“Stratford truly is a veritable hot spot of artistic, young talent that spans across several genres,” tells Mary Anne Rose King. She is older sister, inspiration, and close witness of 17 year old Lawrence King, whose musical efforts are leaving an indelible impression on the youth of Stratford. She continues to describe, “Lawrence's diverse ability to create rock/grunge music alongside his band mates for Sadukii, as well as electronic music on his own reflects that diversity”.

 

He may wear two musical hats, but Lawrence desires to be seen as a great musician, not just as a “Deejay” or a “Rocker”. He is determined to “make it” as a professional musician at any cost. He dreams of touring, running a label, and making noteworthy music, and he is well on his way.

 

Lawrence started playing piano at age four and studied Conservatory through Grade 6 level, giving him a strong musical foundation. He got is first guitar at nine, and some of the first music he experienced was a Live Led Zeppelin album from his dad. His friends also shared music with him, and Lawrence was quickly turned onto AC/DC and (mimicking its iconic guitar hero Angus Young) he purchased a SG copy guitar. He eventually drifted away from these early influences and began writing his own songs. His thirst for song writing soon consumed so much of his life he often could be found avoiding responsibilities (like school work!) to write music.

​

Lawrence always wanted to be in a band. He wanted to play drums, but his parents got him a guitar instead, “for obvious reasons”. He attended a Long and McQuade two-week Rock Camp led by instructor Bob Pope. It was there that he met fellow schoolmates, future best friends and band mates Mitch Hartung and Conor Beer. The three had an instant chemistry. Their friendship extended beyond the camp and soon turned into regular jams, giving birth to their current rock band Sadukii. “I was fortunate to have found those guys. I probably wouldn't be wanting to be playing any kind of music with anyone else,” Lawrence elates.

​

Conor weighs in, saying, “Lawrence and I have been playing music together since we were about 12 years old, and I'm always amazed how much he changes on stage. He's kind of a shy guy, but with a guitar and a microphone in front of him he turns into a beast.”

 

Lawrence's sister Mary describes the band: “Sadukii is one of the many very good grunge groups in Stratford, alternating between mournful and heavy guitar riffs and ethereal, purposefully lackadaisical lyrics, filled with the nostalgia of a bygone era that, although many of us can not fully remember it personally, can understand almost intuitively; that is, the rainy sound of real grunge. As for his electronic music, his songs really are specifically unique to the genre, crossing the lines between rock and electronic music, and creating a marriage of sorts between the two. The melodies and many motifs of his songs are often beautiful, shimmery sounding tracks that follow an almost natural sounding progression through the piece, balanced out with a distorted, stirring and pounding bass line that is difficult not to dance to.”

​

A lot of the sound and energy that Sadukii produces they owe to the influence of Nirvana, a band that Mary introduced to Lawrence. “Seeing their energy and the way it sounded, it was nicer to try to write and be wild and free. Not make [music] like what people think it should sound like.”

​

Asked about local influences, last month's featured Start Stratford musician Jae Holdsworth and Milton, Lawrence boasts about and recalls fondly, “Mitch went on MySpace, and found Milton, and it was like HOLY, this is crazy. We idolized these guys. We were at a battle of the bands and they walked in. It was as if Elvis walked in looking like total bad asses. Now our bands play shows together. We realized they are people too. They have the same goals. We are going to try to go on tour with them next summer.”

​

This fixation on touring obsesses Lawrence and his band mates. He explains, “There is a tonne of kids crying over whether they get a good grade on their tests. That means the University they had in mind is out of the question and there is people freaking out about school, but the three of us, we worry if we are going to get a tour bus or the right van and what we are going to do for the tour. It is the pinnacle of our whole high school experience where we are just worrying about this tour that might happen.”

​

In 2011, Lawrence was over at a friend's house where he was introduced to Deadmau5. This was the first electronic music he had heard since Daft Punk at age nine. Lawrence jokes about his naivety at the time, “My sister told me they were robots and I was convinced they were until when I got the internet and found out they weren't robots. I was obsessed how they played and performed.”  Deadmau5 has inspired Lawrence to attempt to craft his own songs on the music software platform FL Studio. He spent a great part of the summer of 2011 figuring out how to make electronic music.

 

The gift of a laptop and music software like FL Studio gave way to Logic and soon the more advanced Ableton Live. He began creating music under the moniker Raydar. Lawrence reflects both fondly and with disdain over two recent gigs in Toronto opening for Stratford's own Tallan M.D. (who is making his own waves in the Toronto music scene). "When I got there, I was playing to friends, which is awesome but wasn't everything I was expecting it to be, but it was a really good experience and it was a lot of fun. The second time however, was a bit of a bust for me. I got kicked out the bar because I am not 19. I had to miss Tallan's set which really sucked cuz his set is fun and it is just wild… Big Guy comes up to me, 'Got ID?'! 'No I don't actually'. I went to this other restaurant beside the venue and just stat next door and had a Pepsi.”

 

Saddened but not discouraged, Lawrence has been churning out some of his best work for some online producer contests. Asked if he will continue to pursue both projects equally, “If for some reason I got noticed with my electronic music and I had opportunity to get signed to a label with my electronic stuff, sign me up, but I would not stop with the band. I would keep going at it like that. I don't look at it as one vs [the other]. It's obvious for another person to see like whoa that's so weird, electronic and rock music, but to me it is all the same. I just want to create music. I would be happy making one or another. I would be happy touring the world with my band. I just want to be a rock star.”

​

Conor elaborates, “I think the difference between Sadukii and his electronic stuff (other than the completely obvious differences) is that Sadukii is completely spur of the moment, while Raydar songs are analyzed and edited constantly. Most of our [band] songs are written spur of the moment, so they have this kind of euphoric, aggressive quality, whereas Lawrence spends hours in front of his computer, perfecting every beat for his Raydar stuff.”

​

Beyond his two musical projects, along with friends in Slouch, they have launched the label St. Rat, whose goal is to conglomerate Stratford's promising young artists under one name and reach other towns. Lawrence is definitely one of the young artists to watch to see what he does next. This is the beginning of a fabulous journey down two streams, but one river.