did with Live Urban Sexx Tribe guitarplayer Neel Viradia (On the right in the picture)
1. How did the band get started? The band was formed by Jarred Shane (as he was known then) and Danny Axe (Sergio Cardenas).
They were together in a band called Hot Boxx. They left Hot Boxx and formed LUST. They then recruited Mark Young (now Mawk or Mcud I think?) on bass and Eric Hurwit on Drums.
They felt they needed a hard edgy lead guitarist to round out the line up.I answered their ad and sent them my demo and I got an audition. I jammed with them and improved some parts on the fly and they asked me to join on the spot..
2. Where did the name Live Urban Sexx Tribe come from?Well either Jarred or Danny came up with it but they named the band Urban Sex Tribe. Since we were such a “live” act, Jarred added the word “Live” and an extra “X” in Sexx and hence the acronym, LUST
3. Were you in another band before?Yes, I had been in several bands back east in New Jersey and Massachusetts. I played the east coast circuit and after I finished college at UMASS, I moved out to LA to go to Musician’s Institute, GIT for Guitar. I joined LUST two years after that.
4. We know Jared was in Hotboxx before LUST did you ever hear any of their music?Yes, I heard some of their music back then. It was great stuff but then LUST took it to the next level. A few of the early LUST songs were unfinished Hotboxx songs. Such as “The world we live in” One of my all time favorite LUST songs….Amazing lyrics!
5. How many songs did you guys have, how much were recorded? Any songtitles of unreleased songs? Did you play any covers?We probably had around 25 or 30 songs. Most of which were never recorded. Only some live recordings and rehearsal tapes which I have yet to track down. We used to jam covers from Rage against the machine, Parliament, Faith no More, various metal bands and funk bands. But we never played any live as far as I can recall.
6. What was the songwriting process like? Who did what? Which bands inspired you back then?Jarred wrote all of the lyrics. Occasionally we would chime in when he asked us for rhyming words or lyric ideas. He also was a big part of the music writing process even though he didn’t play an instrument in that band. He had a great musical ear. Danny would usually come up with a funky riff or Mark would come up with a banging bass line or I would have a rockin guitar riff. Then we would all collaborate and write around the idea. We would keep fine tuning until it was where we felt it was right. I had a knack for arrangements, so there would always be some cool break or teaser chorus, half verse thing that I would propose. Jarred pretty much decided the final decision at the end.
7. Being an up and coming band in that time and place must have been pretty crazy, do you have any cool tour stories to share?There are a lot of interesting stories from many various gigs. But I may get some angry phone calls if I let out that info, haha. Let’s just say lots of sex, booze and rock & roll. We were never into the drug thing except 3 of us were major pot heads…Including me. Lemmy from Motorhead used to come to a lot of our shows. He would play pinball or video games backstage drink Jack and cokes and he had really bad breath. But we love him!
8. How were the other members in the band to work with? When the times were good, it was great. There was a chemistry and magic. We used to hang out together and work together. When we got signed it all fell apart. Lot of internal fighting. Bad decision making and bitterness. It wasn’t pretty.
9. How long did the band exist, how did the break-up happen?I think we were together for about 4 years or so. We got a development deal with Warner Bros. thru Brian Christian who produced Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper and many other artists. He also engineered the Wall by Pink Floyd. Brian spent 3 months in rehearsals with us getting us into a well oiled machine. We did some shows and showcased some new great songs such as “suicide” and “Another Day” and we went from great to amazing. We were untouchable after that. There was no better band on the circuit. We recorded our record with Brian over the next few months at Westlake studios in Hollywood (Van Halen, Janet Jackson, U2, everyone recorded there). But we were naive with contract negotiations and had an inexperienced manager who was a DJ for KNAC. So Jarred made some poor decisions for the band and it led to a lot of problems in the signing process. He felt like WB was trying to screw us when we really just needed a professional negotiator or manager. So when Jarred broke off the deal with WB and BC without telling the band members, it was the beginning of the end. We never got a copy of our own record. We owned the music but not the master reels of the recordings. However thanks to you Roel we recovered 6 of the songs from the album after 16 years. Anyway, getting back to that story, Jarred broke ties with Brian Christian and Warner Bros. Most of the band didn’t agree but we acquiesced and ended up doing a demo with a producer named Michael Vail Blum who was referred to us by Robert Trujillo (bassist for Infectious Grooves, Suicidal Tendencies, and now Metallica). Robert was really into us and hooked us up with Michael VB. But Michael didn’t really know us as well as Brian and failed to capture our live feel in the studio. I think I sent you that demo Roel. It has one of my favorite songs called “Another Day” the lyrics are sad and really hold true today about what we could have been. Anyway, after that demo didn’t come out so well it really caused strain in the LUST camp. We argued at every practice, disagreed at every gig and it was really tough. During that time there was a band called Liquid Tree that used to open for us. Nice guys and decent sound but nowhere near the talent of the LUST guys. None the less Jarred grabbed Mark and secretly formed a new band with 3 of them and basically broke up LUST in one day. That was the formation of Hed PE. No disrespect to HED but Jarred knows deep down inside that LUST would have been way more successful. Anyone who has seen both bands live and heard the music in that time will say the same thing. I guess Jarred felt stagnant and tired of the LUST thing and he needed a change. But it was a life changing decision for all of us because we were at the doorstep of greatness. If we had just let the album get released with WB he could have formed Hed after that and even they would have been bigger. and we all could have had much bigger opportunities to play with signed bands. But youth brings inexperience and mistakes. And LUST made all the mistakes a band could make.
10. Are you still on speaking terms with any of the members?Yeah I still talk with Danny and recently connected with Eric again. I haven’t spoken to Jarred or Mark in years. They are doing their HedPE thing. There was a lot of resentment and bad blood between us. I don’t have any ill will towards them but I am resentful that we put in so much time and effort and the door to fame was opened for us and Jarred just threw it in the trash.
11. What are you up to now? Do you still play music, ever try playing a LUST song?Yes, I currently play in a band called Siris and also do a lot of studio and live guitar work for different artists ranging from rock to hip hop. I still know how to play all my LUST parts. Even the guitar solos lol. Once I hear the songs again it comes back fast like riding a bike.
12. Did you follow (hed)p.e.'s carreer at all over the years, what do you think of them?Not really. I’ve listened to bits of their stuff from the early days to now. I think some of their new stuff is pretty good. But none of it holds a candle to the LUST stuff. No disrespect but its true.
The caliber of musicianship in LUST is way beyond any of the HedPE guys except Mark. He was the LUST bass player and he is incredible. But Eric (drummer for LUST) is hands down the best drummer I have ever played with and I’ve played with some greats. Not many drummers come close to him. And I feel I’m a much better guitarist than any of the guys in Hed. Danny Axe was the funkiest and wrote funkier, catchier guitar riffs than anyone.
13. Jared's age seems to be kind of a mystery, do you know how old he is?I do know how old he is but I’m not one to blow someone’s cover haha. This is a business where image and youth is important. He has his thing going with Hed so I don’t want to create any drama for him. Even though I think he is a self centered buffoon. Let’s just say that he looks great for his age and that there were no cell phones when LUST was around.
14. What are the plans for LUST? You said you want to put the songs on itunes can we expect any more?Yeah, even though I don’t get along with Jarred, he is still a part of it. So any money made from the LUST stuff would have to be split evenly between all 5 members. I’m in the process of trying to contact him and Mark to let them know that a LUST album will be released and that they are on the copyright as founding members. Eric and Danny are already on board. If there is a demand for a tour then I wouldn’t have a problem playing again with any of them however I doubt Jarred and Mark will because of Hed. However, we can probably get replacements. Danny and Eric are still as good as ever on their instruments and are open to doing some shows. Let’s first see if there is even a demand for that music. It is a bit out dated you know. haha
15. You mentioned to me earlier there might be some footage of the band playing live, will that ever see the light of day?There are a few people who have video of LUST shows at the Troubadour. I have been pestering them to go into their attic and find the tapes. I’m hoping one day soon that they will. If the music sells on Itunes and we get a new following, I have a feeling it will all fall into place.
Thanks for your time!Thank you Roel. And you should let everyone know that none of this could have been possible without your efforts of tracking down Brian Christian for us after all these years. Cheers!
Neel's answer to us talking here: LUST only had one recorded record. However we had enough material for 3 or 4 records. Had we been together for 15 years just as HED has, then LUST's music would have grown and evolved since the guys were amazing writers and musicians much like HED's guys and other great bands with longevity. However LUST's music was much more marketable than HED's and would have found a bigger audience, therefore would have been more successful.
If you look at HED's first album vs. LUST's. I feel the LUST record was better. I know it's a different style of music but it would have sold more copies than HED. Hence the fact HED is still a small underground band with a loyal following. LUST would not have been underground. They would have broken through, and LUST's live shows were the talk of the town.
It's hard for people to speculate anything however unless you were there during that time when fans, club owners, celebrities, and many major musician's from other famous bands all said that LUST was ahead of it's tiime and was on the virge of being the next biggest band in the country.
LUST never got it's moment. The time and prep that went into LUST for 4 years was more detailed then the time it took to write and release HED's first 2 records and it seemed to be evident in the material."
Subject: Live Urban Sexx Tribe's Neel Viradia Interview 
