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
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