Interview: Earlimart

Expectations are funny things sometimes. Earlimart’s album Mentor Tormentor -- amazingly well-written, bigger than life, and perfectly produced -- was my favorite album of last year. Without a doubt.

And while I would’ve been disappointed if the advance copy I heard of their new album -- Hymn and Her, which is due on Tuesday, July 1st -- was more of the same, it seemed so different that at first it threw me off.

After a few listens, it sunk in: It was less epic and orchestrated, but more personal, more vulnerable. Now I can’t stop playing it. And like Mentor Tormentor, I can’t imagine it ever getting old.

More recently, I caught up with Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza over IM to talk about Hymn and Her, the collaboration between him and her (bandmate Ariana Murray), and more.

RFSL (10:05:27 AM): Hey, Aaron.
Earlimart (10:05:49 AM): Hi, there.
Earlimart (10:05:55 AM): Mornin.
RFSL (10:05:56 AM): How you doing today?
Earlimart (10:06:03 AM): Just woke up.
RFSL (10:06:09 AM): Ha.
Earlimart (10:06:09 AM): One cup of coffee.
Earlimart (10:06:18 AM): In my boxers.
RFSL (10:06:22 AM): Ha, ha.
RFSL (10:06:34 AM): Just got back from a run. Could use a coffee.
RFSL (10:06:47 AM): How was the show at the Echoplex the other night?
Earlimart (10:07:46 AM): It was pretty neat. We played a bunch of new ones… Everybody stuck around. We're very fortunate. People that like us... Really stick with us. You know.
RFSL (10:08:12 AM): Sorry I missed it. I was in Chicago with the fam.
Earlimart (10:08:25 AM): It’s okay.
Earlimart (10:08:34 AM): You've seen us enough.
RFSL (10:09:00 AM): Did you have a full band backing or was it you and Ariana?
Earlimart (10:09:43 AM): We had a four piece. The same that did SXSW with us. Brian Thornell on drums and Andrew Lynch on keys/horn.
Earlimart (10:10:40 AM): It was cool... The last record we had the whole 5 piece with the strings thing. This show was pretty dirty. Rockin and loud. Something different.
RFSL (10:10:49 AM): Andrew is amazing on the horn. I remember when he used to play with The Black Pine, he'd just kill me with those parts.
Earlimart (10:11:06 AM): He's a great player.
Earlimart (10:11:09 AM): With the ladies.
RFSL (10:11:21 AM): It's the beard.
Earlimart (10:11:25 AM): Ha.
Earlimart (10:11:33 AM): Taught him everything he knows.
RFSL (10:12:11 AM): I had a friend who used to swoon about you at shows when you had a beard. Called it her "attraction to the indie rock mountain man" look.
RFSL (10:12:50 AM): (I think a lot of the women in our neighborhood grew up watching Grizzly Adams.)
Earlimart (10:13:36 AM): Well, most of us are 70's children... whose dad didn't have a beard.
RFSL (10:14:20 AM): Yeah. My dad had one for awhile and I thought he looked like GI Joe.
Earlimart (10:14:48 AM): Wait. Did GI Joe have a beard?
Earlimart (10:15:01 AM): You’re thinking of the snow mobile guy.
Earlimart (10:15:06 AM): The Scottish guy.
Earlimart (10:15:10 AM): ha
RFSL (10:15:14 AM): Nah, I'm talking about the tall ones before they got tiny.
RFSL (10:14:58 AM): The old one with the kung fu grip.
Earlimart (10:15:19 AM): oh yeah
Earlimart (10:15:21 AM): og
Earlimart (10:15:35 AM): the more ken doll
Earlimart (10:15:41 AM): thingy
RFSL (10:15:42 AM): "They're not dolls, they're action figures..."
Earlimart (10:15:44 AM): i mean
RFSL (10:15:45 AM): Yep.
RFSL (10:16:14 AM): So, yeah... Mentor Tormentor was my favorite album of last year.
RFSL (10:16:34 AM): And it felt like a culmination of the sound you guys were moving towards on your previous albums to me.
RFSL (10:16:59 AM): And Hymn and Her, the new one, seems very different for you guys as a band.
Earlimart (10:17:19 AM): Thanks, first off...
Earlimart (10:17:43 AM): The tone here is strange. Hope yer not disappointed.
RFSL (10:18:41 AM): Oh, yeah. It's weird to get things across in Instant Message. I'm not disappointed. I like it a lot. My expectations at first were off because I'd thought it would sound more like Mentor Tormentor and it took me a bit to get used to the change.
RFSL (10:18:53 AM): Sorry if that sounded strange. I meant it's a new direction.
RFSL (10:19:21 AM): I fell for track 4 right away. What's it called? The chorus is "I'm already in your heart."
Earlimart (10:19:24 AM): For The Birds.

Earlimart (10:19:39 AM): I guess the difference is simple... Ari and I wrote and recorded it in just 4 weeks... Compared to Mentor Tormentor which was about two years. We also recorded/played everything ourselves. Except for some strings and horns.
RFSL (10:19:42 AM): And that unlocked the rest of the album for me, you know? Expectations can be funny things to manage.
RFSL (10:20:37 AM): The last album was big and epic. This seems more organic and, I dunno, raw?
Earlimart (10:20:52 AM): We wanted to do the opposite from Mentor. Not just musically... but the way we approached the whole thing. Not overthinking every fucking thing. Just quick and dirty
RFSL (10:21:14 AM): (Did I just write "organic"? What does that even mean?)
Earlimart (10:22:11 AM): I think I said that in a press release. It means... grown without the help of artificial chems and pesticides.
RFSL (10:22:50 AM): Ha! You caught me quoting the press release. I'm a hack.
Earlimart (10:23:16 AM): It's kinda organic… the process was... we had no tunes... Ari and I would write em on the spot. It was pretty pure and natural.
RFSL (10:23:31 AM): So it was just you and Ariana?
RFSL (10:23:46 AM): And then you'd bring in the other players?
Earlimart (10:25:08 AM): Only other players were strings and horn... Though Frankel did play bass on Before it Gets Better.
RFSL (10:25:28 AM): Cool. And Ariana is doing more singing and song-writing this time?
Earlimart (10:29:24 AM): Yep. She's really coming into her own. I've been the sort of the one pushing and writing all the material... It's amazing to watch and be a part of. I'm very proud of her. She's a true talent. And I like the fact that she has more of an identity in the band. Onstage and in the press... Let's me relax a bit too. We've always been a team... It just feels like we're sharing more of the good and bad... than we used to. It's nice.
RFSL (10:30:31 AM): Happy Alone on the last album was the first song she'd written lyrics to for the band, right?
Earlimart (10:30:43 AM): Yep.
Earlimart (10:31:07 AM): Well, she has helped with lyrical bits here and there on my tunes.
RFSL (10:31:15 AM): The lyrics for that song just kill me. I'm amazed by it.
Earlimart (10:31:21 AM): What rhymes with what. you know.
Earlimart (10:31:56 AM): Yeah. She's a great writer. Thoughtful. Smart. Heartfelt.

RFSL (10:32:40 AM): Wanted to ask you about two unreleased songs...
RFSL (10:33:22 AM): Last time I interviewed you I asked what was your favorite song you'd ever worked on and you said I Love California w/ Jason Lyttle from Grandaddy. Will that ever come out?
Earlimart signed off at 10:35:33 AM.
Earlimart is offline and will receive your IMs when signing back in.
Earlimart signed on at 10:35:35 AM.
Earlimart (10:36:24 AM): sorry
Earlimart (10:36:26 AM): lost ya
Earlimart (10:36:19 AM): Hmmmmm. Well i sure do hope so. it's a timing thing. Sounds like there is a new Lytle record coming. So we'll have to see if it will get in the way of his release. blah blahblah.
RFSL (10:37:04 AM): And I remember you played a song for me in the studio when you were recording with Rademacher. It didn't make the cut for Mentor Tormentor.
Earlimart (10:37:31 AM): yeah. There's a bunch of odds and ends from that record...
Earlimart (10:37:40 AM): The records really.
Earlimart (10:38:29 AM): We're thinking about putting somethin together. Sort of rarities. It's our 10 year anniversary coming up next year. so maybe that'd be a good time
RFSL (10:38:49 AM): That would be great. I've always expected to hear it on a movie soundtrack or something.
RFSL (10:41:04 AM): What’s next for you guys?
Earlimart (10:41:55 AM): Hymn & Her comes out July 1st... A record release show at Amoeba Records in Hollywood… free on July 1st.
Earlimart (10:42:02 AM): Then a tour in july/aug.
RFSL (10:42:20 AM): You heading all over the country?
Earlimart (10:43:59 AM): Yep... but it's a bit streamlined... I think my days of touring the US for two months straight are gone… Sorry. Nothin' against every little shit town in America... It's just that i don't wanna live in a van my whole life.
Earlimart (10:44:51 AM): But for 10k, we will play any backyard bbq anywhere!!!!!!
Earlimart (10:45:00 AM): Transportation and lodging
Earlimart (10:45:05 AM): provided
Earlimart (10:45:29 AM): of course
RFSL (10:45:34 AM): Ha, ha.
Earlimart (10:45:56 AM): 10k is cheap!
Earlimart (10:46:00 AM): It's a steal.
RFSL (10:46:12 AM): So you're taking a break from recording and producing at your studio The Ship?
Earlimart (10:47:24 AM): Yeah. I've been super busy... Basically after we finished Hymn and Her, I went right into three different records. I'm almost at the end. Light at the end of the tunnel.
RFSL (10:47:42 AM): You've had a lot of great local talent record there... Frankel, Rademacher, Castledoor...
RFSL (10:47:45 AM): Who are the three bands?
Earlimart (10:47:48 AM): Made an ep for the band wait.think.fast..
Earlimart (10:48:03 AM): A record for the band Wonderground.
Earlimart (10:49:52 AM): And a record for Landy, which is a record from Adam Goldberg... the actor/writer/director guy. It's pretty neat. He's been working on it for eight years or something crazy like that. Part of it was recorded with Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips… And The Black Pine... I'm finishing it all up at The Ship.
RFSL (10:51:24 AM): Cool. So, one last question for you: What are you listening to these days?
Earlimart (10:53:54 AM): Currently... Jealous Guy by Lennon.
Earlimart (10:53:56 AM): but
Earlimart (10:56:28 AM): generally... The Movies’ new record, Based on a True Story… Stuff I'm working on... you know... Don’t get out too much. Oh....looking for the new Dios record in the mail any day now.
Earlimart (10:56:30 AM): You?
RFSL (10:57:13 AM): I've been listening to Hymn and Her and Mentor Tormentor a lot, actually.
Earlimart (10:57:23 AM): yer sweet
RFSL (10:37:42 AM): And an advance of The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra’s EP.
RFSL (10:57:42 AM): Been listening to the book on tape for Jack London's The Sea-Wolf, too.
RFSL (10:57:48 AM): Does that count?
Earlimart (10:58:03 AM): sure...
RFSL (10:57:18 AM): Good. Because it's really amazing. Jack London criticizing Nietzche's ubermensch.
Earlimart (10:58:26 AM): Actually been listenin to the David Lynch book on tape, Catching the Big Fish.
Earlimart (10:58:31 AM): fucking great!
Earlimart (10:58:37 AM): so inspiring
RFSL (10:59:00 AM): Really? That's cool. I need to look that up. Have a long commute to work, so I listen to a lot of books on tape.
Earlimart (10:59:26 AM): Yeah... I really recommend it… Good for yer soul.
Earlimart (10:59:31 AM): serious
RFSL (10:59:51 AM): Right on.
RFSL (11:00:10 AM): Well, that's all I've got for you, Aaron. Thanks a lot for all your time.
Earlimart (11:01:20 AM): You got it. My first IM interview. Was nice. Thanks!

RELATED LINKS:
- Song For MP3
- Mini-Interview: Earlimart

Photo courtesy of Darrin Noble.

Band Profile: Ema & the Ghosts

by Lindsay Mancha

The first time I saw Ema and the Ghosts, aka Ema Tuennerman, play was at Mr. T's Bowl in December '06. Music was scheduled to start at 9 p.m., and when I arrived at 9:15, the place was pin-drop silent, except for the crystal clear voice emanating from the stage area. The audience's attentiveness was a bit strange. The majority of rock show-attendants are often getting liquored up at the bar this close to a show's start… not scattered around the venue, in trance-like silence. The person on stage had somehow spellbound every single audience member.

Each time she performs, Ema (with a little help from the ghosts, of course) does this. The 18-year-old charms even the most jaded music-types, with her accordion, ukulele, and her near-perfect voice, equal parts sweet and soulful. Typically, Ema will incorporate a few crowd-pleasing covers into her set (The Flaming Lips' Be My Head or After Hours by The Velvet Underground); sometimes she'll wear a pair of bunny ears. And then there's her trademark giggle, unconsciously emitted each time she finishes a song; given these details, how could she not melt the frostiest of hearts?





Still, there's so much more that accounts for the way that show-goers, whether seeing Ema for the first time or the tenth, are awe-struck by the singer's performance.

When you watch Ema play, you notice the time she takes in between songs to transition – she switches instruments the same way an enthralled child might move from one beloved toy to the next. She has confessed that she sometimes gets nervous when playing; however, it's obvious that she is completely locked into her performance… and this intensity is transmitted to her audience. Whether she's playing a kazoo solo or sitting Indian-style on the floor in front of a cheap keyboard, her simplistic approach to performing packs more of an emotional punch than the most pre-meditated shows put on by musicians years older than she.

In short, Ema has got "it" maybe more than any person I've ever seen.

Many of her musical comrades agree. One guitarist maybe put it best: 'Watching Ema is like watching someone who is younger, smarter, and more talented than you are.'

As young as she might be, she seems to take a self-aware, sober-minded approach to her young career. In conversation, she sometimes sounds like a sagacious music veteran, not easily excited by certain offers that have come her way thus far.

"People have asked me if I'd like to record with them, but I'm happy making my own recordings," she explains. "They are lo-fi on purpose."

At the same time, she is completely eighteen, talking excitedly about The White Stripes and Arcade Fire. On the day that we last met, she mentions she spent the majority of her morning in bed with a cold, "scalping a Barbie doll" that she had found in a box of items her boyfriend collected from a theater he once worked at. She likes going to the park at night, to swing.

Specifically, Ema is most aggravated by a line of questioning that faces most people her age.

"I'm sick of adults lately with their question of whether I'm going to college. I got instincts about what I should be doing…I'm working up to something… hopefully!"

Statements like this hint at the songstress' greatness; although she proclaims she is just a kid that wants to do her own thing, you can tell she has big plans. Her choice to not go to college isn't a bi-product of laziness or apathy; it's just the opposite.

"I've got this anti-apathy campaign that I've been running my whole life," she says. "People don't seem to care about much at all. They could be doing a lot more if they just cared…I really just want anarchy. I do! I want anarchy… even though I know that [my music] doesn't come off that way."

While these sentiments are most readily expressed in songs about alligators that crave anarchy, and while hipster riots may never break out in the streets of Silver Lake , Ema stays passionate for the long haul by taking part in projects she is truly interested in. Apart from her solo endeavors, she plays accordion and sings in the Cobra Lilies, headed up by Monolators Eli and Mary Chartkoff.

Ema's in a unique position; she's at an age where she can adorn a pair of bunny ears without seeming overtly ironic. At the same time, she's already embarked on a formidable career that will continue to develop and flourish long after the ears have come off.

Ema will be playing at the Cochina Festival, a two-day acoustic music event in Claremont, on Saturday, June 7. She will be playing The Bell Jar in SF on June 26. Visit her myspace page to hear her music.

Photo by Jeff Koga.

Video Free Silver Lake: Le Switch, The Black Pine, & Earlimart

The Monday Show Low Down (Or "Did He Just Karate Chop A Building?")

Happy extra day off. I've been off work for the last month and am headed back tomorrow with no clear idea of how to cram running in the morning, writing the site, writing fiction, going out at night to shows, and doing a full-time plus job into any sort of a realistic schedule.

This week sure is going to be interesting:

Monday, May 26
- Mezzanine Owls, The Quarter After, Asteroid 4, & EXITMUSIC @ Spaceland (FREE)
- Le Switch, Vanessa Micale, The Minor Canon, & The World Record @ The Echo (FREE)
- Porterville @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)
- Surrender The Pink, Mrs. Brown's Lovely Daughter, & The Pocket Rockets @ Mr T's Bowl
- Sean Carnage Presents Anavan, Attractive & Popular, & Voodoo Organist @ Pehrspace
- Indie 103.1 Presents...Check One Two Mondays w/ Foreign Born, Willoughby, Rides On Rides, & Restaurant @ The Viper Room

DECISION:
Wow. Where the hell did the entire fucking month of May go? Tonight's the last night of Le Switch's residency at The Echo and Mezzanine Owls' residency at Spaceland. Two fantastic LA acts and both performing for free.

As far as the openers for those two shows go, EXITMUSIC are dream pop greats, The Minor Canon made one of my favorite pop albums from last year, and I really like what I've heard of The World Record.

To make matters even more complicated, Foreign Born are playing over at The Viper Room... Now, choose!

Tuesday, May 27
- Rock Insider + Web In Front present The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, Vaudeville, Sarah Woods, & Jake Blanton @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Lavender Diamond variety show w/ Eleni Mandell, Mia Doi Todd, Becky Stark, & more @ The Silent Movie Theatre (8pm)
- Everybody Else @ The Troubadour
- Santina, Jellmunekita, Manhattan Murder Mystery, & The Monolators @ Mr T's Bowl
- Jaguar Love (members of Blood Bros & Pretty Girls Make Graves), & XBXRX @ The Echo
- Gran Ronde, Castaneda, Evan Slamka (from Majorie Fair), & The Electromagnetic @ Spaceland

DECISION:
Tuesday night is another tough night for the indecisive. There's the Rock Insider/Web in Front show w/ The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra and friends at The Silver Lake Lounge. (I've been listening to an advance of their cd and it's pretty fucking great.)

There's also this variety show put on by Lavender Diamond, who are quite fantastic, at The Silent Movie Theatre. And then my friend Octavius from KXLU Demo Listen says great things about Gran Ronde at Spaceland.

Wednesday, May 28
- Voxhaul Broadcast @ The Viper Room
- Mates of State @ The Henry Fonda
- Superdrag @ The Troubadour
- Metal Madness Nite w/ Unraveled, Earth at Night, Master Cylinder, & A Crooked Deal For The Deaf @ Mr T's Bowl
- Windy City Gentlemen, Globes on Remote, Derek Halet, & Manhole and the Manley Men @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Colorforms, Learning Music, & Halls of Machine @ Tangier
- Abe Vigoda, Parenthetical Girls, The Pwrfl Power, & AU @ The Smell
- White Rabbits, Happy Hollows, & Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ The Echo
- Indie 1031 pres: CLUB NME with The Billionaires, & The Swayback @ Spaceland
- Hard Place, Young Hunting, & Farmathon @ Echo Curio

DECISION:
Any chance to see The Happy Hollows live should be taken. Mouse at Classical Geek Theatre likes Voxhaul Broadcast. And I keep intending to go see Colorforms.

Thursday, May 29
- Ariel Pink, The Sagitarrians @ The Echo
- Superdrag @ The Troubadour
- Jamie Lidell @ The El Rey
- Club Flotsam w/ Seeing Thingz, Hearts of Gold, Renfield, & Out of Town @ Mr T's Bowl
- Filter Presents: Pela, Neva Dinova, & Ladyhawk @ Spaceland

DECISION:
Been meaning to check out both Ariel Pink and Pela...

Friday, May 30
- Club Underground w/ Hot Challenge, Tempo No Tempo @ The Echo
- 89.9 KCRW presents: Fiery Furnaces & Grand Ole Party @ Spaceland
- Why Because, (VxPxC), On Holiday, & Shimomitsu @ Echo Curio
- Beirut @ The Wiltern
- Securty Productions, The Wreck Tangles, The Rum Fits, Rover's Pink, & Andrew's Bad Stuff @ Mr T's Bowl
- The Traditional Fools, The Power-Chords, The Sess, & The Zookeepers @ The Smell
- Trever Keith @ The Troubadour
- Mospeada, Bastidas!, Michael Naht, & Die Rockers Die @ Pehrspace

DECISION:
Noise band Die Rockers Die are the only Central Second Collective act I haven't seen play before. They broke up or hibernated for awhile but returned recently, supposedly w/ a vengeance. Also? Beirut are in town for two nights.

Saturday, May 31
- 89.9 KCRW presents: Fiery Furnaces & Grand Ole Party @ Spaceland
- Abe Vigoda, Crystal Antlers, The Muslims, & AM @ Pehrspace
- Smog Sessions @ The Echo
- Beirut @ The Wiltern
- Captain Ahab & Battlehooch @ The Smell
- Cinematic Sunrise @ The Troubadour
- The Cure @ The Hollywood Bowl
- Club Suicide @ The Echoplex
- Swervedriver, Xu Xu Fang, & Film School @ The Henry Fonda

DECISION:
People have been salivating about the Xu Xu Fang and Film School show w/ Swervedriver at The Henry Fonda since it was first announced a few months back. And with good fucking reason. Also worth noting: Crystal Antlers are playing the same night at Pehrspace.

Sunday, June 1
- Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club w/ Shiloe, Rocking Horse People, Tigers Can Bite You & Death to Anders @ All-Star Lanes
- The Henry Clay People, The Minor Canon, & The Physics of Meaning @ The 6th Street Warehouse
- Poleshift @ The Troubadour
- Super Duper Star, The Happy Casualties, Stab City, & The Hard Goodbye @ Mr T's Bowl
- Dommm, Lucky Dragons, Kixly, Teengirl Fantasy, & White Leopards @ The Smell
- Hikes w/o Mikes w/ One Trick Pony & Mad Gregs @ TBA
- Grand Ole Echo pres: Mike Stinson,David Serby, & Ruby Friedman @ The Echo
- The Neil Hamburger Country Winners Revue...featuring Neil Hamburger

DECISION:
Sunday night? There are great shows at All-Star Lanes w/ Tigers Can Bite You, Death To Anders, and more; The Henry Clay People, The Minor Canon, and The Physics of Meaning at the Sixth Street Warehouse; and, no shit, out on a trail somewhere w/ One Trick Pony.

That's it. Did I miss anything? Please lemme know.

Reminder: Pehrspace On Sunday Night

Last night at Spaceland, I think I ran into members of at least eight different local bands and it was pretty great to see them all hanging out, talking. Friends...

The music community here is really something special. I mean, beyond all these people being so talented, they're good people as well. They get along well, skip petty band rivalries, and support each other whenever possible.

And that's quite the case with the people who are playing at Pehrspace on Sunday night. The line-up is comprised of ethereal dreamsters One Trick Pony, local princess Sarah Negahdari from The Happy Hollows, and excellent singer/songwriter Malcolm Sosa from Rademacher (w/ North Carolina's The Physics of Meaning, who are new to me but people speak well of them). Should be great music with quality people at the friendly BYOB athmosphere at Pehrspace. Can't recommend it more.

Recommended Reading: Web In Front

If you don't already have new music site Web In Front on the list of sites you visit every day already, you should definitely visit and add it to your Favorites.

They do album and concert reviews, interview bands, publish residency diaries, post pod casts, and much more. My favorites so far are their interviews with The Airborne Toxic Event and Radars to the Sky, plus they reviewed our Let's Independent! show earlier this week and posted some great photos from it.

Also worth noting, they're presenting a show along with Rock Insider next week at The Silver Lake Lounge. It's next Tuesday with The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, who I'm a big fan of, and a bunch of acts I'm not familiar with yet.

The Wednesday Show Low Down (Or "Are you there, Crom? It's me, Conan...")

After drinking a decent amount of tequila last night, I ended up falling down some steps face first into a garbage can. (Okay. One of those green bins for leaves and grass... It sounds more noir the other way.) Parts of my hands and face kind of miss having skin.

I'm as all kinds of stupid as the bands at our Let's Independent! event at Boardner's last night were all kinds of great. Like Mouse says, it's a bit incongruous to review a show you helped put on, but I can say personally that I'm really liking The Karabal Nightlife's new material, Long Beach's The Soft Hands demand movement, and The Savages made me say out-loud at one point, "That song reminds me of watching a comet..."

Many thanks to everyone who played, attended, and helped spread the word. Here's what the rest of the week is looking like:

Wednesday, May 21
- Indie 103 presents CLUB NME with The Hard Lessons, F. Scott Ashbury Band, & Children Collide @ Spaceland
- Dub Club with Warrior King @ Echoplex
- Unpopable w/ dorianwood @ Mr T's Bowl
- The Kills @ The El Rey
- Adele @ The Roxy
- The Dresden Dolls, Smoosh, & Lavender Diamond @ The Wiltern
- Cave Singers, Moonrats, Triumph Of Lethargy @ The Echo
- My Brightest Diamond, Pedestrian, & Sara Lov @ The Hotel Cafe
- Miss Derringer, Piel, & Mount Righteous @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Adam Green @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
Anyone have any recommendations for tonight? I love Lavender Diamond, but not so much The Wiltern.

Thursday, May 22
- The Radar Bros, The Parson Redheads, Greater California, & Ed Vallance @ The Knitting Factory
- isgoodmusic.com pres: Les Blanks (record release party), Amateurs, The Monolators, & Correatown @ Spaceland
- French Kicks, Weather Underground, & Roll the Tanks @ The Echo
- Stand Uppity - Andy Kindler, Marc Maron and Eugene Mirman @ Echoplex
- El-P & Busdriver @ The El Rey
- The Apple Miner Colony, Homesick Elephant, & Wummin @ Echo Curio
- Auto-Erotix, Zoopy, Demonika and the Darklings, & International Espionage! @ Mr T's Bowl
- Bad Dudes, CPC Gangbangs, Experimental Dental School, & Wounded Lion @ The Smell
- Greasy Beats & The Jane Does @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Daryl Hall & John Oates @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
I don't know Spaceland headliner Les Blanks too well, but really like supporting acts Amateurs, The Monolators, and Correatown. Also heart The Parson Red Heads and mean to finally see The Radar Bros play... Decisions, decisions.

Friday, May 23
- The Hundred Days @ El Cid
- Harrisgrade @ The El Rey
- The Von Bondies, Die! Die! Die!, The Shys, & Io Echo @ Safari Sam’s
- Sequin Trails, Michael Berg, & Ilo Mar @ Echo Curio
- Crooked Cowboy, Dogweed, Lungbutter, The Gobshites, & The Sly Digs @ Mr T's Bowl
- Vivian Girls, Pocahaunted, Black Black, White and The Writing, & Zombelle @ The Smell
- Illegal Substance, Hockey, & The Growlers @ Spaceland
- Pizza!, Kool Teen, Experimental Dental School, & Primos @ Pehrspace
- Casiotone and the Painfully Alone & Foot Foot followed by Club Underground Djs @ The Echo
- Oliver Future, Radars to the Sky, Casxio, & 5 O'Clock Somewhere @ Echoplex
- Teitur & Jesca Hoop @ The Scene
- The Idyllists @ El Cid
- Pocahaunted @ The Smell
- Daryl Hall & John Oates @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
I love hard-working local indie rock act Radars to the Sky and Mouse says great things about poppy, dreamy Echoplex headliner Oliver Future.

Saturday, May 24
- You Me & Iowa record release party w/ The New Trust, Calamity Magnet, & The Voyeaurs @ Spaceland
- Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s @ The Echo
- Firethorn Record Release, Shipwreck, & The Sirens @ Mr T's Bowl
- Club Poseur @ Echoplex
- Kelley James @ The El Rey
- Batter Recharger, Advanced Beginner, & Mayo @ Echo Curio
- Japanther, The Pharmacy, Bad Dudes, & Bipolar Bear @ The Smell
- The Foals & Maps and Atlases @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
To paraphrase Don Henley: out on the road today, I saw a You Me & Iowa stick on an enormous fucking SUV... Regardless, their cd release party at Spaceland on Sat night should be much fun.

Sunday, May 25
- Sarah Negahdari (The Happy Hollows), Malcom Sosa (Rademacher), The Physics of Meaning, & One Trick Pony @ Pehrspace
- The Bros. Unconnected: A Tribute to Charles Gocher & Sun City Girls @ Echoplex
- Part Time Punks @ The Echo
- Bigbang @ Spaceland
- Sudden Oak, Ducktails, Super Minerals, & Infinite Body @ Echo Curio
- Ana Lasso @ Mr T's Bowl
- Nanda Devi, Ox vs. Thunderbird, Green & Wood, & Suns Beneath @ The Smell
- Ben Pringle (The Rentals), Alex and Sam, Mount Righteous & Wisely @ Tangier

DECISION:
I'm really looking forward to Sunday night at byob art gallery Pehrspace. It's the ideal spot to see quiet pretties One Trick Pony play, and Sarah from The Happy Hollows and Malcolm from Rademacher are performing solo to boot. (Haven't heard Malcolm on his own before, but Sarah is often fantastic.)

That's it. Please lemme know if I missed anything.

Reminder: Free Show Tonight at Boardner's of Hollywood!

Hope you can make it out tonight to Boardner's of Hollywood for our latest Let's Independent! event with indie rock spookies The Karabal Nightlife, upbeat Long Beach trio The Soft Hands, and psych rock mind-blowers The Savages. It's FREE, there are $3 Dewar's drink specials, and promises to be all kinds of goddamn fun.

For details and MP3s, go right here, and here are some links to interviews we've done with the bands:

The Karabal Nightlife: "[It's] a fictional city from the great 80s gymnastics/karate flick Gymkata... In the movie, the main character goes to Karabal and someone throws a spear at him in the bazaar and he quips 'So much for the Karabal Nightlife...'"

The Soft Hands: "Basically, we're all too scared to give each other orders for fear of what fury we might unleash on each other, but at the same time, we really like being in a band together, so we still get stuff done."

The Savages: "You begin writing and the song starts creating the story and the dream in your mind and heart. From there it is a discipline of letting the music take the lead."

Dog soup art by Christine Hale.

The Monday Show Low Down: The Reader's Digest Condensed Version

Expect a full show update later this week, but for now... Tonight is all about the great versus match between dueling FREE residencies at Spaceland and The Echo -- the dream pop Mezzanine Owls in one corner and the jangly, bluesy Le Switch in the other. (Read all about it right here.)












And Tuesday, we have our FREE Let's Independent! event at Boardner's of Hollywood with The Karabal Nightlife, The Soft Hands, and The Savages, plus $3 Dewar's specials.



Strange and wonderful poster by Christine Hale.

Mini-Interview: The Soft Hands

Long Beach's The Soft Hands are jangly and nervous and exciting -- everything that you like about older SoCal acts like The Minutemen, but fresh and new. In short? They make you want to jump around a lot.

Just listen to their song I Hope So and try not to bob your head up and down and/or back and forth within the first twenty seconds. Even those without a pulse will find it catchy, frenetic, and fun.

They're playing our FREE Let's Independent! event next Tuesday night at Boardner's of Hollywood (with The Karabal Nightlife and The Savages) and if you're not already all kinds of excited about it already, you should read the interview below with them and download a few tracks.

How you are you guys doing today?

Good. Good. Good. We're all doing very good.

How long have you all been playing together now?

Almost three years.

How did you meet?

Through the miracle known as Craiglist. Not much you can't get from that thing, though depending on how frequently you use it, a good doctor and lawyer might be handy.

Matt met Elizabeth first, then a couple of months later the Craiglist stork brought us Casey.

What does the name of the band mean?

It could stand for patience and an openness to all ideas and all possibilities. Google seems to think it has something to do with softcore porn literature and religion.

I was thinking it some self-effacing comment about being over-intellectual... What are your favorite and least favorite things about being a band down in Long Beach?

The Long Beach we know is seriously like Cheers. It's small and everybody knows your name. However, we have yet to run into Rhea Perlman or Woody Harrelson or Cliff Claven.

There's a nice diversity in musical styles and personalities of the bands down here but everyone is eager to help, support, and share for the most part.

Least favorite thing is that due to the fact the most national level indie bands play on LA, the music scene here, albeit highly concentrated and wonderful, is not as widespread over the general populous as it is in some places. Still bands in Long Beach are taken care of treated well by the venues and crowds.

You guys are believers in the "no leader, no lagger" philosophy, right? How does that work?

Basically, we're all too scared to give each other orders for fear of what fury we might unleash on each other, but at the same time, we really like being in a band together, so we still get stuff done. So everybody carries there own weight without the use of scales or orders.

I've read that "all of your songs happen purely accidentally."

Um, in some senses they do, but at the same time, if you listen to us or see us live, we play in a fairly basic three piece fashion, so we're not necessarily just throwing out random notes or playing sprawling dissonant epic collages.

Basically, the three of us got together eager to make music. We didn't know each other at all and none of us wanted to tackle the other what to do or what was "right." So what happened was a lot of random pieces were assembled without a blueprint of what we weere aiming for. We've never got together and said, "let's make this type of song."

How did your five-song cd come together?

We recorded with two nice gentlemen named Chris Heckman and James Achor. At the time, they were managing a band who's singer I've know since childhood and in the tradition of friends doing friends favors, they kindly had us up for a weekend to record us at a very generous rate at their fantastic studio in the scenic hills of Glendale. Thanks, Chris and Joe!

Are you planning on recording new material soon?

We are recording a full length album in July to be released in September by Fidotrust Records. Fidotrust is a new label started in Long Beach by some really amazing friends of ours. They recently released a comp of all Long Beach bands called "Trust Us: A Long Beach Comp." Its got songs by over 24 really great bands from down here and we highly recommend it to all intelligent life beings

What's next for you?

Record album. Release album. Tour. Tour. Tour. Tour.

On a personal level, Casey is in search of the perfect burrito, Elizabeth is fixing up this really cool old bike she found, and I am trying to invent the dream machine.

Last question: What are you listening to these days?

Well, we all live together and we've been covertly leaving mix cd's in front of each others doors. So lots of mix cd's? Is that too evasive. Do we actually need to say what we're really listening to and then have the entire readership of Radio Free Silver Lake judge taste in music? ;)

We do always like to listen to whatever song The Happy Hollows leak to their Myspace page. Also, the Long Beach Comp has been in roation at the house

That's it. Thanks so much for your time.

Thank you, Joe.

DOWNLOAD:
- I Hope So MP3
- I'm On Fire MP3
- Up The Ladder MP3

The French Semester Album Release

It pretty much says it all in the headline, doesn't it? Breezy lofi pop group The French Semester have their first album Open Letter To The Disappeared arriving tomorrow, but you can order it online today. (Scroll down for an MP3 that will likely convince you to do just that.)



Click here for a radio interview on ISGOOD w/ John Hershfeld and here to find out where they're playing next.

DOWNLOAD: Winter Song MP3

Video Free Silver Lake: Mezzanine Owls & Le Switch

This month's free residencies at Spaceland and The Echo feature heartbreakers Mezzanine Owls and Le Switch, respectively, so here are some new and old videos from both...

The Monday Show Low Down (Or "Someday They'll Find Us And We'll Be Diamonds...")

If you hadn't noticed yet, the city started adding water to the Silver Lake reservoir a few days ago. It's more than half full now after being drained for a few weeks because of an excess amount of bromate.

I never got any pics, but it's not the most photogenic spot on its best day, I guess...

Anyway, here's what this week is looking like in live music in LA:

Monday, May 12
- Le Switch, Division Day, The Henry Clay People, & Princeton @ The Echo (FREE)
- Indie 103.1 Presents...Check One Two Mondays w/ Film School, Everest, The Savages, & Castaneda @ The Viper Room
- Porterville, Aanchors Aaweigh, Daniel Ahearn, & Legs On Sale @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)
- Poi Dog Pondering & Abra Moore @ The Troubadour
- Surrender The Pink, Fire At Play, Gild The Lillies, & Johnny Sixpack @ Mr T's Bowl
- Nikki & Aaron Embry, Kimberly Linn, William Fitzsimmons, & Lukas Haas @ The Hotel Cafe
- Mezzanine Owls, We Barbarians, Eagle and Talon, & The Black Kites @ Spaceland (FREE)

DECISION:
For a way-too-involved look at your Monday night music choices in May, go right fucking here...




Tuesday, May 13
- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Port O’Brien, & The Black Watch @ The Echo
- Avi Buffalo, I Make This Sound, The Breakups, & Los Trendy @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Gran Ronde, Sleepercar, Aushua, & Republic Tigers @ Spaceland
- Dracula Mountain @ The Troubadour
- The Silver Pines, Thousands, & Fantastic Ego & Echo Curio
- The Carrots, The Muslims, Stammer Famine, & PROTECTME @ The Smell
- KCRW Presents Dr. Dog, Willoughby, The Billionaires, & The Western States Motel @ The Hotel Cafe

DECISION:
I like what I've heard from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Port O'Brien, but that Dr. Dog and The Western States Motel show at The Hotel Cafe sounds pretty good, too.

Wednesday, May 14
- Queen Kwong & Spider Problem @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Langhorne Slim & Ferraby Lionheart @ The Troubadour
- The Yoshida Bros @ The El Rey
- Kassia Conway, Marcus Very Ordinary, & Jenny O @ Tangier
- Dub Club @ Echoplex
- Jeff Ramuno, Charts and Maps, Ars Poetria, & The Nocturnes @ Mr T's Bowl
- Indie 103 presents CLUB MNE w/ Efterklang, Slaraffenland, & Karin Tatoyan @ Spaceland

DECISION:
East side? Maybe check out Karin Tatoyan or Queen Kwong. West side? Ferraby Lionheart is pretty damn impressive live.

Thursday, May 15
- Hearts of Palm UK, Jon Ruf and Mr The Teeth, Lady Tigra, Fiction Company @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Bow and Arrow, Kuato, & Sasquotch @ Echo Curio
- The Ivy Walls, Blue Jungle, Winston and the Telescreen, & Windy City Gentleman @ Spaceland
- Miss Derringer, Love Grenades, & Tour De France @ Bordello
- Burlesque-a-Go-Go, Mama Suki, & Hell Surfers @ Mr T's Bowl
- Eisley @ The El Rey
- Palms, An Horse, & Katy Davidson @ The Smell
- South, Silver State, Ki: Theory, & Johnny Lloyd Rollins @ The Echo
- The Little Ones, Ra Ra Riot, & Army Navy @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
Yeah, all of you lazies have to travel all the way over to The Troubadour to see pop merchants The Little Ones, Army Navy, and Ra Ra Riot play. I know, I know...

Friday, May 16
- LA Underground Presents Shiloe, Repeater, & The Hundred Days @ Bordello

- Kathleen Edwards @ The Troubadour
- Radio 4 @ Spaceland
- Discount Cruz to Hell, Fuji Minx, Romak and the Space Pirates, & Slowmo Erotic @ Mr T's Bowl
- Queen Mae & The Bells, Telematique, Mimes of Wine, & Hell-Kite @ Echo Curio
- Naked on The Vague, Megafuckers, SWFT WNGS, David Scott Stone, & Laco4te @ The Smell
- The Proclaimers @ The El Rey
- KCRW Presents Jesca Hoop & Salt and Samovar @ The Hotel Cafe
- American Music Club, Gordon Gano and The Ryan Brothers’s -- Followed by Club Underground @ The Echo
- Dim Mak & Echo present: Turbo Records Party @ The Echo
- Jack Wilson Jr, Dustin Fire, Tall Tales (from Ventura), and Deepakalypse @ Pehrspace

DECISION:
Those KCRW folks sure love them some Jesca Hoop and Salt and Samovar...

Saturday, May 17
- Earlimart, Voxhaul Broadcast, Siggy, (DC Release Party), Light FM @ Echoplex
- Hang The DJs @ The Echo
- The Minibosses, Totally Radd!!, Fatigo, & Bossk @ The Smell
- Matt Costa & The Delta Spirit @ The El Rey
- Street People, Crosswalk, & Dirty Branches @ Echo Curio
- What Made Milwaukee Famous, The Dead Trees, & The Whipsaws @ Spaceland
- The Hour of the Shipwreck Album Release Event w/ Tales of Banyon @ The Lofto
- The Dirtbombs @ The Troubadour
- Nightshift 2nd Anniversary, Versailles, Demonika and the Darklings, & Experiment Perilous @ Mr T's Bowl
- The Bentleys, Tremellow, & The Nixes @ The Brewline

DECISION:
There are a lot of great shows on Friday night, but getting a chance to see Earlimart play tracks off of their new album is far and away my favorite pick. (Light FM are bonus rad.)

Sunday, May 18
- The Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club PROM w/ Fol Chen & Castledoor @ All-Star Lanes
- Grand Ole Echo: Stonehoney, Leslie & The Badgers, Band of Annuals (feat. Members of Cub Country) @ The Echo (early)
- Part Time Punks w/ Jeremy Jay, The Sea Lions @ The Echo (late)
- February Fifths & Leviathan Brothers @ Tangier
- Buffalo Eye, Amps on Ten, & Run @ Mr T's Bowl
- Kissing Cousins & The Hectors @ Spaceland
- Blake/E/E/E/E & Tim Rutili (Califone) @ Echo Curio
- Tall Hall w/ De Novo Dahl, Low vs. Diamond, & Carolina Liar @ The El Rey
- Murder By Death, dios malos, & Gasoline Heart @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
Going to the Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club Prom with Castledoor and Fol Chen could be one of the finest days of your (post) high school life. (We'll be renting a room at the Super 8 and drinking Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine afterwards... Fuck yeah!)



That's it. Please let me know if I missed anything.

Interview w/ The Savages

LA's The Savages are one of those acts that you hear, immediately like, and want to shake your friends by the shoulders and say, "You have to hear these guys!!" (Such was our experience, at least...)

We checked in with members William, Kilo, and Mark over Instant Messenger earlier this week and the conversation follows below.



RFSL (1:04:20 PM): Hey! How are you guys doing today?
Mark (1:04:40 PM): doin well
Mark (1:04:55 PM): how about you?
RFSL (1:05:22 PM): I'm doing pretty well. Got the day off and my game just came out today.
Mark (1:06:59 PM): cool i am a cod4 fan myself
RFSL (1:07:25 PM): I used to work on Medal of Honor and am a big COD4 fan. Just beat GTA IV last week.
RFSL (1:07:28 PM): So how long you guys been playing together? How did you meet?
William (1:08:23 PM): Mark and I played around a little musically but headed in The Savages direction last Nov.
William (1:08:56 PM): I moved into a house with Kilo and he came to a recording session at Chermak one weekend. [Edit Note: Chermak Studios is run by Tim from The Movies.]
William (1:09:19 PM): Jumped on the keys and now we're here
RFSL (1:09:33 PM): When did you start playing out?
William (1:10:25 PM): We had our first show out in December
RFSL (1:10:35 PM): Where was that?
William (1:10:44 PM): The world famous Zen Sushi
RFSL (1:10:48 PM): Ahhh.
RFSL (1:11:33 PM): I caught you guys at The Movies' cd release show at Bordello. That was a great night.
Mark (1:12:17 PM): yeah that was a lot of fun
William (1:12:19 PM): that night was a special night for sure. a lot of fun. We missed you at the afterparty
Mark (1:12:38 PM): yeah afterparty
RFSL (1:12:50 PM): Good times?
William (1:13:05 PM): yeah man.
William (1:13:19 PM): we're having a retro-electro party this friday.
William (1:13:53 PM): You are invited. Kilo will be doing some djing
RFSL (1:14:18 PM): Many thanks. I've got the girlfriend's moms staying with us, but I will see if I can get out.
RFSL (1:14:31 PM): So you're recording at Chermak Studios?
Mark (1:15:22 PM): yes we have been recording there on and off for a couple months... its been really great working with tim, he has a place over there
Mark (1:15:51 PM): typo he has a great place over there
RFSL (1:16:13 PM): Yeah, I can imagine. I've gone to shows where he's done sound and he's phenomenal.
RFSL (1:16:26 PM): And The Movies are one of my favorite bands in town.
RFSL (1:16:39 PM): How did you end up over there?
William (1:16:47 PM): Yeah they're great.
William (1:17:53 PM): We started hangin' out with Tim. He mentioned he had a studio one night. Took him up on it.
William (1:18:28 PM): Have you heard the legend of the Chermak Chicken?
RFSL (1:18:50 PM): What is the Chermak Chicken?
William (1:19:11 PM): Aaaaaaaah. I'll let Tim tell you about it.
RFSL (1:19:17 PM): Ha, ha.
RFSL (1:19:27 PM): I've seen the Spuds MacKenzie lamp there, which I covet.
RFSL (1:20:20 PM): So I understand that you guys have a personal philosophy where you try to avoid digital shortcuts?
RFSL (1:20:30 PM): Or how would you explain it?
William (1:22:08 PM): Well we don't exactly try to avoid digital shortcuts. We embrace the benefits of technology in our music and otherwise, but we do try to encourage the traditional forms of human connection when possible.
RFSL (1:24:05 PM): So you place a lot of importance on shows?
Mark (1:24:17 PM): absolutely
Mark (1:24:59 PM): it is all about the enchantment of the live show
RFSL (1:25:28 PM): When do you play next?
Mark (1:26:12 PM): the viper room may 12th for check one two
RFSL (1:26:31 PM): Excellent. With Everest and ...
William (1:26:40 PM): Film School
RFSL (1:26:55 PM): That's a great fucking line-up.
William (1:26:58 PM): I'm a fan of theirs. Cool vibe on the tunes
William (1:27:08 PM): yea for sure
William (1:27:46 PM): So Joe how long you been doing RFSL?
RFSL (1:28:29 PM): The guys at Radio Free Chicago asked me to do an LA version of their site two years back and change.
RFSL (1:28:55 PM): (They're our older, smarter, more handsome brother.)
Mark (1:29:03 PM): cool man are you from chicago?
RFSL (1:29:34 PM): Yeah, I grew up going to The Metro and seeing Naked Raygun. Left before Tortoise, unfortunately, but caught Ministry a lot.
RFSL (1:29:39 PM): Shellac.
RFSL (1:29:51 PM): Where you guys from?
Mark (1:30:01 PM): i love naked raygun
RFSL (1:30:18 PM): They toured a few months back!
Kilo (1:30:36 PM): they need to come out here
Mark (1:31:20 PM): kilo is from new york
Mark (1:31:51 PM): i'm from colorado
William (1:32:09 PM): I'm from Denver where the air in thin, the women are a tough and the mountains spectacular
RFSL (1:32:14 PM): No one in LA is really from LA, are they?
Mark (1:32:22 PM): i know right?
RFSL (1:32:55 PM): So how would you guys describe your music? I'm terrible at doing that. I'd say there's a psych rock influence, but it also reminds me of early Black Sabbath. That doesn't do it justice, though.
William (1:33:23 PM): Dude Black Sabbath. That is a new one.
Mark (1:33:28 PM): thats a new one i havn't heard black sabbath yet
RFSL (1:33:38 PM): I love that first album.
William (1:33:56 PM): Yeah yea
Kilo (1:34:17 PM): i've heard judas priest
RFSL (1:34:39 PM): It's got to be kind of annoying hearing people mention bands they think you sound like. When I was in a band, people said we sounded like Psych Furs and The Strokes.
RFSL (1:34:48 PM): I was like ... really?
Mark (1:34:52 PM): haha
William (1:35:18 PM): lol. I like to talk about our music in terms of what it makes me feel or imagine.
RFSL (1:36:38 PM): What does it make you feel or imagine?
William (1:37:07 PM): Depends on the song.
RFSL (1:37:34 PM): Let's say Light Your Lamps.
RFSL (1:37:46 PM): (Because I'm listening to that on your myspace page right now.)
Mark (1:38:00 PM): awesome thats a great tune
William (1:38:05 PM): Overall music composition is an imaginative process for us.
William (1:38:35 PM): You begin writing and the song starts creating the story and the dream in your mind and heart.
William (1:39:00 PM): From there it is a discipline of letting the music take the lead.
William (1:39:23 PM): Light Your Lamps will tell you a different story than it will tell me.
William (1:39:39 PM): I would love to hear your take on the song.
RFSL (1:40:24 PM): I can see/hear what you're saying. A lot of songs might not do that, but a song like Light Your Lamps is more experiential [sp?].
RFSL (1:41:01 PM): It's like taking a journey or tripping. It's kind of impossible not to get caught up in it.
William (1:41:09 PM): exactly.
RFSL (1:41:56 PM): It must be incredibly damn fun writing a track like that.
Mark (1:42:08 PM): oh boy u bet!
RFSL (1:43:11 PM): You guys writing a lot of material right now as you're recording or how does that work?
Mark (1:43:12 PM): that song on the myspace is actually a rough one take jam. the finished version is pretty damn similar but with keys
RFSL (1:43:24 PM): Looking forward to hearing it.
Mark (1:44:58 PM): actually we have a lot of material but one of our weakness is recording it, we sort of procrastinate in that department
RFSL (1:45:35 PM): Why is that?
Kilo (1:45:39 PM): we are a live band
RFSL (1:45:38 PM): Ahh.
RFSL (1:46:01 PM): When's the cd coming out?
William (1:46:42 PM): that is TBA soon.
RFSL (1:47:36 PM): Is it a full album?
William (1:48:45 PM): Don't know yet.
Kilo (1:48:57 PM): we come up with new stuff every other week and try to record it as much as can
RFSL (1:49:50 PM): Cool. Anything else new on the horizon? Tour or residency?
William (1:50:27 PM): We've got some great shows coming up.
Mark (1:50:39 PM): and some fun parties
Kilo (1:50:48 PM): but we would love to go on tour
William (1:50:56 PM): Really looking forward to your night at Boardner's on the 20th.
RFSL (1:51:07 PM): Thanks. I'm really looking forward to it, too.
RFSL (1:51:27 PM): I would love to see you guys play with Xu Xu Fang.
William (1:51:30 PM): Just having fun and mixing it up.
William (1:51:44 PM): I like XUXU. I've seen them a few times.
Mark (1:51:47 PM): yeah that would be cool
William (1:51:56 PM): They have a certain magic.
RFSL (1:52:07 PM): Yeah. Definitely.
RFSL (1:52:19 PM): So last question for you: What are you listening to these days?
William (1:52:20 PM): That would be a great combo
Mark (1:53:13 PM): strauss thus spoke zarathustra
William (1:53:35 PM): Mark that's a good one.
Kilo (1:54:31 PM): i like to listen to mum,m83,the movies ,danger digitalism mia
Mark (1:54:55 PM): yeah the movies are pretty sweet
RFSL (1:55:08 PM): That new cd is fucking great.
William (1:55:08 PM): Some of the sounds coming out of france, suicide. anoraak.
Mark (1:55:20 PM): totally
Kilo (1:55:49 PM): too long of a list but we like to dance
RFSL (1:56:00 PM): Heh.
RFSL (1:56:02 PM): Right on. Well, that's all I've got for you guys.
William (1:56:20 PM): cool man. we'll see you on friday. hope you can make it out.
Mark (1:56:29 PM): allright joe it was great chatting with you
RFSL (1:56:31 PM): Thanks so much for your time.
Mark (1:56:35 PM): looking forward to Boardner's
RFSL (1:56:38 PM): Thanks! Will try to make it out.
William (1:56:44 PM): Thanks for having us on. We love what you are doing and appreciate it for sure.
Kilo (1:56:46 PM): peace joe ill have a beer bong waiting for you