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