Mini-Interview: The Switch

LA jangly pop outfit The Switch pretty much demand attention: Immediately likeable, powerful live, and nice as hell, they’re the type of band you want living in the middle of your neighborhood and playing out often.

Lucky for us, they do on both counts. We spoke with lead Aaron Kyle about what brings them here and where they’re going next.

Hey Aaron, how’s it going? The Switch are one of my favorite acts in LA right now. How long have you been around? How did you all start playing together?

Joe (Drums) and I (vox/guitar) started playing together in January of 2006 and about a month later Maria (trumpet/viola) joined the band. Chris (bass) came next, then Josh (keys).

How is The Switch a collection of each of your influences. What bands have you all been in before? What do you all bring to the table?

We all come from pretty different backgrounds but we’ve all been a pretty big influence on each other.

We’ve all been in various bands before this one. I played solo for awhile and in an LA-based band called Veeda. Joe played drums in a band called Daphne The Painted Lady. Maria used to play in the NY-based punk-ska band, The Loose Nuts. Chris was in a Portland-based band called the Dolomites. And Josh has a Master’s Degree in Music Composition…

I saw your drummer Joe Napolitano play with indie country band The Lonely Years a few weeks ago at Pehrspace and they were fantastic. I hope he can keep up duties for both groups. He’s really talented.

That’s a common misconception. Hahaha!

Yeah, that show was great! Joe is kind of a band slut. He’s in a number of bands around LA including his project, NapTunes, which I also play guitar in.

So you have to change your name from The Switch? What’s the story behind that? What are some of the names you’re considering?

There’s a band in NY called The Switch. They copyrighted the name. We’re in the process of coming up with a new one.

If anyone has any suggestions besides: Darth Chocolate, Aerial Ballet, Mr. Whiskers & The Sunshine Kids, or Diarrhea of Anne Frank…we’re open.

You guys are playing the Sea Level Records Going Away Party at Safari Sam’s on Friday, June 22nd with Division Day. There are quite a lot of us local music dorks who are really sad to see the store close. Sea Level was really supportive of LA bands -- but it’s probably particularly so for you since you worked there for a time.

Yeah, we’re really sad to see the store go. Todd let us have our record release there. And he’s helped out a lot of LA bands. Sea Level is the only record store in Echo Park and it will be a real loss to the neighborhood when it closes. But we’re really excited and honored to be a part of the going away party at Safari Sam’s.

What’s next for you? Any touring, residencies, videos, or what not?

We have a bunch of shows coming up in LA. Our next show is Sunday June 10, at Spaceland. We’re planning on recording a new EP in July.

Cool. Last question: What local acts are you most enjoying right now?

We’ve been diggin The Broken West, Troika, and Tandemoro, and we really enjoyed playing with Rademacher at Boardner’s.

That's it. Thanks for your time, Aaron.

Here’s a video clip from when The Switch played Let’s Independent! at Boardner’s last month.



RELATED LINKS:
- Tongue Tied MP3
- Living In Another World MP3