The Scenestar

Interview: Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds

ARTICLE BY CHERI GREEN

Following a tour with No Doubt, The Sounds have launched a headlining tour here in the U.S. Having been together for more than a decade, The Sounds have perfected their onstage presence with an energy that instantly grabs you and leaves you with an exciting connection with the band. Even if one has never been to a Sounds show, the band has an explosive impact on the audience. Lead singer Maja Ivarsson took time out of her busy day to talk with The Scenestar about the band’s third album, Crossing the Rubicon, right before The Sounds’ Wiltern shows on Oct. 21 and 22.

Interview: Karl Hyde of Underworld

ARTICLE BY CHRIS MOLINA

PHOTO BY PEROU

“Vision C’mon…”

After nearly three decades, Underworld continues to search, reinvent and push the conventions of art, technology and music culture through a plethora of various outlets. Their broad range of extracurricular projects (film scores, art installations, live Internet radio jams and collaborations) keep their creative palette in a constant surge of overdrive that ultimately circles back into their music compositions. Debut album (under a new iteration of the band) dubnobasewithmyheadman set a precedent for the electronic and dance scene in the early ’90s, long before the current pinup DJ influx had infected the globe. In addition, while parallel to generating tunes, Underworld also coexists with their own art collective—TOMATO—which was also founded by band members Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. TOMATO equally has been critically and commercially acclaimed for its work across multiple disciplines of visual language and is a key component to many aspects of the band’s stage presentation.

Although Underworld is mostly unsung in the U.S., they continue to be a source of inspiration among their peers, including such acts as Bjork and Radiohead, who mentioned them in a dedication of “Everything in It’s Right Place” at last year’s All Points Festival at Liberty State Park. Local L.A. band West Indian Girl also dropped a plug for the boys in an interview with The Scenestar. In a day and age where fame and fortune often distort many core values, Underworld manages to extend their sincerity to the distance, keeping themselves grounded with the utmost humble composure. From a hole in the dark, deep in Essex, England, Karl Hyde took a moment to chat with The Scenestar via conference call.

Live: Deadmau5 @ Theatre of Living Arts

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY CAROLINE CALDWELL

APRIL 4 | PHILADELPHIA—Joel Zimmerman AKA Deadmau5 made it clear to me that he was in no way excited for our interview, saying how he was sick of people picking apart music. In fact, he has officially stopped doing interviews. “Fuck the press,” he said. “Music should speak for itself.” Although I only was able to talk with him for a few glorious minutes, I was instantly fond of his tell-it-like-it-is attitude. “DJs are like middlemen? No, no, they ARE middlemen,” he explained. It’s funny that he could say this, since he’s a DJ himself, but I knew exactly what he meant: DJs of today neither create the music, nor take it in. They just play it. Honesty is praised, my ’lil mouse! How could you not love this man, who is the physical embodiment of a party?

Morrissey Hints At Retirement

Like all good things, they all eventually comes to an end. Contemplating future plans, Steven Patrick Morrissey has hinted a future retirement alot sooner than later in a interview with XFM London's Ian Camfield. In a series of interviews this week to promote his album scheduled to be released today Years Of Refusal, Morrissey makes mention of his singing career winding down in the near future, with continuing to tour in his mid 50s into his 60s "incredibly slim". For more on Morrissey, be sure to tune inor stream all week to XFM for continuing interviews all week with Steve Harris at 7pm GMT (11am PST)

Interview: POLYSICS

Japan’s POLYSICS are currently touring in support of new album We Ate the Machine, and you can look forward to seeing the punk-new wave group on Nov. 14 when they perform at the Glass House in Pomona. Amidst their busy touring schedule, the POLYSICS members recently took some time to answer via e-mail a few Scenestar questions about the new album and the 10-year history of the band.

Interview: Kate Cooper of An Horse

BY CHARLOTTE MOSS
PHOTOS BY BIG HASSLE

Australia’s An Horse has not yet released full-length debut Rearrange Beds, which is released stateside March 10, but the band has already toured the U.S. with Tegan and Sara, performed at CMJ and scheduled two nights in Los Angeles—at the Silverlake Lounge and the Echo. Self-described as indie pop, the band offers catchy rock numbers as well as a very quirky, fun nature—just read their MySpace blogs. Kate Cooper, one-half of the duo with Damon Cox, recently spent some time talking with The Scenestar about An Horse’s upcoming album, the grammatical nature of her band’s name and what she really thinks of horses.

Interview: Harry McVeigh of White Lies

ARTICLE BY CHARLOTTE MOSS
PHOTOS BY DREW REYNOLDS

“We’re so excited,” singer Harry McVeigh told me during our conversation about everything that’s happening for his up-and-coming band White Lies, who has been touring nearly non-stop and recently visited Los Angeles twice for EP Death. Though the band’s full-length, To Lose My Life, isn’t out until January, White Lies has already performed at New York’s CMJ, has an upcoming U.K. tour with Glasvegas and is slotted for next year’s Coachella. How’s that for momentum? Demonstrating an impressive work ethic, the U.K. trio views these early tours and showcases as a valuable learning opportunity, and that’s no lie.

Interview: Todd Fink of The Faint

BY CHARLOTTE MOSS

After releasing fifth album Fasciinatiion this summer, The Faint has embarked on an extensive, nearly non-stop tour. Following the band’s August show at the Music Box, The Faint will return in November to perform at the Wiltern, just in case you got worked up so musically.

Singer Todd Fink found a moment in between his time on the road to chat with The Scenestar about the tour, the new album and what exactly those geeks were right about.

Interview: Henry Evans of Spindrift

BY MYCHELLE PETERSON
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPINDRIFT

Though Spindrift's history doesn't originate in Los Angeles, the band is now closely associated with the L.A. music scene. Knowing the band's various connections to The Warlocks, Brian Jonestown Massacre and many others, I investigated Spindrift soon after hearing them soundcheck in the background while I was watching an online interview with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Robert Levon Been. I knew the name, but I didn't know the sound. But the sound was that powerful that it overtook the interview and made me want to seek out more about Spindrift.

I checked some music out online, but what I really wanted was to see the band live. That's when you really find out if a band has substance. Of course, not being in Los Angeles, I had to wait for Spindrift to come to me, but it was well worth the wait. The band is touring in support of The Legend of God's Gun (both the film and the soundtrack) and also has a limited-edition vinyl EP called Goin' Down, which the band has out on the road with them.

So how did the experience turn out? Well, it's like going on a nice, long car ride through the desert in an El Camino with the windows down on a breezy, hot summer day. In short, it's a lot of fun if you let it be. Instead of getting hung up on the heat, you let the breeze cool you down. Instead of complaining that you're driving through a barren desert, you appreciate the textures of the land around you. And that's how I felt watching Spindrift, who have perfectly captured the feeling of belonging in a Western-themed film and translated it into music.

Interview: Mike Rosenberg of /Passenger.

BY PAULA GONZALEZ

Right off the bat, I am not of a fan of acoustic shows. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is probably the only band I’d love to listen to in such a setting, but otherwise, I’m usually at the bar. This wasn’t the case, however, when I decided to take a stroll to Hotel Cafe and see /Passenger., hailing from Brighton, U.K., in one of only two U.S. shows. The place wasn’t packed, so I wasn’t sure if there was a lack of buzz for /Passenger., but once the show started, I knew these two June performances weren’t going to be enough. This band would have to come back to the U.S. for another tour.