The Sounds - Music

I will admit to all of you that I do not possess a complete understanding of musical theory. I took piano lessons for a few years, I know the difference between a chord and a hook, and, sure, I can spot a chorus when I see one, but that's about it. 

Some of these other writers just blow me away. They'll interview the more technologically oriented musicians, like Steve Aoki, and their command of the language is flat-out impressive. 

I try to stick with the facts, statistics and dates of the band, plus a healthy dose of rhetoric in my attempt to express how listening to a band makes me feel, so I can share my perspective with the reader. Yeah, that seems like some pink-and-glitter Hallmark Card plastic bullshit, but it's the truth.

There's a lot of blogs out there that do get into the technical aspects of music, and that's been a great education. It's so much more interesting to read what a person wrote because they cared enough about the subject to stop and write about it. I've learned more about music from reading www.totalmusicgeek.com than I ever could from anywhere else, short of UCLA.

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Swedish act The Sounds takes American rock and gets experimental

The Sounds have drawn a lot of comparisons to groups from the ’80s that wielded synth and rock elements with equal measure to great success like the Pretenders, Concrete Blonde and Pat Benetar. Call it “new wave” or “rock pop,” the group pulls it off with a modern formula that’s proven addictive to audiences from London to L.A.

The band’s latest release, Something to Die For, has been described by critics as a dramatic change from the group’s earlier style, but the band is still drawing upon synth-pop and new wave music. Félix Rodríguez, lead guitarist for the group (which is playing at The Glass House in Pomona and The Wiltern in L.A. Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, respectively), spoke to CULTURE about what The Sounds are all about.

The Sounds met in the city of Helsingborg, Sweden. What was it like getting started in the music scene in that city?


I wouldn’t say we had a big scene—about 150,000 people—but music has always been a part of the history of the city. There’s a club—we played [there] a lot—called The Tivoli, where there were a lot of local bands playing support[ing] acts when bigger bands would come into town. The music scene there is mostly just electronica bands, though.

How is the rock scene in an American city like Los Angeles different than one in Helsingborg?


I mean, L.A. has a lot of different musical genres. I guess the music scene is more American-based, traditional rock. Sweden was more influenced by British music and electronica. I was more influenced by Brit pop than American rock. The Sounds fans are pretty similar in a way. Our fans are there to see a good show.

American people are more open-minded than in Sweden. We got popular in the U.S. because of word-of-mouth. In Sweden, you go see a show if you really like the band, but you also want to just go out to the club.
It’s not the same vibe as L.A. Here, a lot of people just go to shows because they just want to see the band.

So, with Something to Die For, how much of the songwriting for the album was experimentation, and how much of it was evolution?


I think this is kind of an experimental album in a way, but it depends on what song you are looking at. “Better Off Dead” has a lot of hooks, but here are a lot of layers and different vibes with this song. I’m more into writing a song the way it should be written, even if you are doing something that doesn’t make sense to another songwriter. You have to break all the rules.

A lot of people write songs just to be big. I’d rather create something that people might get into, instead of creating something that’s been done before. If you don’t like it, you can blame it on us, so it’s an honest album.

What do you think of the subject of medical cannabis?


I don’t understand why it’s illegal in America because it seems like alcohol does more damage than marijuana. I think that it can help people who have cancer and other illnesses.

As a citizen of Sweden, what is your opinion of the American government’s war on marijuana?


We see cannabis as a drug and we classify all drugs the same. In Sweden, it’s easier to get help for drugs. If you just put people in jail, it won’t treat them. Jail is not a rehab. In Sweden, they try to help you. You can still go to jail in smuggling drugs, but if you are an addict, it’s easier to get help instead of going to jail. This makes better people, and it makes for a better society. In the long run that would help better.

Abe Vigoda (the Band, Not the Actor) - Music

I've been writing for IE Weekly since the first day of the magazine. I interviewed Dr. Strange of Dr. Strange Records.

It was a terrible piece of writing, but at least the interview went well. I had known Dr. Strange since growing up in the hardcore So Cal punk scene, so it was really just a talk with someone I had known for more than a decade.

Now I have to interview ultra famous people, I mean, people so awesomely popular that stadiums scream their name out loud to their faces every night. How could any ego handle that kind of pressure? 

So I try to be as interesting and empathetic as I can, so they get to take a break from the business.  I want them to feel as if  they are just having a  great conversation.

It's easy to do when I'm just cheerfully asking questions (without being corny) and letting the person on the other side of the conversation talk as long as they want, without looking bored. Would anyone you know let you do that?

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Juan Velazquez, guitarist and vocalist for Abe Vigoda, met the rest of the members of the band growing up in Chino. “We all met in school. I met our bass player David Reichardt, and Dane Chadwick, our drummer, in junior high. In high school we met Michael, the singer. We all played music together and were all big music geeks. We’d end up hanging out all the time, talking about our favorite groups.”

They chose their band’s name after watching a skit on Conan O’Brien which featured the actor Abe Vigoda, made famous by his role as Sal Tessio in The Godfather. “We saw him on Conan O’Brien. He’d just show up for no reason. We thought of all of these bands and their names, and how they are funny or vague, so we decided to just call ourselves that. We kept on trying to change it, but we always just stuck with ‘Abe Vigoda,’” says Velazquez bringing up a great point: “I don’t really think there are any cool stories about how a band got named.” 

Just a few short years later the band has released four albums, been interviewed by Fader, and composed 2010’s Crush, a work so good it ended up on Pitchfork Media’s “Top 50 Albums of 2010.” 

As the band has matured, its sound has changed. The group has been described as “tropical punk” by Wikipedia, alternative/electronica by MySpace, and labeled as “pop” by YouTube. Velazquez and the band don’t worry about labels. “We used to have a more funny, punk kind of sound,” he says. Since then, each album has been just another side of the same group. “We really like bands like The Talking Heads, bands that can’t be just given one title or another. Maybe it’s because we have four records out, and we’ve changed with each record.” And if he has to pick a label, it’s not like the band will stay that way. “I guess we’re post-punk, goth pop. I’m not a big fan of saying any band is a certain genre. I don’t know, maybe we’re all over the place.”

With each chapter Abe Vigoda’s quality has been consistent, although the band’s current sound is similar to darkwave or guitar-injected dance electronica. Velazquez says that the only formula their band follows when it comes to writing songs is democratic. “We’ll spend a lot of time on the road, and then when we get back we each have different ideas, different sounds, because we each pick up different influences.”

The band promises to release another record, but doesn’t have an exact date. “Maybe [in] a year or less. It’s going to be a while before we come up with a new album,” Velazquez says. “There’s one new song we’ve been playing a lot, it doesn’t have a name yet. It’s more bass-and-drums-centered. We’ve just added a little keyboard to it.”

Now that the band has had time to grow up, it’s only natural that its music has matured, too. “We’re tying to work with a lot more subtley, instead of going overboard with our sound,” he says. “We will offer fans something on the Internet soon.” 

Occupy Los Angeles Update #2 - OWS

A short time ago I visited the Occupy Los Angeles protest site around Los Angeles City Hall. I spoke with John Waiblinger, a representative of the LGBTQ community. Here's what he had to say about Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Los Angeles and the 99% Movement.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. What's your name?

My name is John Waiblinger. I'm here to support Occupy Los Angeles, and to organize an LGBTQ group for the movement. 

Why do you feel that the LGBTQ community should be a part of the 99% Movement?

The whole message of the movement in our society is that we are placing the pursuit of corporate profits over people. That's why I'm here. I also want to articulate the needs of LGBTQ community, including non-discrimination and the protection of civil rights, so I feel very much that I am part of the movement. 

How did you feel about the political system ten years ago, compared to how politics are in America right now?

I don't think the political system has changed. It's still controlled by big money. It's very hard for people to get their voices heard. The focus seems to be on protecting laws that help support corporate oligarchy, which includes profits, profits, profits...

What we should be doing is taking care of the environment and taking care of our families. That's more important than corporate profits.

So you feel that ten years later, the system hasn't changed much. What for you was the defining moment that made you come down to City Hall and demonstrate?

I couldn't believe that a grass roots movement just sprung up that articulated a different narrative than the one we've always heard, which is all about the deficit, cutbacks, and taking rights away from people. This movement is saying, "Hey, there's plenty of wealth and resources in this country, but there's something very wrong with how we are distributing these resources." I'm so glad there's finally a movement that's talking about this. It's very exciting.

So, you don't feel that the Tea Party represents how people really feel about what's wrong with America?

I think that there's a lot of anger in this country. People feel that their needs are not being met. The Tea Party doesn't really represent a proper analysis of what that's about. I think that they have been totally co-opted by the right wing and the Republican Party. They don't represent my perspective of what's going on. 

Do you believe the Tea Party stands for the protection of civil rights?

Not at all. They've allied themselves with discriminatory organizations and have discriminating perspectives. 

If a person is sitting on their couch right now, and they don't care about what's going on, what's the one most important statement you'd like to tell this person to get them involved? What should be their wake-up call?

These are ordinary people coming together to say something different and make a change. I would suggest that they come down here and see what it's like. Read about it and think about how much the mainstream media channels our thinking and dialogue in a certain direction. This is an alternative. I believe that this alternative is still trying to articulate what it's voice is, but it's open, it's participatory...it's the kind of democracy we haven't seen in this country for quite some time. 

Well, God bless that.

Yes. 

To reach John Warblinger and OccupyEquality, visit their Facebook page right here.

Here's how you can help to bring real participating democracy back to the American government. Money, letters of support, supplies...everything counts.

You can donate to Occupy Wall Street, here.

You can donate to Occupy Los Angeles, here. They recently posted this important banking update on their Facebook page. 

The Media Team seeks to interview & film BANK CLOSERS who have closed, or will be closing their accounts Thursday 10th - Saturday 12th.

Please email: mariska7@mac.com

Subject: BANK CLOSERS

Info: your contact info and availability for interview ~pj

Here's a link to their Amazon wish list.

The mayor has been incredibly supportive of the protesters. You can support him right back, here.

Governor Jerry Brown could take out Occupy Los Angeles with a single phone call. Write him a letter and thank him for the support.

A letter to the LAPD in support of the demonstrations and a big donation to the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation will help the movement. Remember, cops are also the 99%.