Former Lotus guitarist Mike Rempel shared a conversation he had with newly minted Lotus guitarist Tim Palmieri. The musicians recorded their discussion on September 10 following Mike’s final performance with Lotus and ahead of Tim’s first with the band.
After more than 20 years with Lotus, Rempel announced his final shows with the band would take place at their Summerdance Festival September 3 – 5. Palmieri — who is also in Kung Fu and The Breakfast — played his first show with Lotus at Ardmore Music Hall near the group’s native Philadelphia on September 16, but not before virtually linking up with Rempel for a discussion about “passing the torch,” as Mike framed it.
“As I see it, this is primarily for the fans,” Rempel said at the outset of the conversation. “Let’s just let them into our world a bit, connect and talk about what this is like for us…when I mentioned it to you, you seemed really excited.”
“Absolutely,” Tim replied. “I’m excited to jump into this thing [and] preserve your legacy. I’m excited to talk to you, we’ve always gotten along and had some good musical moments over the years. This is not a light thing that is happening, this is a big move for everyone involved.” Palmieri added, “If this was the future, maybe I could download all the info in your brain and integrate it into my stuff but no, there’s a lot of learning to do.”
The guitarists continued that learning process by interviewing each other with Mike sharing some of his experiences with Lotus and Tim adding his thoughts and insights as well. It’s a fascinating and unique conversation between two musicians with a great deal of respect for one another.
Watch “Passing the Torch: A Conversation Between Mike Rempel & Tim Palmieri” below:
