Meet Lockdown Co. - The hard-hitting rock trio, born from the chaos of 2020

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Meet Lockdown Co., one of our favourite bands playing on our next show on Thursday 21/09 at Dublin Castle!

Born from the chaos of 2020 comes Lockdown Co. A hard-hitting rock trio made up of drummer Doug Rimington (Heart Through Sacrifice), guitarist Lloyd Meeks and vocalist Leah Bell-Miller.

Rewind back to the COVID-19 lockdowns, former media colleagues Doug and Lloyd started remotely working on new musical ideas. The duo experiment continuously over the first 18 months, eventually releasing a string of instrumental singles throughout 2021.

Whilst remote creativity and production had a huge influence on how the band started (hence the name), they eventually entered live rehearsals at Gunfactory Studios in Homerton. 2022 also saw Lockdown Co. partner up with Camden Live to record numerous livestreams, and hit the stage for the first time at the historic Fiddlers Elbow. They also released their first instrumental EP, End of Chapter, an eclectic mix of hard rock, grunge, prog, blues and metal.

The next chapter for the band saw the addition of vocalist Leah, signifying an evolution of their material with lyrics. The new trio re-entered the studio in 2023 to record an entirely self-produced EP entitled Into Oblivion. Take Me Down was the first single released with Leah in July, with the full EP released in August.

Lockdown Co. will also return to the stage later in 2023, and if you need an idea of what to expect: “I don’t know whether it sounded good, but it was fucking loud!” – Gunfactory Studios

Meet Lockdown Co. during our interview!

Lloyd’s personal answers but some also reflective of the band!

1) How did you get into music?

Within Lockdown Co. it’s a mixture of family influences, sibling rivalry and natural paths of exploring our different artistic urges. I started learning guitar from the age of 9 to try and do something that was different (I personally don’t come from a family of musicians) and carried on studying music in education until I completed a Masters in 2012, as a way to push and prove myself. For me, it’s not just a creative outlet, it’s something that has always given me something to work towards, build and achieve.

2) What bands inspired your style and how do you differ to your roots?

It’s cliche to say but we really do take inspiration from lots of places, from roots blues all the way through to thrash metal. When we started, we wanted to try and emulate the grunge, hard rock and blues driven rock from bands such as Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Clutch, but having performed as an instrumental duo for a couple of years, we evolved to take inspiration from more progressive instrumental bands such as Totemist and Tides From Nebula.

Having Leah come on board in the past year, it’s really elevated us to a more unique style as we’ve found a way to merge these different influences, and we don’t feel bound by trying to stick to one particular genre.

3) What would you say thrills your soul?

Creating something new! Nothing beats the feeling of expressing yourself through music, whether it’s on stage or in the studio. Whatever we ‘create’, whether it’s a video, EP or live performance, as long as we do ourselves justice that’s what drives us.

4) If you were to get stuck on a lonely island, which would be the three albums you’ll take with you?

Purple Rain – Prince

Fair Warning – Van Halen

Dirt – Alice In Chains

5) Beatles Vs Stones?

Stones