Lawrence Journal-World
(Lawrence, KS)
"Lollipop Factory is a two-person spectacle of a band from Columbus, Ohio. Guitarist David Tweed and drummer Bekah Manning shred like Queens of the Stone Age and harmonize like Queen, creating some of the most outrageous music you've ever heard from such an economical lineup."
-- Best Bets
Erie Times-News
(Erie, PA)
"If Queen married Queens of the Stone Age and they honeymooned with a circus, they might sound like Lollipop Factory -- an audacious duo that plays near-pompous, high-powered, harmony-laced rock with a winking sense of humor and madcap glee."
-- Dave Richards
Smile Politely
(Champaign, IL)
"They are my new favorite band...In top hat and tights, two people from Ohio perpetrate a bizarre oratorio of structured, elaborate hard candy on unsuspecting beer drinkers...Lollipop Factory is a spectacle."
-- Rob McColley
The Buddha Den
(Dayton, OH)
"Lollipop Factory...was full of fire. Strutting and slashing the stage, the glammed-out duo sounded like QOTSA had gone on a blistering bender of nothing but Queen and early Bowie. Not only was the sound incredible, but Lollipop Factory also understand the value of stage presence. The pair posed and pouted and paraded across the CST stage as if they had been born there."
-- Kyle Melton
105.7 The Point
(St. Louis, MO)
"Last night I also ran over to Off Broadway and checked out a KILLER band called Lollipop Factory from Columbus, OH. Just one guy and one girl in the band and they killed it last night. When they come back in town I will let you know about it and I encourage you to check it out. The music is killer and Bekah Manning the drummer owns that kit!"
-- DJ Todd Morgan
St. Joe News
(St Joseph, MO)
"Channeling influences like Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Jack White, Lollipop Factory combines heavy guitar riffs and drums with Freddie Mercury-esque vocals."
-- Lacey Storer
Afraid of the Bear (Chapel Hill / Raleigh / Durham, NC)
"Lollipop Factory, a fantastically talented and wholly original two piece...launching brutally into music as inspired by Tim Burton as anything else, all Pee-Wee's Big Adventure goes to hell, all Beetlejuiced out... Bekah played drums like no one I've ever seen. Sporting gigantic heels and a zombie ballerina outfit, she played a little trapkit standing up and never lost a beat. One of her cymbals rattled like a hi-hat but she only had a single pedal (her bass kick), resulting in a very original and engaging percussive approach. David, for his part, played through a deceptively simple pedalboard... a wah and two Boss OC-3s. Also, he played through what appeared to be at least sixty amps. The rollicking textures hooked me and the vocals knocked me for a loop, Bekah and David's harmonies spot-on and bliss-inducing..."
-- Corbie Hill, Where the Buffalo Roamed
Lansing State Journal
(Lansing, MI)
"Lollipop Factory plays boisterous rock that's part Black Sabbath, part Jellyfish."
-- Christian Czerwinski
Northwest Arkansas Times
(Fayetteville, AR)
"Bekah Manning and David Tweed don’t make confectionery treats. Instead, they make tasty metal music...The two-piece group has often received comparisons to duos such as The White Stripes and The Kills but have a darker sound that pulls from metal bands such as Black Sabbath."
-- Tuned In
Lollipop Factory is on tour and has been living on the road since July, 2008.
"If Queen married Queens of the Stone Age and they honeymooned with a circus, they might sound like Lollipop Factory -- an audacious duo that plays near-pompous, high-powered, harmony-laced rock with a winking sense of humor and madcap glee," says Dave Richards of the Erie News-Times.
Rob McColley of Champaign's music and culture blog Smile Politely, who refers to Lollipop Factory as his "new favorite band", detects heavier influences. "I suppose, in a roundabout way, that you could label the music as metal — if you, like a lot of the world's butchest leather aficionados, think of Queen as heavy metal. In other words, Lollipop Factory recalls much of Jellyfish's louder material."
Lacey Storer from the St. Joseph News describes Lollipop Factory in this way - "Channeling influences like Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Jack White, Lollipop Factory combines heavy guitar riffs and drums with Freddie Mercury-esque vocals."
The band's guitarist and vocalist David Tweed says of their catalogue, "I don't even think of our songs as real songs. They're more like bombastic, Frankensteined pop-metal contraptions."
The pair have been touring non-stop since July, 2008, criss-crossing the eastern half of the United States in their RV and performing for a growing and loyal fanbase. "We knew if we traded our rent for gas money, we could make this work doing it full time," said Tweed. "So we bought an RV. It's kind of a pioneer lifestyle. The RV is like our covered wagon."
It seems that this decision to hit the road full time is paying off. "People are coming back to see us," says Tweed.
People are often surprised at the fullness of sound for a two-piece band. Tweed says the trick is “a little smoke and mirrors,” which includes, witnessed North Carolina musician Corbie Hill "a deceptively simple pedalboard... a wah and two Boss OC-3s. Also, he played through what appeared to be at least sixty amps." But, notes Tweed, “We don’t use loop stations. Every note you hear is actually being played, no loop stations, no backing tracks, no prerecorded harmonies,” he says.
Tweed is joined by drummer and vocalist Bekah Manning, who Hill describes as one who "played drums like no one I've ever seen. Sporting heels and a zombie ballerina outfit, she played a little trapkit standing up and never lost a beat, resulting in a very original and engaging percussive approach."
The Erie Times-News' Dave Richards says that Bekah's "powerful vocals, stage presence, and chemistry with Tweed help Lollipop Factory produce an impressive wall of sound."
"You'll never see anyone who looks like they're having a better time playing drums. She makes the best drum faces ever," says Tweed. "She sets the bar and I try to keep up - jumping or climbing on anything within radius of my guitar cable."
ERIE, PA @ Sherlock's -- Man in the Movie
MADISON, WI @ The Frequency -- Bouncing Ball
ST. LOUIS, MO @ The Firebird -- Song For Robert Schuller
DAYTON, OH @ Canal Street Tavern -- Sunday Drive
BIRMINGHAM, AL @ The High Note Lounge -- Objective Man
LITTLE ROCK, AR @ Vino's -- Silly Grave/Tor My Heart in Two
Lollipop Factory [on tour]'s Friend Space (Top 16)
WOW!!! You guys really put on a great show at The High Note the 15th!! So glad I made it!! Got some great pics for you as well! A token of my appreciation!!
Thanks LP, glad you liked the demo song :) "Dangerous Idiots" will not only be in the neighborhood (Little Rock, AR) on October 22nd...We just confirmed with ACAC that we're opening the show for ya!
Hey, thank you!!! I am getting ready to leave for a weekend out of town Just needed to get away from here...... I am down loading all the pictures I took at Lanhucks so tag away!!!! You Both are soooo awesome I hope your comeing back soon and maybe we'll get to hang out sometime!!!!!
we here at the lost revival are playing a show this tuesday night (9/29at skully's with jupiter one (currently on tour w/ regina spektor) and andy shaw band. good time guaranteed.
Of course I can't wait until you guys come back through Lexington! And pehaps I can get something scheduled for us to play together. Great show and great getting to b.s. with you!
It absolutely PAINS us that we were out of town when you guys came through St. Louis!! Hope the show was a good one no matter how much in rips us with jealousy.