The current line-up is me! Haha  At least for now, I am the sole member of LM. LM began in the Fall of 2002.  My original bass player, Pete Black, and I attempted for some time to assemble a full line-up, but we were unable to find musicians who were serious enough to commit to the project. Ultimately, Pete ended up having to leave the project,due to military and other responsibilities.  That was really disappointing, as he’s a damn good bassist, but rather than quit, I decided to just go ahead with the project on my own.

I think of it as being largely melancholic and atmospheric, with a progressive edge.  There’s also a strong focus on melodic passages.  I don’t know if that would really make any sense to someone who hasn’t heard it, but that’s the best way I can think of to describe it.

I read a great quote once that said ‘musicians are the sum of their record collections’. I find that to be very true for myself.  I listen to a wide variety of genres and styles of music, both metal and non-metal, and have drawn influence and inspiration from a great multitude of different artists.  I think my music is a mixture of all these components. As far as blending the different sounds, it’s not even something I do consciously. All of those different influences are within me, and manifest when I write music.

That's tough!  I don’t know that I could pick just one Metal genre, but if I had to, I’d probably go with progressive.  It embodies such a large spectrum of sounds, since it is, itself, a make-up of different sounds. I’ve already mentioned some of my favorite bands, but some of my favorite albums would be (and not just metal): 
Metallica –Lightning & Puppets
Iron Maiden – Live After Death, Piece of Mind, & Brave New World
Anthrax – Among the Living
Bad Religion – Stranger Than Fiction
Lacuna Coil – Unleashed Memories
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
Sepultura – Arise & Chaos A.D.
Dream Theater – Awake & Metropolis 2
Led Zeppelin – ALL
The Gathering – Nighttime Birds & Mandylion
Opeth – Blackwater Park & Damnation
Venom – Black Metal
Alice In Chains – Dirt
King Diamond - Abigail
Symphony X – Divine Wings of Tragedy & V
Katatonia – Last Fair Deal Gone Down
Evergrey – In Search of Truth
Virgin Black – Sombre Romantic & Elegant…and Dying
Danzig – I & II
Misfits – Walk Among Us
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood
Jimi Hendrix – ALL

That’s all I can think of at the moment.

I did it entirely on my own, in my home. I was pretty limited as far as what I could do with the minimal equipment I have. Ideally, I’d like to have used an actual recording/sound studio, but due to financial constraints, I was unable to do that.  The project is completely self-funded, due to the fact that I’m not going through a label.  It’s tougher financially, but I get to have complete control and work at my own pace. That’s important, because I work a ‘regular’ job, six days a week, and have a wife and daughter to support. I’m hoping that I’ll have enough resources in the future to better fund the next release.

I’m a very spiritual person, which comes through in my music.  I write about things that are important to me. When doing so, emotion will invariably come into play.  I firmly believe that’s the only way to write music; directly from the core of your being.  I’m not saying that every piece of music has to be deeply emotional, but it should be a genuine reflection of one’s essence.  Anything less would just be superficial. I think we have enough superficiality in music today. As far as what can rob me of inspiration, I really can’t think of anything specific. Some days you’re creative juices just flow more freely than on others. Who can say why?

Just about everybody has experienced some significant degrees of pain in their lives. Whether or not that pain is a necessary ingredient for good songwriting, I really don’t know. I believe it can definitely help, at least for me. I think, for many of us, that our most painful life experiences usually turn out to be a catalyst for major development in our character. Though they can sometimes be very damaging, if we’re fortunate, we can take from these negative experiences some wisdom and maturity which can, in turn, be very useful implements in the creative process. I don’t really have a set procedure.  I find that most of the time, the best stuff is not premeditated, but comes totally by accident.  I usually sit down with my guitar, having no specific agenda, and see what comes out.  I just love to play.   

Hey, I’m the first to admit that my vocals leave a lot to be desired  I’m definitely NOT a singer!  I didn’t even plan on doing the vox on the album.  I actually had a female vocalist lined up, but I lost contact with her.  I’m still not sure what happened to her. At that point, I didn’t really want to waste alot of time trying to find another one.  Perhaps I was too anxious to get the cd out, but it seemed it was doomed to suffer one setback after another.  I finally just said ‘fuck it’, I’ll just do it myself! I think that’s how Mustaine ended up doing the vox for Megadeth, isn’t it? There’s no specific mood when I sing.  I write about things that are meaningful to me, and I hope that that comes through to the listener.

I wish I could answer that one! Haha!  It’s a mystery. In my case, it seemed the really talented drummers were committed to other projects and therefore, had pretty full schedules.  I’m planning to at least get a session drummer for the next cd.

I’d love to be able to get a band together and do shows.  I’m hoping that will become a reality in the future, although I’m not really interested in doing any extensive touring.  I’d probably do mainly local shows with the occasional exception.

I just released the cd a month ago and haven’t had the time to do a whole lot of promo, so feedback has been very limited. The little feedback I’ve gotten so far has been mostly positive, so I have no complaints.

Hmmm…another tough one.  I think I’d have to say melancholy.  Sort of a solemn, meditative kind of lamentation.  Geez!  That sounds like really pretentious bullshit!  Doesn’t it? If it were a painting? – probably a wintery landscape.  Winter is my favorite season.  It’s a season of tranquility and solace.  To me, it’s a peaceful time of introspective reflection.  It’s also the season in which my creative processes tend to flow best.  For whatever reason, it’s very inspiring for me.

I’d like to think that the guitar work is the best element in my music.  That’s my main instrument.  I’m always working to better myself as a guitarist. Though I play keyboards and bass on the album, I really only consider myself a dilettante of both. As I mentioned earlier, I feel my vocals are the weakest area. I don’t know that having released only one cd qualifies you to have a trademark, per se.  I think a trademark is only evident after a prolonged period of time.  However, I would like my trademark to be that of having brought all, or most of, the various types of metal together.  

Photography and digital art are also passions of mine.  I would pursue both. 

16.LUPINE MOON IS ANOTHER EXPRESSION FOR THE FULL MOON RIGHT? WHY DID YOU SELECT THIS MONIKER AND WHY DO YOU INSIST ON WOLF THEMATOLOGY? WHAT IS IT YOU FIND SO APPEALING?

Lupine actually refers to something of, or pertaining to, the wolf.  My wife actually suggested the name. While I was trying to come up with a name, I asked if she had any suggestions.  She knew I wanted one with some type of wolf reference and came up with Lupine Moon. I’ve always had an affinity for wolves. It is, perhaps, due to my Celtic heritage.  My Irish surname, O’Connor, is an Anglicization of the Gaelic, ? Conchobhair, which literally means ‘lover of Wolves’. It’s for this reason that I wanted a name with a wolf reference. The ‘moon’ part just seemed appropriate, given the nocturnal nature of the wolf.  Besides, I just thought it sounded cool.

I think you covered all the bases. Much thanks for the interview!