Meet The Automatic Music Explosion

After rockin' us out all month during their April Kiss or Kill Residency, the members of The Automatic Music Explosion take some time to give us a little bit of history on the band and on themselves.

*live photos by Ashley Ford and Flaco

1. Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Los Angeles (if you are not originally from LA)?


MATT: New York City. I was working hard but nothing was clicking so I just decided to make a change. Plus, I was sick of the snow!

JODIE: I grew up in Detroit. I moved to LA the day I graduated college to be an ACTRESS...Oscar or bust!
CHRIS: Cleveland baby! I moved here to be a Rockstar!
MAX: I was born in San Francisco and moved to L.A. when I was a young lad. I'm an L.A. kid!
JEFF: West Chester Rock City. Just outside Philly. I was in the middle of my third attempt at college when i said Fuck it, I wanna ROCK!


2. How did the name The Automatic Music Explosion come about?

MATT: The first time I ever played any of these songs was with Max. Just me & him in a room & it was obvious what was going on. I was describing it to someone & it just came out.
MAX: Very big and very exciting!!




3. How did the current line-up meet?

MATT: Ads, mutual friends, the usual stuff. Sarah from The Mulhollands found us & told us about Jeff!
MAX: Matt had ads out before I had even arrived home from our first meeting!


4. What has been the craziest show you have played to date?

MATT: The Doll Hut in Anaheim. I had just split my head open the nite before @ a show & I was up on the bar & got all dizzy cause I had a concussion & almost fell off, Jodie’s tambourine literally exploded in the 2nd song & Jeff tried to drink a whole pitcher of beer with no hands while playing & fell on his back & it spilled all over him! After the show I threw up rom the concussion.

MAX: Granada Hills High was pretty nuts. Tons of kids headbangin' with Chris, teachers peeking out of their bungalows scowling, signing anything and everything. A rockin' day was had by all!



5. What instruments do you each play?

Matt – lead vocals/guitar
Jodie – lead vocals/tambourine
Chris – guitar
Jeff – bass
Max! - drums








6. What made you get involved with music?

MATT: When I was 6 a neighbor gave me a KISS album & I used to stare at the cover & just want to be inside that world with them.

MAX: Music got involved with me. Literally walked up to me, jammed itself in my ears and that was
that. Probably the Kinks or The Beatles. Been drumming since I was seven.

CHRIS: The day I heard Metallica's "Master of Puppets" I knew what i had to do...

JODIE: When I lost the role of The Black Dahlia to Mia Kirshner I never got over it. I met Matt and and Max thru a mutual friend and they told me I would get to sing, dance and play tambourine everyday if I joined the band. I quit my talent agent the next day.

Max thru a mutual friend and they told me I would get to sing, dance and play tambourine everyday if I joined the band. I quit my talent agent the next day.

JEFF: I Started playing cello in the third grade and from there moved on to bass. Once I played my first show in 6th or 7th grade I was in it all the way!



7. Were any of you involved in other bands prior to this one?

EVERYONE: Nah!



8. Whose idea was it to incorporate the audience directed signs during your live shows and where did that idea come from?





MATT: I think it was mine, but I say that about everything! I just wanted to able to connect & communicate with the audience in everyway possible.

MAX: If the signs were Matt's idea, I was right behind him sayin’ "YES YES YES "! We are the musical equivelant of a boxing match and each song is a round. When we become a 15 round Heavyweight gig, people are gonna get hurt! That includes the band of course.



9. What has been your favorite venue or town/city to play while out on tour?

MATT: No tour yet...so right now Safari Sam’s Hollywood, CA!


10. How did The AME's involvement with Kiss or Kill come about? When did you play your first Kiss or Kill show?

MATT: Jan 31. We had played a show a month or two earlier at like 7:30 for this private party & Cooper caught our set & dropped us a line. What a thrill!

11. What do you feel makes Kiss or Kill different from other nights in Los Angeles/Hollywood?

MATT: The non-Hollywood fake rock star bullshit attitude & the fact that most of KOK are actual working musicians & not some bitter prick in a booking office who “used to have a band”.

MAX: I love the community of KOK. We Have met loads of ultra kool people since we have been
welcomed into your fab scene! Proud to be a part.



12. You guys (and gal) like The Mulhollands and Ok Stranger are part of another group of supportive bands, how has being a part of that helped your band?

MATT: It’s been great to be part of a supportive scene. New York was definitely not like that…I really appreciate having all those guys as friends & getting play with them.

MAX: It's nice when you can look out into your audience, see your friends and give 'em a nod. Even better when we are all on the same bill. Lots of great nights so far!


13. You are having a record release this week. Is this your first release and is it a full length or an EP?

MATT: First release & it’s an EP. On May 20 we fly to New York to record with producer Mike Chapman(The Sweet, The Knack, Blondie, Suzi Quatro…allmusic.com that name if you don’t already know). He just flew out here to meet with & us catch a show. We’re very excited...so is he!



14. What was the process of putting that together?

MATT: Re: the EP - The usual stuff…demos recorded in our rehearsal space. We just felt it was time to have something with a barcode & also to top killing our cd burners! Re: Chapman, I found out where he lived & it was down the street from my Grandmother on the East Coast! So we sent him a cd & a month later I was home visiting & I went to his house & knocked on the door. We hung out, drank some Tequila & talked about the band. A month later he flew out here to see our show & that was that!

MAX: Mike Chapman was on the agenda from day one. Matt literally stalked him (in a good way . It's still unreal that he has seen the AME live and to have hung out with him. He has produced 3 of my favorite drummers of all time. Mick Tucker (Sweet) , Clem Burke (Blondie) and Bruce Gary (The Knack).



15. In your own words how would you describe your sound?

MATT: AC/DC meets The Archies…TOTAL Pop meets TOAL Rock. Not some wimpy band calling themselves “Rock” & not some Pop band with distorted guitars. Sexy & fun! (too many words??)

MAX: BIG!

CHRIS: Sweet!



16. How has the sound evolved since you first became a band?

MATT: It’s gotten bigger sounding & more aggressive. Also, once we realized what Jodie could do we were able to have a lot more of the co-lead vocal thing…and I’m always asking her to scream.



17. What bands have influenced you personally?

MATT: KISS, Ramones & AC/DC

JODIE: Marvelettes, Ronettes, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna & Aerosmith!

CHRIS: I live for the party bands ie. james brown, van halen, dr. dre, ludacris, andrew wk, etc, etc.

MAX: Beatles, Kinks, Janes Addiction and the first two Motley Crue records. HA!!



18. What advice would you give to bands that are just starting out?

MATT: Learn how to write songs & practice more than once a week

MAX: Communicate and listen to each other.



19. What would be your dream bill to play on?

MATT: Headlining MSG, I don’t care who opens.

MAX: Coachella. Sandwiched between Oasis and a " REAL " Guns N Roses reunion.



20. If you didn’t reside in the Los Angeles area where would you live?

MATT: NYC or hopefully soon in Space

JODIE: Somewhere with SEASONS - LA's sunny weather can be so boring sometimes

JEFF: In Wyoming or Vermont, somehwere way out the fuck out there in a log cabin that I built.

CHRIS: All I know is wherever I'd end up would need to have an equal or greater amount of hot ass biaaahs!

MAX: London

At Home He's a Tourist

Looking at Election 2008: Part One (of too many)
by Jason Pancake

Even though the 2008 Presidential Election is still 18 months away, politicians have been raising large amounts of money and making humorous claims earlier than ever. Take Republican candidate Mitt Romney for example. By pulling an Arnold and saying he was pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and pro-gun control, Romney (a Mormon Republican) was somehow able to get elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2003. These days however, in order to win over the Midwest, Deep South, and Methtown, USA, Romney has done a complete turnaround (or some would say, a flip-flop) and is against all those things.

Recently, Romney has even gotten cozy with the NRA and said “I purchased a gun when I was a young man. I've been a hunter pretty much all my life." Of course this is hilariously misleading. This piece in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Star-Telegram says it pretty well: “In Romneyland, "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life" means two outings: one as a 15-year-old to hunt rabbits and once last year when he joined major donors to the Republican Governors Association to shoot quail on a fenced game ranch in Georgia.” Last year's trip was an outing with major donors of the Republican Governors Association, which Romney headed at the time. These people were not exactly in the same income-level as the average gun owner. This CNN article has a full recap too and says, “An aide said Wednesday that Romney was not trying to mislead anyone, although he confirmed Romney had been hunting only on those occasions in his life.”

If I were a real hunter, I would be falling over laughing. By the way, Mitt “I’ve been a hunter pretty much all my life” Romney just joined the NRA last August. What about the old Romney who supported the Brady gun control law and a ban on assault rifles while running for Senate in 1994? "That's not going to make me the hero of the NRA," he told the Boston Herald at the time. "I don't line up with a lot of special interest groups." Even while running for Governor in 2002, he said “We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts. I support them. I won't chip away at them. I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."

He’s an analysis of Romney’s statements regarding guns.

To be fair, he did say later that in his younger days, he used to shoot small rabbits and rodents in Utah that he didn’t need licenses to hunt, but even those claims barely qualify him as an “avid hunter.” According to an AP article, this “Lifelong hunter” Romney does not even own his own gun. It turns out the gun Romney claims to have is actually owned by his son and kept at the vacation house in the fancy resort town of Park City, Utah. He has been living in Massachusetts since 1971, he has a second home in New Hampshire, and he grew up in a wealth Michigan suburb, Bloomfield Hills. However, “officials from Michigan, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where a license is necessary to hunt such small game, said they could not immediately locate any license for Romney.”

I know he’s just doing what he has to do to be a good born-again Republican, but sometimes it’s easy to understand why people don’t trust the government and care more passionately about Sanjaya’s hair than they do about the state of the country. I’m not singling out Romney because he “flip-flopped,” but rather because this whole issue shows how sad it is that Romney has to gain the NRA’s favor for political funding, contributions, and support. The gun lobby in this country is huge money maker and that’s what it really is: a business. It just works out well that they can profit off of America’s love of things that go “boom!” and “pow!” Unfortunately, giving crazy and desperate people easy access to guns is like leaving sharp objects or chemicals in a room with an unattended toddler. A responsible, smart kid probably won’t get hurt with them, but the dumb, mischievous kid is in trouble. Too bad there are a lot of these “dumb kids” in the US.

Update:

When recounting his hunting experience, Romney said: "Shooting a rabbit with a single-shot .22 is pretty hard, and after watching me try for a couple of weeks, [my cousins] said, `We'll slip you the semiautomatic. You'll do better with that.' And I sure did."

A couple of weeks ago, I thought this quote was merely pathetic because using a semiautomatic to shoot rabbits should barely qualify as hunting. But reading the quote after the Virginia Tech shooting is scary and sad because the same concept (how well high powered weapons work), was key in the damage done on campus. Read the Romney quote again with a slight change: “Shooting a bunch of college students with a single-shot .22 is pretty hard, and after watching me try for a couple of weeks, [my cousins] said, `We'll slip you the semiautomatic. You'll do better with that.' And I sure did.”

The Virginia Tech shooter had a semiautomatic Glock 9mm and a Walther P22. Look up their capabilities. These are devastating weapons. They were designed to be used by people to shoot more than just rabbits. If you need these guns to hunt your rabbits/quails, or if you need these to defend your mobile home, then you must either be living in the middle of Baghdad or in a nuclear fallout area that produces giant bloodthirsty mutant rabbits.


Plugs of the week: “Armed Madhouse” by Greg Palast is out on paperback this week. It should be essential reading to anyone that wants to learn about what is happening in the world.

And also check out Bill Moyer’s new series on the PBS website or on your local PBS station. He is one of the most respected journalist out there and does incredible news stories.

At Home He's a Tourist

AT HOME HE’S A TOURIST

By Jason Pancake

“Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.”
-Kurt Vonnegut’s Rule of Writing #2:

“Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.”
-Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

Last week, we lost an incredible author, Kurt Vonnegut. Among his most famous novels were Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Cat's Cradle. He was also an editor/contributor for “In These Times” magazine and here is a good collection of some of his later essays. Vonnegut was definitiely an outspoken, entertaining character that you could root for.

Next week, I will present the first of a series of articles on Election 2008 which will include candidate profiles, absurdities, and how the role of president is out of touch with the average American. However, I think Vonnegut said it best: “There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president.”

In tribute of Kurt, here is a typical article of his that was written in 2005.

Your Guess Is as Good as Mine
By Kurt Vonnegut
12/12/05

Most of you, if not all of you, like me, feel inadequately educated. That is an ordinary feeling for a member of our species. One of the most brilliant human beings of all times, George Bernard Shaw said on his 75th birthday or so that at last he knew enough to become a mediocre office boy. He died in 1950, by the way, when I was 28. He is the one who said, “Youth is wasted on the young.” I turned 83 a couple weeks ago, and I must say I agree.

Shaw, if he were alive today, would envy us the solid information that we have or can get about the nature of the universe, about time and space and matter, about our own bodies and brains, about the resources and vulnerabilities of our planet, about how all sorts of human beings actually talk and feel and live.

This is the information revolution. We have taken it very badly so far. Information seems to be getting in the way all the time. Human beings have had to guess about almost everything for the past million years or so. Our most enthralling and sometimes terrifying guessers are the leading characters in our history books. I will name two of them: Aristotle and Hitler. One good guesser and one bad one.

The masses of humanity, having no solid information to tell them otherwise, have had little choice but to believe this guesser or that one. Russians who didn’t think much of the guesses of Ivan the Terrible, for example, were likely to have their hats nailed to their heads.

We must acknowledge, though, that persuasive guessers—even Ivan the Terrible, now a hero in Russia—have given us courage to endure extraordinary ordeals that we had no way of understanding. Crop failures, wars, plagues, eruptions of volcanoes, babies being born dead—the guessers gave us the illusion that bad luck and good luck were understandable and could somehow be dealt with intelligently and effectively.

Without that illusion, we would all have surrendered long ago. But in fact, the guessers knew no more than the common people and sometimes less. The important thing was that they gave us the illusion that we’re in control of our destinies.

Persuasive guessing has been at the core of leadership for so long—for all of human experience so far—that it is wholly unsurprising that most of the leaders of this planet, in spite of all the information that is suddenly ours, want the guessing to go on, because now it is their turn to guess and be listened to.

Some of the loudest, most proudly ignorant guessing in the world is going on in Washington today. Our leaders are sick of all the solid information that has been dumped on humanity by research and scholarship and investigative reporting.

They think that the whole country is sick of it, and they want standards, and it isn’t the gold standard. They want to put us back on the snake-oil standard.

Loaded pistols are good for people unless they’re in prisons or lunatic asylums.
That’s correct.

Millions spent on public health are inflationary.
That’s correct.

Billions spent on weapons will bring inflation down.
That’s correct.

Industrial wastes, and especially those that are radioactive, hardly ever hurt anybody, so everybody should shut up about them.
That’s correct.

Industries should be allowed to do whatever they want to do: Bribe, wreck the environment just a little, fix prices, screw dumb customers, put a stop to competition and raid the Treasury in case they go broke.
That’s correct.

That’s free enterprise.
And that’s correct.

The poor have done something very wrong or they wouldn’t be poor, so their children should pay the consequences.
That’s correct.

The United States of America cannot be expected to look after its people.
That’s correct.

The free market will do that.
That’s correct.

The free market is an automatic system of justice.
That’s correct.

And so on.

If you actually are an educated, thinking person, you will not be welcome in Washington, D.C. I know a couple of bright seventh graders who would not be welcomed in Washington, D.C.

Do you remember those doctors a few years back who got together and announced that it was a simple, clear medical fact that we could not survive even a moderate attack by hydrogen bombs? They were not welcome in Washington, D.C.

Even if we fired the first salvo of hydrogen weapons and the enemy never fired back, the poisons released would probably kill the whole planet by and by.

What is the response in Washington? They guess otherwise. What good is an education? The boisterous guessers are still in charge—the haters of information. And the guessers are almost all highly educated people. Think of that. They have had to throw away their educations, even Harvard or Yale educations, to become guessers. If they didn’t do that, there is no way their uninhibited guessing could go on and on and on.

Please, don’t you do that. But let me warn you, if you make use of the vast fund of knowledge now available to educated persons, you are going to be lonesome as hell. The guessers outnumber you—and now I have to guess—about ten to one.

EddieOaot's East Coast Report...

the Imperial Band Ban

Last night the Imperialists imperialized the basement of club midway in the lower east side. i was tired, not drunk, late to the show and was playing mikeeast's bass, which hates me and always makes crackling pops and snaps if i move even a little. and i move a lot. however, we had a good crowd and we have been practicing a lot and are tight like virgins.

mikey electric is part of an organization named hospitality club and regulary hosts foreigners on his luxurious couches and floors (and beds (!)) in a very clever effort to 1) hook up with easy foreign chicks, and 2) to get free accomodations while traveling europe with gorgeous joe borges this summer. this past week he had some fun mexican girls (four in all (two 19 year olds)) staying with him. they really wanted to see how awesome we are since all we ever do is talk about how awesome we are and mikey and joe (one or the other came up with it, i blame them both) came up with a genius ploy to get the two non drinking aged se~noritas into the show. They're back up singers in the band.

So we rocked it hard. I felt sloppy and smashed mike's bass on my head and drank his beer and fucked up here and there, but we had all the kids dancing (of highest importance) and drew our good share for another super night of streetwave. unfortunately, however, not as excellent as any streetwave night at the FREE ottos
. but thats another (better) deal.

I'm not sure who or how, but someone notfied the INS about the illegal aliens that the imperilaists had illegally imperilaized into midway, and not only were they asked to leave, but the imperialists were banned from playing that bar. its a shame because $5 is ok in new york for a rock show, and they have food and a nice sound girl, but fuck them. otto's is cheaper, freer, tikkier, and they don't card at the door. (shhhh) its the first time that my band has been banned from a bar, and it hasn't been my drunken faults (see: the scene circa 2002 and cbgb's circa 2004).


After us were the almost naked invincible gods who had a smaller crowd after la migra's raid, but it was a fun danceathon of rock and roll. after them the band of gold screamed at us about wanting lots of pretty flowers because christ man doesnt do the dishes and sang about california and kept the dance party going all the way until a fairly new (to new york city) band got on stage. camera head shark really impressed me when they played with the oaots at ottos in march (best show ever). they rock some quirky pop alla pavement and fountains of wayne (whose guitarist i met at some bar in the city last week). the first song on their myspace is in some language that i dont think they even understand, or its french. but watch the video!

..

Tonight! Tonight!

It's the return of The Knives, and Front Row For The Meltdown who've got some new songs for you, plus the side splitting antics of the Fuxedos, and the debut of the Generators, plus the big Birthday Bonanza for Chris of Automatic Music Explosion!!!!

Kiss or Kill at

Safari Sam's

5214 W. Sunset Blvd.,

Los Angeles CA 90027

ALL AGES $3 before 10pm $5 After

Front Row For The Meltdown 12:30---
The Fuxedos 11:45-12:15
Automatic Music Explosion 11:00-11:30
The Generators 10:15-10:45
The Knives 9:30-10:00
hosted by MC Rob Z

9:30 pm - The Knives

10:15 pm - The Generators

11:00 pm - The Automatic Music Explosion

11:45 pm - The Fuxedos

12:30 am - Front Row for the Meltdown

Tonight!!!

TONIGHT!!! at Kiss or Kill!!!!
@ Safari Sam's
5214 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90027
$3 Before 10pm $5 After
$3.50 PBR

ALL AGES

Inazuma 12:30---
Silver Needle 11:45-12:15
Automatic Music Explosion 11:00-11:30
The Prix 10:15-10:45
The Lieutenants 9:30-10:00

hosted by MC Rob Z

The Lieutenants - 9:30pm

The Prix - 10:15pm

Automatic Music Explosion - 11:00pm

Silver Needle - 11:45 pm

Inazuma - 12:30 am

Meet The Prix

Some of you may have caught The Prix at last years Playa's Picnics and Kiss or Kill's Sunset Junction as well as our regular Safari Sam's nights, they have also shared numerous bills with one of our favorites The New Fidelity. If you haven't caught them yet, you have a chance to see them tonight at Kiss or Kill at Safari Sam's (5214 W. Sunset Blvd.). They hit the stage at 10:15pm

In the meantime you can get to know them a little bit better here, as Stephen "Stevie" Mills (drummer/background vocals - referred to in interview as SM) and Cashew Von Harding (guitarist/vocals referred in interview as CVH)took some time out to answer some of our questions before tonights show!

Stevie Mills and Cashew Von Harding


1. Where are you from originally, and what brought each of you to Los Angeles (if you are not originally from LA)?

CVH: Blake and I were born, raised, educated, and most likely got our first kisses in the City of Los Angeles

SM: Zacharius Ziegler & Stephen Mills hail from separate "nowheresvilles" on the East Coast: Nyack, NY & Old Forge, PA respectively. Both probably came here for the same 2 reasons: 1) have you heard the bands in Nyack or Old Forge!? 2) Have you had to shovel snow in L.A. between November & April? Case closed.

2. How did the name The Prix come about?

SM: Well it certainly wasn't intended to encourage the "Pree vs. Pricks" debate that we're constantly answering to. But in French it means both "prize" and "price"...hmmmm, interesting. Ya might wanna follow up w/Blake & Cashew on that one.


3. How did the current line-up meet?

CVH: Blake was playing in SUNSTORM, a local act signed on Rough Trade Records, and I was producing BURGUNDY JONES who had a small, local hit with “Gracias A La Vida”

SM: Blake & Cashew randomly met at Cacao Coffee House in West LA, & by the time the conversation brought them to the bottom of their cups, they had bonded over everything from music to politics, & even found one's cousin to be the other's close family friend! With the nucleus of a new band in place, along came Zach by way of another random meeting; with Cashew's (then) grilfriend, who happened to mention the boys were looking for a bassist. Stevie, an acquaintence of Cashew's via a close friendship with his cousin, joined the ranks about 6 months later.

4. What has been the craziest show you have played to date?

SM: Well "crazy" is a relative term, but The Blue Moon Tavern in Seattle was pretty off the hook. A bit of a dive (& we say that affectionately) but it was PACKED with an extremely enthusastic bunch who there there soley to ROCK & shower us with love. Kiss or Kill's right up there too, mainly due to the lunacy of one Rob Z. ;)



The Prix in Seattle

5. What instruments do you each play?

Blake: Piano, Organ, Lead Vocals
Cashew: Guitar, Lead Vocals
Stevie: Drums, Backing vocals
Zach: Bass, backing Vocals


6. What made you each want to get involved with music?

SM: For me, I was brainwashed by KISS at a very young age. But in general, ya know, a kid gets into music, picks up an instrument & it's all over from that point on..OR, grows up & out of it by high school graduation. Thankfully, none of us have grown up yet.

CVH: Blake is a classically trained pianist who has been performing since he was a tiny boy and Cashew, as well had been raised in a classical music dominated home yet veered towards John and Paul.


7. Most bands seem to love going on tour, do you actually enjoy touring? Why or why not?

SM: Yes of course! Probably because we haven't had enough of a chance to grow tired of it yet. Seriously though, on the positive side, there's nothing better than turning new people in new cities on to our music.

8. What has been your favorite venue or town/city to play while out on tour?

SM: NYC! Crammed 4 shows in only 3 days & just basked in the energy of the Lower East Side. Dallas & Austin, right behind it.


9. How did The Prix's involvement with Kiss or Kill come about? When did you play your first Kiss or Kill show?

CVH: Siria, Siria, Siria!!

SM: Another chance encounter with YOU Ms. Siria! Remember, SXSW '05, I met Siria on (of all places) the Myspace bus! We had recently met & became fast friends w/one of yours, Joanne. You were on the bus with her, we met, had a beer & some laughs & that was it! our first KorK show was last summer, at Old Towne Pub in Pasadena, the week before the Sunset Junction bill you so graciously put us on at El Cid.


10. What do you feel makes Kiss or Kill different from other nights in Los Angeles/Hollywood?
SM: One word: "community" In L.A.!?!? A rarity! Bands, arists & patrons alike all gather on a regular basis at KorK, knock a few back w/new & old friends, share the stage, & occasionally swap spit when applicable. It's beautiful.


11. How would you describe the experience of putting together and releasing your first Cd?

SM: Both Excellent & frustrating. Excellent as far as recording & adding the studio spices & seasonings to the dozen tunes we'd been honing on stage for the better part of a year. The frustration set in about halfway through the mixing stage. Self-producing on a budget with an engineer that "never heard Sgt. Peppers." We're in a much better place now, recording our new material at Red Rockets Glare studio, with Raymond Richards as recording engineer & Dan Long (TV On the Radio / Yeah Yeah Yeah's) working his magic on mixing the shit out of em!


12. For those that don't know all of the band members are Scorpios, does that lead to any issues having some of the same personality traits or does it make working together easier?

SM:Probably both. Shit, who knows. But we do know that Cashew & I share Nov. 20th w/ Kork's own Johnny 99. "Salut, Johnny!"


13.You guys got to work with one of your musical heroes early on. Who was it and how did that come about?

SM: Emitt Rhodes! 60s L.A. pop prodigy. Many people may have to Google him, but many others consider him the "American Paul McCartney". By 1970, he became a 20 year old one-man-band, recording every instrument & vocal on his 3 solo LPs through '73. Blake & Cashew simply cracked open the phonebook, rang him up & recruited him to record the very first Prix demo. There was even a brief period where we were in rehearsal to be his backing band for a few RARE live shows in town. Emitt live on stage happens as frequently as Haley's Comet, & sadly this never came to be, but we're happy to claim one of our heroes as a friend now.

here is a video featuring Emitt Rhodes in the band The Merry-Go-Rounds





14. You have been a mainstay on KROQ's own Locals Only show hosted by Kat Corbett, how did Kat come across your music?

CVH: We were featured as Jed The Fish’s “Catch Of The Day” and since then Kat has championed us on her radio shows and local concerts.


15. In your own words how would you describe The Prix's sound?

SM: Raucous, rowdy, randy, rambunctious, garage/psych/mod noise-pop? All of those things, yet none of those things specifically. Readers, come on out on Wednesday & tell US!


16. How has the sound evolved over the last few years?

SM: Well, however we may have evolved, it's been more natural & organic than it has been a premeditated effort. So its hard to pinpoint really. Perhaps we're a bit more caution-to-the-wind these days & just being more comfortable at being ourselves.?


17. What bands have influenced you?

CVH: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Kasabian, The Smiths, Pulp, and Beck

SM: In no order, everything from Alice Cooper, T. Rex, Donovan, X, Bowie, Iggy, Beatles, Stones, KISS, Love, Leon Russell, Lee Hazlewood, to infinity. So, so many influences, whether audible in our music or not.


18. What advice would you give to bands that are just starting out?

SM:When you tour through the Southwest, & see the dozens of "Whataburger" locations & think "wow, we gotta try it," don't bother! We fell for it, & ended up renaming it "Whatabummer," "Whatacon," "Whatadisappointment," etc, etc.


19. What would be your dream bill to play on?

SM:Shit, we'll let ya know when we're on it


20. If you didnt reside in the Los Angeles area where would you live?

SM: Despite it's shortcomings & occasional cruelty to musicians, we do still love L.A. as home. But NYC or the U.K. might be nice for a spell too.



The Prix in LA

At Home He's a Tourist

"Live and Let Die"
by Jason Pancake

In the latest act of saying “f- you” to the environment and credibility of American government, Pres. Bush used a recess appointment to name extreme anti-regulation supporter, Susan Dudley as his top appointee in charge of uh, government regulations. This has kind of slipped by the radar of the mainstream media, but it has major implications! The LA Times has a good story of what happened: “President Bush on Wednesday appointed as his top regulatory official a conservative academic who has written that markets do a better job of regulating than the government does and that it is more cost-effective for people who are sensitive to pollution to stay indoors on smoggy days than for government to order polluters to clean up their emissions. As director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the White House Office of Management and Budget, Susan E. Dudley will have an opportunity to change or block all regulations proposed by government agencies.”

Dudley’s job is important because as mentioned, she can change or block all regulations proposed by government agencies that affect everything from health, safety, pollution, car airbags, clean air/water, and business practices. This is dangerous because her career is built around deregulating any safety or consumer protection that might interfere with companies earning the very top profit. She calls public health regulations a “hidden tax that hinders profits”. In her article, she actually criticizes the fact that people’s children have to wear “Consumer Product Safety Commission-approved pajamas” that might cost them 2 cents more to buy and hurts the pajama producer’s profits! Doesn’t she understand why people want consumer safety laws? Without laws, what would keep companies from producing dirt cheap pajamas that easily catch on fire or have harmful chemicals in them? There are always stories on the news about unsafe toys and other products.

This report by OMB Watch.org has comprehensive information about Susan Dudley and her think tank, the Mercatus Center. This group that Dudley leads is corporate-founded (and corporate-funded) and whose donors have included companies with long records of pushing for deregulations, such as BP Amoco, Exxon Mobil Corporation, General Motors, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, and State Farm Insurance. Their whole philosophy is that the free market/businesses should control all aspects of how things get done and that safety regulations get in the way of profits.

Here are some of the things Dudley has argued:

· She argued that air bags should not be required in cars, but just requested by consumers who are willing to pay extra for them. Her argument is that in a free market, if people really want air bags, they will pay for them or car manufacturers will put them in because it would make more people buy their cars. Of course, the reason laws requiring seat belts and air bags were created in the first place was because car manufacturers weren’t doing anything to keep people in crashes from unnecessarily dying. At that time (as well as now), it’s common sense that leaving the price of air bags to the car makers meant that many people who might have really needed the safety feature were not able to afford them. Car makers forced consumers to pay five times more for air bags as optional features than for air bags as standard equipment in a car. For example, let’s say the cost of air bags as a standard feature is $1000 (out of the total cost of a $21,000 car). Without this regulation, if you wanted the optional air bag, it would have cost you $5000 (making the car total $25,000). If you’re paying for a $20,000 car, you can probably afford the $1000 cost to save your life in an accident. However, if you had to pay $5000 for overpriced optional airbags, it would be a lot harder to afford, especially for poorer families.
· She opposed stricter limits on arsenic and other chemicals in drinking water, which even goes against what the Bush administration was saying. She has argued that the Environmental Protection Agency's calculations of the costs and benefits of clean water did not take into account that that the lives of some people should not be worth as much, particularly older people with shorter life expectancy. Seniors (who tend to vote the most) were outraged and politicians called this a stupid theory. Even though she values an older person’s life less on an economic level, it doesn’t make sense in this argument because you would be measuring the deaths caused by a polluter’s negligence. If someone killed ten people, it doesn’t matter if the victims were all 35 or 65 years old. The criminal still killed ten people.
· She wants to reject a rule designed to protect consumer privacy which limits financial institutions’ ability to share your private customer financial information without proper consent. Basically, she is saying that banks should be allowed to share your financial information with whoever they want, but that according to the “free market,” people who don’t like having their financial information shared with other companies should just work it out with their bank. People probably wouldn’t even know what was happening. Her solution would be to wait on hold for an hour on the bank’s “Customer Service” number if you have a problem.
· Her Mercatus Center think tank created reports opposing measures to curb global warming, stating that the "evidence regarding global warming and human contribution to it is mixed, and...if a slight warming does occur, historical evidence suggests it is likely to be beneficial, occurring at night, in the winter, and at the poles. Taking 'precautionary action' to protect human health based on a series of tenuous linkages would likely create a new set of risks." Basically, this says that global warming is good because it will keep the temperature warmer at night and in the winter. Yikes.
· And finally, she says that the government shouldn’t force polluters to try to prevent smog but that instead, we should just have a pollution warning system "so that sensitive individuals can take appropriate 'exposure avoidance' behavior" — mostly by remaining inside”! If you have asthma (or get asthma due to smog) stay inside because it hurts the profits of polluting companies.

With a Democratic majority, there was very little chance Dudley would have been confirmed. Even last year when the Republicans still ruled both houses, Bush couldn’t nominate her because many groups opposed her nomination. This year however, Bush used a recess appointment, which meant that he was able to appoint an official for that term of Congress without getting approval from the Senate. He has bypassed the Senate with this rule over 100 times, most notably with controversial UN Ambassador, John Bolton. When even Joe Lieberman is unhappy about Dudley’s appointment and calling it a misuse of power, that is pretty bad.

Notes from Vivace...

Last Week in Review
April 4, 2007
Kiss or Kill at Safari Sam’s

The Randies

The Randies are back in town before returning to their “world domination tour.” I circled this date on my calendar awhile back, because I was missing Sienna’s green bass strap. (I can’t be the only one who notices it.) They played a couple new songs. I believe one new song was called, Waiting. Laurita took over the lead vocal duties. Very cool. I could be wrong, but no guitar strings were broken during their set. A bit of a disappointment, because both Laurita and Laura had extra guitars on hand for just such a situation. On a previous Kiss or Kill night (unfortunately, months ago, because we so seldom see them around now a days), Jon from Underwater City People was there to help Laurita with repairs. I didn’t see him around so I suspect that Laurita and Laura were taking it a bit easy on the strings. Their drum set was beaten and battered. Is that how New Yorkers treat Kiss or Kill’s hottest women of rock, smashing up The Randies drum set? It must be an East Coast

thing.

Jon from UCP photo by Flaco

Automatic Music Explosion

I read JoeDana’s blog on Automatic Music Explosion. After reading this, I’d suggest heading over to his blog if you haven’t already read it (or even consider going to his blog right now and returning back to this report afterwards.) JoeDana’s been hyping this band, writing up a blog and then sending out a myspace bulletin regarding Automatic Music Explosion’s upcoming gig at Kiss or Kill. So in the desire to increase the volume on this Explosion, here’s to repetition, because this is the most excited I’ve been about a Kiss or Kill band since hearing Bang Sugar Bang for the first time. This band knows how to put on a show. It is a 30 minute set where you dare not only listen to the music. You must participate. Matt and Jodie urge you to join in their fun; exhorting responses from the audience via either a well placed verbal call or held high black-lettering-on-yellow-background signs. You must observe. If you only listen and participate; you’ll miss all the nuances of this band. The hand held signs are obvious, but what about Matt’s outfit changes? Does the head banging ever stop long enough to catch a glimpse of the guitarist’s face? Will the bass player, Jeffrey, ever end up doing the splits on stage? And did anyone notice the drummer, Max, take out that mirror towards the end of their set to make sure that he’s the best looking Los Angeles drummer? I’m sure I missed something and I’m also sure that those of you who saw them are screaming at my words, because I’ve failed to add that one moment (balloons, candies, the look) that you found so intriguing. Please remember, to breathe and refocus your bearings, after their set. What other band will go out there and meet the energy level of Automatic Music Explosion? In JoeDana’s blog, I got the distinct impression that Pu$$y Cow will be taking it up another notch. They’ll be playing out in Pasadena’s Club Yoostuh Becool on Thursday, April 19. (Yes, a plug for another club.) If we’re talking Kiss or Kill, highlight in a big bright marker, April 25. Bang Sugar Bang is on the schedule with Automatic Music Explosion. Bang Sugar Bang will be bringing it, I’m sure. And what, may I ask, can be better than seeing Bang Sugar Bang giving it their all?

Bang Sugar Bang photo by Flaco

If you miss Kiss or Kill in April . . . . your excuse better be that you don’t have either a VCR, DVR, Tivo or high speed internet; therefore, requiring you to watch Lost at its regular scheduled 10 p.m. timeslot. Okay, enough with the hype. If you’ve never heard of Automate Music Explosion and need a bit more convincing to head out to Safari Sam’s on a Wednesday night, consider going to YouTube and typing in Automatic Music Explosion. A handful of videos will come up. I’d suggest starting with the video posted by Avebury. It is a video from an earlier Kiss or Kill show – March, I believe.

Here is that video:




Notes from Vivace is a special contributor to the Kiss or Kill Blog and will periodically give us a review of the nights happenings.

A New 007

As some of you may have heard through the rumor mill and the pages of US Weekly one of our very own is up for the part of 007. Here is an open letter from the man himself...

Hi, I'm Chissum Worthington.

As many of you know, I'm a great lover.

You also know that they are casting for the next James Bond movie.

Well, I didn't need a calculator to put 2 and 2 together.

(The answer's 4, btw)

Yes. I auditioned for the new James Bond movie. Obviously I auditioned for the part of 007 himself. I'm still waiting for their reply, but I've got good feelings about it.

Wish me luck. I know I have to drop a few pounds and do a little working out, but once they wave that multi-thousand dollar contract in front of my face, I can do anything (including eating ass).

Come celebrate with me on Saturday, April 14th. I'll be doing a show at the Pike Restaraunt and Bar. It's in Long Beach.

Eight Managers?

Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles take us down the path of working with managers in the music business



Thank you to Tess Taylor and the NARIP Newsletter for turning us onto this great video!

At Home He's a Tourist: Five Minutes of Your Time

Five Minutes of Your Time

By Jason Pancake

In school almost every student learns something about the American Revolutionary War and has probably heard the phrase “no taxation without representation.” For better or worse, thanks to the efforts of the colonists, we have a system of government where each area is represented by an elected representative. These representatives are your voice and are supposed to stand up for you! Does this always happen? No, but it is no excuse not to know who represents you. Your tax dollars go towards government and the your elected representatives determine how the money is spent and how laws affect your life. It’s sad when people care so deeply about who they think should be an american idol or a ballroom dancing minor celebrity, yet they pay thousands of dollars a year in taxes and don’t even know who runs their daily lives and is in charge of spending these tax dollars.

Each American has representatives in the Senate, Congress, and their state and local governments. Generally, people know who their President, Vice President, Governor, and maybe Senators are, but once you go beyond those people, the knowledge goes way down. There are all kinds of polls and surveys showing how pathetic the general public’s knowledge is of their representatives. I strongly believe that students should be able to name or at least find the name of their major representatives in order to graduate from high school. The decisions that these representatives make shape almost every aspect of the country and where you live.

There are racist, homophobic nutcases out there that want to carry concealed weapons, believe that being gay is morally wrong, and who don’t believe evolution should be taught in school, yet these people aren’t marginalized and laughed off because they tend to know who their representatives are and how to contact them.

Believe it or not, if you write a letter to your elected representative, you will get a response from his or her office. Your representative might not do much about the cause you want to support, but at least they know you are out there.

What you can do:

If you already know who all your representatives are, that is awesome. If not, you can easily find out. In the time it takes you to check your email or to read through your Myspace bulletins, you can find out who controls many aspects of the country and your daily life.

Here are the essentials:

1. Your Representative in Congress: Go to the House of Representatives website at www.house.gov and enter your zip code to find your representative. You need zip +4 to do a search. You can find your zip+4 at the USPS.com website.

The House.gov website is cool because you can also look up voting records and bills that are being heard.

2. Your State Representatives: In most states such as California, you have a State Senate and Assembly. These are the people that make state laws and approve the budget. Just like the national level where you have the President, Congress, and Senate, on a state level, things have to be worked out between the Senate, Assembly, and Governor. This website VoteSmart.org has a lot of resources and information on how to find your state representatives. You can also do a Google search for your state’s legislature. (For example, search for “California legislature”) The Official California Legislative Information website also has all kinds of good information about California laws and your representatives.

3. Your local city/county representatives: Finally, it is good to know what’s happening in your own neighborhood and city. They are the ones that decide whether or not a 300-unit apartment building with no additional parking is going to be built on your street. You can look up your local city and county’s webpage to find out who your representatives are.

Once you figure out your local representatives, it doesn’t hurt to do some research and see what’s happening in the rest of the country and feel fortunate that hopefully your representative is better than some of those hacks. Things don’t change unless enough people make it happen, but at least people should know who they have to convince.

Tonight! Kiss or Kill w/the Randies, AME, The Mulhollands

We've got a great night planned for everyone tomorrow night!!!The Randies are back in town and this is your only chance to catch them in LA for a while! Plus we've got kindof a double Residency this week with The Mulhollands closing out their March Residency and releasing their CD plus it's April Residents Automatic Music Explosion's first week of their month long stay at Casa Kiss or Kill!

Kiss or Kill @
Safari Sam's
5214 W. Sunset Blvd.
$3 Before 10 pm/$5 After
$3.50 PBR
All Age Welcome!!!


Line-up:
The Mulhollands 12:30-
Wake Up Incinerate 11:45-12:15
Automatic Music Explosion 11:00-11:30
The Randies 10:15-10:45
Enid The Dowl 9:30-10:00

hosted by MC Rob Z

Enid the Dowl will be making their Kiss or Kill debut
followed by the Randies who are making a pit stop during their never ending World Domination tour
The Automatic Music Explosion gets kicked off with their high energy antics
then Wake-Up Incinerate hits the stage


with The Mulhollands closing out the night who are releasing their CD and have some awesome hand painted t-shirts (By Sarah Jeanette herself) available! This will also count as the final week of their residency.

In 2028 She'll be 21...

For those of you who aren't aware there is a new member of the Kiss or Kill Family

Congratulations to Amanda "Jones" and Andre Tusques (Guitarist for Silver Needle) on the birth of their baby girl Luna Clementine Tusques who was born March 26th.

Free Stooges Mini Concert

Tuesday April 24th The Stooges will be putting on a mini-concert during the Jimmy Kimmel Live taping. There are still tickets available it appears but probably not for long.

Go here for more info and tickets or visit :
http://1iota.com/show.aspx?sid=1

Win an X Box 360

This Monday April 2nd during our Kiss or Kill Presents: Metal Skool at Key Club, everyone interested will have a chance to win an X Box 360 and their own copy of Guitar Hero II during the Official Guitar Hero II (for X Box 360) Launch Party in the Plush Lounge.


In order to win you must enter a competition where you will compete against others for the highest score in Guitar Hero II.

Those interested in playing should email kissorkillnews@yahoo.com to get on the free before 10pm Kiss or Kill Guest List and once there head down to the Plush Lounge to sign up for the contest.

We've got a great line-up featuring:

9:00 pm - The Waking Hours

10:00 pm - Suicide Holiday

11:00 pm - Mother Tongue

12:oo am - Metal Skool


If you haven't seen any of these bands in a while you are in for a treat!!!! So don't forget to RSVP to kissorkillnews@yahoo.com to avoid the $15 cover!