At the tender age of three, Lou was drawn to the mysteries of the reel-to-reel tape machine. In the mid-sixties, his father, like many other officers serving during the Vietnam war, brought back remarkable stereo equipment acquired on leave in Tokyo. Fascinated by this, Lou became interested in music and music production.

Like his brother Phil and their other siblings, Lou studied classical piano for several years before choosing guitar as his main instrument. On a family trip to Denver, his cousin’s mixtape introduced him to rock. Hearing his cousin play “Free Bird” at the high school battle of the bands sealed the deal. When Lou returned home, he instantly acquired an electric guitar and began studying the rock guitar greats. Hendrix, Page, Beck, Clapton, Tom Scholtz and Peter Frampton were among his early influences.

In middle school, Lou started his first group, Second Opinion, with his brother Phil on keyboards and they quickly became the house band at a local coffeehouse. Drawing on his early love of music technology, Lou composed and produced original music using tape machines and equipment he bought with monies earned from odd jobs. Throughout high school and beyond, he formed and played in many Chicago bands, including Crosswinds, Myth, Farcry, The Brotherlands, Just Add Water, Phenius J, and Third Rail. While studying electrical engineering in college, he became an accomplished live sound engineer, eventually working with many well-known national and international recording artists.

In 2021, Lou and longtime collaborator and vocalist Tom Sullivan began the next phase of their musical journey. Revisiting songs left on the table from years past, Tom, Lou and his brother Phil, pondered and reimagined this music for a new era, breathing new life into it and shaping what is now Sativa Brothers. Drawing on their lifelong influences from the elders of rock, the project celebrates what rock has been and where it can go next.

Long live rock.