33 1/3 & Under: Meet Woodstock Musician Laszlo Lang

With our column, 33 1/3 & Under, we spotlight the community of talented young creators who call the Hudson Valley home — the homegrown and recently arrived artists, musicians, businesspeople, and social advocates.

When it comes to young talent with impeccable homegrown credentials, no one is more associated with Woodstock and its namesake festivals than 23-year-old musician Laszlo Lang.  

As you may have guessed, young Laszlo is one of the five children of the late Michael Lang, Woodstock’s amiable co-creator and producer.  Growing up in Woodstock in the company of renowned musicians, it seemed fated that Laszlo would pick up an instrument and make his way into the adult world as a musician.

But unlike other local musicians who follow in the country and Americana strains pioneered by legendary locals like Bob Dylan and The Band, Laszlo leans towards the heavy end of rock.  It’s a milieu of burning blues, nu-metal, punk, and psychedelia influenced by bands like Rage Against the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age, Green Day, and, yes, his dad’s old friend Jimi Hendrix. Like several new, up-and-coming local musicians, Laszlo gathered his chops over several years of study at the Rock Academy in Saugerties. He’s also a One-Man band, someone who plays all the instruments, mixes and masters all his recordings.  And when he performs live, it’s most often Laszlo alone on stage, laying heavy guitar onto these fierce backing tracks from his albums.

To learn more about Laszlo’s life and what’s ahead for his music, read on… 

INSIDE+OUT: First, let’s start with the obvious and unavoidable question.  What role did your father, the famous Woodstock Festival co-creator Michael Lang, play in your interest in music?  And did he, as someone who had seen the ups and downs of the music business, advise you against pursuing a music career? 

Laszlo Lang: My father was my biggest supporter and heavily influenced me and the types of music I create. He was always the first to hear anything I made and was so proud of what I was doing. I remember showing him the first song I ever made, where I played every instrument, with the guitar serving as the lead vocals. He said: “Yes! This is what you should be making!” He absolutely shaped me as a musician. When I got signed to Extraterrestrial Music Group in 2021, I showed him the contract and asked him if this was what I should do, and he was just so happy for me. The last thing he heard of my music before his passing was my Woodstock Trilogy  albums that I made in honor of him and the festivals. 

When did you begin playing guitar? Who were your biggest musical inspirations during your formative years, and how have they evolved? 

When I was six, my dad showed me Green Day’s American Idiot album, and I instantly knew that I wanted to play music for a living. He bought me my first guitar for my seventh birthday and signed me up for guitar lessons. I was one of the first ever students to join the Rock Academy when I was eleven. My biggest inspirations then were Green Day (Billie Joe Armstrong), Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix. It wasn’t until I saw Van Halen at Bethel Woods that I started taking guitar seriously. My biggest inspirations today are Royal Blood, Muse, Philip Sayce, Green Day, and Queens of the Stone Age.  

How do you classify your music? I hear everything in it, from grunge and nu-metal to straight-ahead British blues and even some electronica.  

Honestly, I have a different answer every time I get asked that question. I usually would call it fully guitar-driven heavy blues + hard rock, but also with a little bit of metal. 

Your approach to live gigging is interesting. You play very heavy, guitar-shred-centric music as a one-man band. Do you ever get criticized for playing with backing tracks?  What are the positives and drawbacks of playing as a solo? 

Surprisingly, I’ve only gotten incredible feedback about my One-Man Band approach. There are many positives and negatives to being a One-Man Band, but most of all, I’ve never had this much fun creating and performing my music live. It’s truly been a great learning experience for me.  

What was it like growing up in Woodstock among all these great musicians? What are some of your favorite memories of your younger days?  And did any of these famous players have a role in teaching you how to play and approach your career? 

Growing up in Woodstock truly shaped me into who I am today.  When I was around eight, my dad took me to one of Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble shows, and I had the opportunity to meet him. Levon was truly one of my heroes as a drummer, and he gave me a pair of drumsticks I still cherish. Another of my favorite memories when I was nine was doing a summer rock jam camp at Woodstock Day School, and at the end of the week, there was a performance. I played “Holiday” by Green Day in front of David Bowie. After that performance, my dad introduced me to David, and I got to spend a good amount of time with him over the years I was growing up. 

Being in The Rock Academy from ages 11-18, I learned everything about playing live, learning songs by ear, playing in a band, and setting up and tearing down equipment. So many of my fondest memories are from that time. My favorite was when Scott Ian of Anthrax came to do a “Rock & Metal Workshop.” Through doing that workshop for three years and playing on stage with Scott, he became a close friend and mentor to me. With the Rock Academy, I got the opportunity to go on tour with Scott, and Brendan Small (of Dethklok), and got to play with some incredible musicians. I started sending Scott some of my music recently, and it’s an honor to have him as part of my musical journey. I recently became friends with one of my favorite musicians, Reignwolf, whom my dad booked for the canceled Woodstock 50th Anniversary festival. He showed me Reignwolf’s music in 2019, and I rediscovered his music in 2022 after the passing of my dad. I reached out to Reignwolf, not thinking he would respond. Jordan, aka Reignwolf, has also become a close friend and mentor due to my dad introducing his music to me.  

What are your favorite memories of performing in the Hudson Valley?  And what are some of your favorite places to perform and see live music? 

Some of my favorite memories, most being from my time at The Rock Academy, were playing at Levon Helm Studios, playing Levon’s drum kit for a tribute to Levon and The Band, and one of my last shows, a tribute to Stevie Nicks. My favorite places to see music are Colony Woodstock and Bearsville Theater. I grew up going to shows at both. My current favorite is Station Bar & Curio on Tinker Street in Woodstock. 

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A post shared by Laszlo Lang (@laszlojlang)

What’s on the horizon regarding your career that you are most excited about? 

I’m looking forward to going on tours and playing festivals. There’s nothing I love more than playing shows, and I’ve gotten some incredible opportunities coming up. But most of all, the music I have coming out this year is my proudest work. I created everything myself – even the mix and mastering. It’s such a great learning experience doing it all on my own. And I just can’t wait to get all of this music out into the world. 

As a guitar aficionado, can you share your three favorite desert island discs by guitarists? 

1. Band of Gypsies – one of Jimi Hendrix’s last projects. One of the first songs I ever taught myself was “Who Knows.”

2. Rage Against the Machine (1991 debut album)  – Rage Against the Machine and their guitarist, Tom Morello, have been a staple influence for a great deal of my music.

3. Royal Blood (2014 debut) – Royal Blood is my favorite band currently, and there actually is no guitar at all in their music. Mike Kerr, the frontman and bassist of the duo, uses various effects pedals and amps to make his bass sound like an electric guitar and bass at the same time.  

Do you ever see yourself leaving the Hudson Valley? 

Yes, I would love to relocate to New York City when the time comes. But I love living in Woodstock, and the close-knit community we have here is truly like no other. I look forward to relocating when it’s the right time, but I don’t see myself leaving the area anytime soon.  

This column is dedicated to young creatives, a generation dealing with both a high cost of living and, for musicians, a reduced ability to earn money by selling their music and the high cost of touring.  How are you coping with the challenges?  And do you have to work a side gig or two to make ends meet? 

Although it is a challenge, I pride myself on fully focusing on my music career, even if I don’t see a lot of compensation. I see myself teaching guitar or even drums in the near future and helping shape the next generation of musicians and artists.  

Do you have any fascinating pre- or post-show rituals? 

My pre-show ritual is to listen to my pre-show playlist with some of my favorite songs to get me pumped up, take a shot, have a beer, and smoke a joint!  My post-show ritual is simpler: sit back, watch some live performances of my inspirations, watch a music documentary, or even hang out with my brother and go out.  

What are some of your favorite things to do, non-musical activities, in the Hudson Valley? 

My favorite things to do are go out to the Station Bar & Curio, Small Talk, go to Open Mic nights at Colony Woodstock and hang out with friends.  

What is missing in the Hudson Valley that you wish we had? 

I wish there were a musician-owned venue where all Woodstock-based independent musicians could do shows, rehearse and record – all in one place.  

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? 

Time Travel. 

Follow/Connect with Laszlo Lang via Website | Facebook | Instagram

Photos courtesy of Laszlo Lang and by Kacie Owen + Craig McCord + Tonya DeChar
Contributing writer Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer, and former publicist living in Saugerties.

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