The Path Less Beaten
Dan Lord and Adam Guthrie of the bands Pain and Salvo
Pain was formed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1994 by friends Dan Lord and Mark "Pose" Milewicz. Guitarist Adam Guthrie joined soon afterward. With Milewicz pn bass guitar, and Guthrie on the guitar, Lord became the band's songwriter and lead singer.
The band gained a following in quick succession.
Pain played music variously described as pop punk, punk rock, and ska. But there was a time when the word ska was verboten around the band. Singer Lord took to the band's website in 1997 to categorically deny that Pain was a ska band: "There are a lot of styles we emulate and ain't none of 'em from the island of Jamaica. So please, PLEASE, unless you're just havin' some fun with us, don't call us a ska band."
As with all of us, they’ve mellowed with age. While their music should still not be referred to as “ska” - the odds of receiving a pissy missive from Dan Lord are exponentially less.
Pain released four albums, toured the world, and produced original music for the mid-nineties reboot of the kid’s cartoon, Jabberjaw.
In 2000, while Pain was talking with interested record labels, Lord shut down Pain to pursue his religious calling. Lord received his Master of Theology from the University of Dallas, married, and became an author and father. He followed that path for 18 years before reconnecting with Guthrie in 2018.
In those intervening years, Lord continued writing music. After reconnecting with Adam, the two felt that this new material was best suited as Pain songs. The two made plans to record and release the new music. When Milewicz declined to return, Lord and Guthrie felt it was inappropriate to call the group Pain without one of the co-founders... and Salvo was born.
Salvo released their first album, Off the Charts, in 2019. In August of 2022, Salvo released The Traveler. Even after close to two decades, Salvo picked up right where Pain left off.
Dan Lord and Adam Guthrie sat down with Geoff and Keith to talk about their career... and what's next for the band.