By Matthew Tracy
Fairfax may be a great place to settle down, but it’s also a hotbed for rock music. Take it from alternative rock band His Dream of Lions, whose five members came together through the local Fairfax music scene in February 2012.
“There were quite a few pop, punk, pop rock kind of bands (in the area), and it was difficult to make yourself known any other way than to just play shows,” says the band’s singer, Seth Coggeshall.
His Dream of Lions’ first show was at Vienna‘s Jammin’ Java, where they’ll return this Saturday, Feb. 28, alongside fellow Fairfax band The Project.
“My first time ever singing in front of people was at Jammin’ Java, which was huge for me,” Coggeshall says. “So we just have a lot of history with them. We have a lot of good memories there, and we played with a lot of incredible bands at Jammin’ Java.”
The band continued playing at venues like Jammin’ Java, determinedly captivating more and more locals with their energetic performances.
“It took a while for people to be like, ‘maybe these guys are different,'” says Coggeshall. “(Now) we have a lot of friends that we still have today and we will always have just from coming up in this area and doing it the way that all bands start out doing it, just playing a ton of shows.”
His Dream of Lions have accomplished a lot in the three years since they started playing together. They released their debut record, “Part One,” last March. Its opening track, “Novel,” climbed to number seven on both the New Music Weekly Top 40 and Hot 100 Singles charts.
More recently the band has released their second record,”Part Two,” as well as a number of music videos.
“It’s a lot of work, but when it pays off, it really pays off,” says Coggeshall.
His Dream of Lions have tailored the story of their determination and success into their music’s message. They use their music to inspire all of their fans to follow their dreams.
“Really when it comes down to it, your life is truly your own,” says Coggeshall. “Whatever that one thing is that you’ve always wanted, there’s no better time to go for it than right now.”
Now the band is tracking a new single, with an accompanying music video coming out later this spring. After that, they plan to continue touring and spreading their hopeful message to all of their fans.
Local audiences will have a chance to see His Dream of Lions when they perform at Jammin’ Java this Saturday at 8 p.m.
Visit Jammin’ Java’s webpage for show and ticket information.
For more information on the band, visit His Dream of Lions’ Facebook page.
