Mini-Interview: (((eagle winged palace)))

Despite positive press from such disparate local outlets as The LA Times, The LA Weekly, KROQ, and You Set The Scene, LA's garage rock outfit The Prix quietly folded late last year -- but leads Cashew Von Harding and Blake Jordan have recently returned with a new group, the 60s psyche folk-themed (((eagle winged palace))).

We caught Von Harding over AIM earlier this week to find out more before they open our FREE Let's Independent! event at Boardner's w/ The Minor Canon and Luke Top Tuesday.

EWP (6:11:20 PM): Hello?
RFSL (6:11:34 PM): Hey!
RFSL (6:12:18 PM): How are you doing? You ready to do this?
EWP (6:12:21 PM): Sure, I'm on the bus.
RFSL (6:13:27 PM): You get points for taking public transit in LA!
EWP (6:14:16 PM): Gas is kinda expensive and it gives me some breathing room to write, scribble, chart, and just fuck around.
RFSL (6:14:24 PM): Cool. So, what is (((eagle winged palace)))?
EWP (6:14:33 PM): The name?
RFSL (6:14:54 PM): How would you describe the band?
EWP (6:15:21 PM): I guess if they were filing it at Amoeba, they'd probably put it under folk or psych folk. Obviously, we try hard to go farther, but understand practicality.
RFSL (6:16:34 PM): I think you mentioned before that there's a concept uniting all the songs you've created so far... Sort of a 60s psyche Hollywood theme?
EWP (6:16:54 PM): Yes and no. That's just one of the stops are train goes to. It travels Old California, whether it’s Big Sur in the 20s, or Hollywood in the 50s, or the Salton Sea at the turn of the century, lyrically speaking.
EWP (6:17:24 PM): We even hit old time Tijuana if it feels right!
EWP (6:17:42 PM): But musically, its connected by a sound that does come across sounding 60s and west coast
EWP (6:18:24 PM): Very trippy.
RFSL (6:19:34 PM): Very different from what you guys were doing with The Prix.
EWP (6:22:41 PM): Yeah, me and Blake were just having fun and wanted to rock out, but we were both raised under classical and folk music households, as were the rest of the collective.
RFSL (6:24:41 PM): So, how long has EWP been around now?
EWP (6:26:27 PM): Well, it started as a little art project more than a year ago, but didn’t take real shape until I asked my friends for help last November
EWP (6:27:20 PM): OOH! An accident on Olympic Blvd!!
RFSL (6:27:29 PM): Everyone okay?
EWP (6:28:21 PM): Yeah, but not the passengers on this bus. It’s an unruly mix of LAHS kids and pissed-off peeps who wanna go home.
RFSL (6:28:34 PM): Ahh.
RFSL (6:29:20 PM): So, EWP is your first band since The Prix broke up. What happened?
EWP (6:30:55 PM): Well, I had been working on it well into it while The Prix were doing their thing, but I think it was fatigue for most of the guys.
RFSL (6:32:12 PM): Then you had a few people join you in EWP afterwards.
EWP (6:34:35 PM): Yes, the basic concept for EWP is centered around Old California. The themes, the instrumentation, the spirits are all connected to that, and originally I found some kinship in friends who I'd hope may help play some stringed instrument here, sing a lead vocal there.
EWP (6:34:41 PM): To my surprise.
EWP (6:35:20 PM): We all forged a straight up vocal group still wrapped up in the same concept, but with an unexpected instrumentation - serious harmonies.
RFSL (6:35:30 PM): Including Blake, who played keys for The Prix.
RFSL (6:35:41 PM): Who are the other members? What are their backgrounds?
EWP (6:39:13 PM): Michelle Vidal is quite the premiere picker around town. The girl can play, but man can she back it up with her voice.
EWP (6:42:50 PM): Uncle Rhea-Rhea is my lovely wife who, while raised singing opera, has also kept her talent to herself since high school and now is blessing this project with her clear, perfect tone.
EWP (6:43:30 PM): Sister Meegan has been a friend of mine for years and has kept her talent to herself until now and she's taken my songs and thrown them somewhere else. I'm beside myself with her voice.
EWP (6:43:50 PM): Helping us on shows has been Super Karma on ukelele and she has her own fabulous band that I lend my hand in, with guitars and mandolins and the like.
RFSL (6:45:21 PM): Ut oh. Haffing some connection trouble...
RFSL (6:46:28 PM): You there?
[My connection has gone down. We reschedule on the phone for tomorrow.
RFSL (12:14:34 PM): Hey!
RFSL (12:14:43 PM): How's it going?
EWP (12:15:16 PM): Hola, Joe.
RFSL (12:15:56 PM): You have time to continue the interview?
EWP (12:16:45 PM): Sure. Today I'm sitting in a boring food court in Century City surrounded by agents and cubicle warriors. Save me!
RFSL (12:16:52 PM): Ha, ha.
RFSL (12:26:27 PM): Cool. So when we were interrupted by Bad Internet Weather last night, you were talking about the backgrounds for the different people in the band.
EWP (12:29:01 PM): Yes, I believe I got everyone in. For several, this is their first music project on the scene, so to speak, save schools or churches.
EWP (12:29:43 PM): I'm proud of them all.
RFSL (12:29:58 PM): Excellent. And you've recorded how many songs so far?
EWP (12:32:33 PM): We're currently recording a cycle of songs which should end up as about 12 when finished. We've put together three as a sampler EP to generate some fun and I'm currently putting the means to making it interactive for parties to make their own mixes and add beats, etc.
EWP (12:32:51 PM): We'd like to have something in the can by the fall.
RFSL (12:33:14 PM): Cool. And you've played a handful of shows in LA so far.
EWP (12:34:29 PM): Yes. We're looking forward to playing the night at Boardner’s. We seem to be mutual friends with Luke Top and we do love us some Minor Canon.
RFSL (12:34:49 PM): What's next for you guys?
EWP (12:38:09 PM): Focusing on our recordings is probably #1 priority. Having a collective with this many voices and ideas, songs are pretty much created on a daily basis and its a challenge to catalog them all, while producing what we have, and maintaining a strong performing set.
EWP (12:38:18 PM): It's quite exhilarating!
RFSL (12:39:10 PM): Cool Well, I just have one more question for you: What are you listening to these days, local or otherwise?
EWP (12:39:38 PM): Hmmmm.
EWP (12:40:08 PM): Locally, a new act popped on my radar whom I like He's My Brother She's My Sister.
EWP (12:40:55 PM): Its also satisfying seeing old friends like No Age and The Weather Underground start to kick them national doors around.
EWP (12:41:53 PM): Strangely enough, I've been on a speed metal kick again though. Don't ask.
RFSL (12:42:28 PM): I had a big black metal kick about ten years back which culminated with me buying The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
EWP (12:43:04 PM): They pretty much spearheaded the movement, didn't they?
RFSL (12:43:42 PM): Heh, I needed something different and had spent years hearing that it was so many people's favorite album.
RFSL (12:43:47 PM): And now it's my favorite album.
EWP (12:44:05 PM): Every song is a treasure.
RFSL (12:44:47 PM): But I still have a place in my heart for bands with singers that sound like giant monster bats.
EWP (12:45:11 PM): You bet.
RFSL (12:45:22 PM): It's like if Man-Bat sang.
EWP (12:45:35 PM): Haha.
RFSL (12:46:14 PM): Well, that's all I've got for you, sir.
RFSL (12:46:22 PM): Thanks so much for your time!
EWP (12:46:35 PM): Thank you.

DOWNLOAD:
- Hand of Doom MP3

Photo by Sterling Andrews.