Quick Hit Artist Interview: Runson Willis III

Runson Willis III at the Bootleg Theater

Q&A time with the artist. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I would describe it as a part of music culture that is the voice of the people. I feel it's the struggle and the way of life. I would hope it is something that people can use as the part of their testimony.

If you weren’t pursing music as a career or passion, what do you think you might be doing in its place? Look up baby paintings, instead of playing music, if that were an option. But I do both.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Pu$$y Cow

Pu$$y Cow at the Redwood Bar

Q&A time with the Joe, lead singer. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? When people ask, I usually say punk rock. all the songs are silly and short. Bass heavy. For fans of The Dwarves, The Cramps, early Vandals and maybe a touch of Minutemen and Dead Kennedys.

Do you have a favorite music-themed movie, TV show or book and what about it speaks to you? I can't speak to the rest of the band . . .  but we tend to quote Spinal Tap quite a bit. I'll watch any music movie pretty much. Mike and I love The Monkees so I guess that's a TV show. Book. Off hand, I'd say High Fidelity. I was a mix tape maker and that's a heavy part of the book. I need to stress the book over the movie. Kevin will sometimes let us borrow different rock biographies from his library too.

Quick Hit Band Interview:The Walcotts

The Walcotts at the Bootleg Theater

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I like to call us "Rock'n'Roll", it's all the great genres wrapped in one. Blues, country, R&B, Jazz - that's what makes a good sound in my ears at least. I'm the son of a former DJ, and I was raised on Rock'n'Roll, they covered everything from the Beatles and the Stones to Motown, Stax to Fleetwood Mac, Springsteen and more. If most of those bands/Styles came out today they'd likely be pigeon-holed into some sub-genre...but for me/us, it's Rock'n'Roll! *

What’s your favorite gig/set/tour story memory? Favorite gig was probably Stagecoach back in April, that was an amazing set/gig/stage! We were even on two jumbo screens, so that was a first for us!

Tour wise - it would have to be the tour we did opening up for Chris Stapleton the weeks after he swept the CMA Awards, did a duet with Justin Timberlake and had the #1 record in the country. That whole run was sold out and the biggest room probably held 1,500 people. It was something really special!

Which do you enjoy more, writing a great song or performing a great song? It's hard to decide . . . there is a joy that you feel when writing that isn't like anything else, you've created something out of thin air and you're really happy with it. It's touched you emotionally on some level, and that is something that can never really be understood unless someone else has had that feeling as well. But performing a song live, it can take on a life of it's own . . . once the song is out there in the ether, the people make it their own and react to it. Playing live is one of my favorite things to do, as is writing . . . but playing live and having an audience react and connect, there is something special about that, also. I don't think I could pick one over the other, it would be like choosing between children.

Quick Hit Band Interview: CALICO the band

CALICO the band at the Bootleg Theater

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? We call our sound "California Country". We are inspired by the music of the late 60's and early 70's that was happening in the Laurel Canyon, 3 part harmonies, guitars, roots and country flavored songwriter music. It is country without the "twang" of Texas and without the shiny polish of the Nashville sound.

Is there a specific decision the band has made (good or bad) that it feels other bands/artists could learn from? Our decision to get together as a band and lean on each other's strengths is what has carried us. If you can find a partner that you gel with, stick with it and take the time to uncover that person's talents and allow them to elevate you.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Air Traffic Controller

Air Traffic Controller at The Satellite

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Oh boy, I think today I'll call it ... Alternative Pop. There are some opposites in our music that work together to create this ATC sound. With the two of us singing and writing, you now hear this conversational dude -vs- a storyteller poetess; folky instrumentation -vs- electronics/ rock elements; thoughtful lyrics -vs- slamming hooks. We have managed to sound like a lot of things throughout our albums, making 'variety' an expectation of our fans. If we started sounding like just one of these things I think we would get a little bored and so would they.

I found your music to be layered and intricate. How do you go about developing a song's sound? In this band, we hardly have any clue how a song might turn out before going into the recording studio with our producer Bleu, which I find really exciting. As wild and fun as he is to work with, he's also very methodical and organized. He likes receiving our demos beforehand, some are very basic and acoustic, and some are layered with lots of ideas. He'll share his thoughts on the direction - this one could have strings, that one could be a great anthem, etc. Then we spend a little time discussing, sometimes listening to classic artists that came to mind while listening to the demo. For the most part, every song gets its own treatment, there's no formula like - we need to have that same synth we've been using, or we must put mandolin on this one too. Each song just gets it what it needs to be great. The lo-fi demo is sometimes even clearly used in the final recording like you'll hear in "The House" and "Creature...", and "This Is Love"

What’s a question you'd find interesting? I think this would be interesting to ask an up and coming artist - Would you rather be a 1 hit wonder known all around the world -OR- have a steady underground following?

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Cellars

Cellars at The Resident

Q&A time with the artist (Alle Norton). Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I guess I would describe my sound as modern, emotionally driven pop with 70s and 80s influences.

Do you have a favorite music-themed movie, TV show or book and what about it speaks to you? I can't say it's my all-time favorite, but for some reason the movie SLC Punk came to mind. I really enjoyed its portrayal of suburban teenage ennui and the way its characters identified with and defined 'punk', as well as the soundtrack of course.

Quick Hit Artist Interview: Nathan Kalish

Nathan Kalish at The Satellite

Q&A time with the artist. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? American roots music.

I heard you've been on constant tour for a few years. What are a handful of your favorite side trips, restaurants, etc? I’ve been touring constant for about 6 years. I like Scandinavia a lot but I love discovering new to me small towns in America, the places you don’t see on a map and you never know how you got booked. There are countless old mine towns and hippy communities that have their own music communities in the Ozarks, Catskills, Rockies or beach towns. Places that you would least expect.

Quick Hit Band Interview: New Evil

New Evil at The Satellite

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Do you have a favorite music-themed movie, TV show or book?

Sophia, Vocalist. Foreboding Rock n roll/Cowboy Bebop.

Ian, Lead Guitar. Dark Rock n Roll/Labyrinth cuz Bowie is amazing even in spandex.

Patrick, Drums. Aggressive Melodic Rock/Flash Gordon. Queen rules!

Joey, Bass. Alternative Rock/Amadeus.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Bone Acre

Bone Acre at Harvard & Stone

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? High desert post-punk.

What motivates you to write your music? When I was younger, and I was going through a difficult time with some criticism I was receiving with the music I was creating, I called my grandmother. She is a prolific multi-media artist, and is half Native American. I asked her why. Why do we do this? Why do we put ourselves through the process? She paused and said, "I've asked myself that many times through my life. I feel that the earth speaks to me, and I have to express what it tells me or it will burn me up. I think that is in my blood. I think we do these things because we have to or it will kill us. So, it doesn't matter what people think, or what they say. It's to keep you alive." That was one of the truest things I ever heard anyone say, and I could never pretend to say it any better.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Big Language

Big Language at the Silverlake Lounge

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I like to think of our music as a tapestry of bittersweet sentiments. The sound is always changing moods and dynamics. Each song kind of has its own world and its own color.

Does the band have any releases coming up? We have our first EP available online currently and will be releasing our next album in the coming few months.

Long Form Band Interview: The Mots Nouveaux (2014)

The Mots Nouveaux at Brokechella (2014)

This interview was done in 2014 with the band. It was conducted in context with the music festival, Brokechella, which is now known as Broke LA. I hope you enjoy:

Notes from Vivace:  I know Emma found Aaron over Myspace.  Can you expand on that?

Emma:  We both went to college in Nashville – though not at the same time.  We had similar Myspace friends.  I was living in Tokyo, singing at Disneyland Tokyo.   I came across his music.  When I moved to Los Angeles, I found him on Facebook and suggested we should write music together.

Notes from Vivace:  Aaron, how was it being on an Olay commercial? 

Aaron:  The commercial was meant for Amanda (his girlfriend and the Olay model in the commercial) to sing and I was supposed to play the piano.  It was written around the story of how we met.  They changed the direction of the commercial.  We met on the rooftop.  That part of the commercial took 20 minutes as they shot from various angles.

Notes from Vivace:  Emma, I was on a plane and decided to watch “In Time.”  I saw you on screen.  Anyway, I did an IMDB and saw that you’re in an upcoming film called “1:30 Train.”  How was it working with Chris Evans, Captain America?

Emma:  It was Chris Evans’ directorial debut.  I played his ex-girlfriend – that one that got away.  (I often play the girlfriend on television.)  It was an awesome opportunity.

Notes from Vivace:  So both of you spent time in New York (Emma filmed “1:30 Train in New York), how was your time there.

Aaron/Emma:  We played at Bowery Electric and Sidewalk Café.  We got to meet New York musicians.  We have folks in place to play with us as we’re going back for the full summer.  We’re going to write a new album while in New York.  It is harder to write in Los Angeles as we usually have shows coming up and it takes time to prepare for these shows.  We can hunker down when out there.  We’ll have fewer distractions.

Emma:  Our most productive time recently was when I was in New York in December and January.  Aaron was out here in Los Angeles.  We’d set specific times to meet and Skype to write our music.  There was nothing else to do in terms of music, no shows to plan. 

Aaron/Emma:  We have 10 to 12 song demos.  We have new arrangements with instrumentations.  We’re trying to be self-sufficient (versus our current set-up with a horn section).  We’re trying to maximize what we do between the two of us.  This guided our new arrangements by default.  It is heavy on vocal interplay.  Stylistically, our sound has changed a lot since 2010.  We’re inspired by soul/funk, late 60s/70s.  Our song has grown sexier in the last year. 

Emma:  My heart was broken in October.  Many of the songs were inspired by man hatred/women empowerment.

Notes from Vivace:  Aaron, I know you have a degree in economics.  Have you found that major totally useless or is there some interdiscplinary benefits that apply to music?

Aaron:  I’ve thought about that.  Both economics and music are highly organized systems.  Both are highly intricate.  Both require intuition and evidence.  Music isn’t something you can take apart, it is the whole.  One needs to analyze music, but there is also something mysterious about how music works.  Finishing a song requires trying different styles, rhythms:  like an economy.

Notes from Vivace:  Aaron, so what is in the bottle/flask that you always have with you when you perform?

Aaron:  Water.

Do you have thoughts on Brokechella that you’d like to say?

Aaron/Emma:  We’ve talked about playing Brokechella in the past.  It just didn’t work out.  We know a lot of people involved with Brokechella.  We’re stoked to play it.

Notes from Vivace:  Any final thoughts?

Aaron/Emma:  We did just release an EP in Decmeber, which you can find on the Internet.  We’ll also have CDs on Saturday.

Emma:  The Mots Nouveaux has always been a passion project.  I wanted to make my own music versus singing music that was given to me [Disneyland Tokyo].  Everything was always done live.  Now we’re shifting to the studio. 

Aaron:  I’ve gone full circle.  I started out without a band.  We then formed The Mots Nouveaux and started performing with a full band.  We’re now heading back to the studio as a duo.

Emma/Aaron:  Thigh highs and whiskey.

That ended the formal interview.  We had a brief conversation about travel.  Emma told a wonderful story about her time in Tokyo.  She was walking in Tokyo and saw this sign.  One English word was there:  Jazz.  She decided to go inside.  She walked up four flights of stairs.  When she got to the bar, it was this tiny space.  There were only 4 bar stools.  Ella Fitzgerald albums lined the walls.  The bartender would play jazz albums throughout the day.  She’d spend her days inside the bar just reading, drinking.       

Quick Hit Band Interview: O’neill Hudson

O'neill Hudson at the Resident

Q&A time with Paris of O'neill Hudson. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? I like to think of my sound as Romantic Indie-Rock.

Other than Los Angeles, where could you see yourself living/playing music and why? I could see myself living in many places, but Portland and London draw me in the most - I love the music scene in both places and feel kindred to the people in both.

Quick Hit Band Interview: Fatal Jamz

Fatal Jamz at the Bootleg Theater

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Virginal and dangerous, like playing with Fire.

Do you have a favorite music-themed movie, tv show or book? And then of course, why the choice? La Bamba is definitely the most influential piece for me. Growing up on the east coast it was a subconscious postcard for California and very poetic story. I watched it many times. One day I walked into a recording studio in Hollywood that my old manager had booked for us. And there in the wall was the platinum plaque for the La Bamba soundtrack.

Own Question: Is it true you are already 9 songs deep into the next Fatal Jamz album?

Quick Hit Band Interview: Mommy Long Legs

Mommy Long Legs at The Smell

Q&A time with the band. Hope you enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Vomit garage//Crazy Turkeys.

Is there a specific decision the band has made (good or bad) that it feels other bands/artists could learn from? Don't pick a shitty offensive band name. Don't be afraid to tell ppl in your audience to calm down if they're being dicks. Also, there's no need for competition with your band mates or other bands! Everyone is talented and great and there's room for us all.

Own question: What's your least favorite nut? Just for the heck of it, notes from vivace’s response: cashews though for some reason it makes for a tasty vegan cheese option.