| JC | ||
|---|---|---|
| External links | ||
Joe Mitch (Guitar, Vocals) of |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||
The Atomic Love Bombs | ||
The psychedelic San Francisco-based indie band The Atomic Love Bombs are causing music fans to take notice of the band's overall creative and unique sound. Many of the band's influences such as the Velvet Underground and The Kinks can be heard throughout The Atomic Love Bombs' own music. In this recent interview with our Webzine, The Atomic Love Bombs speak candidly about their music, the band's origin, and what fans can expect from the band in the next few years. Enjoy!
Isaac: What's the name of your band? What's the origin of that name? Have you changed the band's name before?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Originally, The Atomic Love Bombs grew out of a project I was working on with our original singer (Dan Morris), which was a psychedelic band called The Sun Machine. The Atomic Love Bombs was actually an accidental naming… Dan wanted to call the band Atomic and I wanted to call the band The Love Bombs, and we went back and forth on it for months. A promoter who was about to book our band for a show in San Francisco got sick of it all, and finally suggested The Atomic Love Bombs as a compromise. And it stuck.
Isaac: What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
The Atomic Love Bombs: We consider ourselves to be indie psychedelic rock, with maybe some garage rock thrown in. We're not very polished but we sort of like it that way. We like to use the term "melodic noise" to describe ourselves. As a songwriter, my major influences include Ray Davies and Lou Reed; but as a band our influences include everything from The Yardbirds and Aftermath-era Rolling Stones to The Velvet Underground and 13th Floor Elevators to more modern bands such as Spaceman 3 and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Also The Jesus and Mary Chain… William and Jim Reid have always ruled my universe.
Isaac: How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
The Atomic Love Bombs: One of the running jokes in the band is the number of members we've had pass through the band over the past five years (22). People just sort of get caught up in life and work, find the music and rehearsals disinteresting, don't have time for any of it anymore, and just walk away from it. Our bass player, Tim Rye, and I have been in the band since the beginning. We were refugees from other cities when we met here in the Bay Area, Tim was from Tennessee and I was from San Diego, we bonded because we didn't really know very many people from the area and spookily we had almost similar influences. Our current line-up has been together for over a year now, which is the longest continuous line-up we've had over the past six years.
Isaac: When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together? Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Our music is self-released under our own label HappyAgain Music. I am currently working with two other bands from the SF area and hopefully we'll get their music to the public very soon. Let It Burn's producer, Drew Youngs, is also planning on releasing 100 Mile Freefall and Let It Burn (Song for Anton Newcombe) as a single on his label, Earthwire Records. Currently, I am a BMI member, but that's about it. I'm also a member of the Junior NASA Exploration Unit, but I don't think that counts.
Isaac: What can you tell me about your instruments? (i.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever's available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?
The Atomic Love Bombs: We play mostly vintage instruments or modern copies that sound like the originals (but actually work). I used to have a Vox Phantom XII that always had problems so I ended up selling it and buying a Phantom Guitarworks Phantom XII that has a sweet sound to it, better than the original Vox. I also like to play my Rickenbacker 330 live; it's much lighter and has a nice jangly sound to it that sounds amazing in the right venues. I was a Byrds fan and a Beatles fan as a kid, and I've always had Rics as my main guitar. I also have a 330 12, a 360 12, and another 330 6 at home. Our lead guitarist, Ben Lyman, plays a Casino and has a homemade amp he made out a 1940s PA amplifier. It has one of the cleanest guitar sounds I've ever heard; I don't think any amp made today would be able to duplicate it.
Isaac: Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
The Atomic Love Bombs: We've played up and down California, but mostly in the Bay Area. I really like to play the dingy places and dive bars for some reason, the crowds are always into the music. We've played larger venues in SF, but my favorite has always been The Knockout in the Mission. It's a divey-type bar, but the people that frequent the place really know and appreciate the music. I mean, they really know they're music there. As for upcoming shows, we just added a female back-up vocalist named Lauren Alegre; we're working her in before hit the live circuit again. Our next live shows will probably be in Northern California and Southern Oregon in January. We also have two corporate gigs coming up in January and February. But we go into the studio at the end of February…
Isaac: Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
The Atomic Love Bombs: No covers! That's my only rule (lol). Well, in the past, we have played a couple of covers, Anenome by BJM and The Stone's Paint It Black. We never really practiced them at rehearsals and played them spontaneously at a couple gigs, but they were sloppy and sounded like dogs***. We don't really have a set play list or rehearse songs in any particular order, but we do like to organize and plan each set specifically for each venue and crowd we play to.
Isaac: Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
The Atomic Love Bombs: I usually write all the songs; they are based on the story of my life (lol). Well, not really, but I like to play as the observer and tell the stories of some of the interesting characters who have past through my life. As an example, Butterflies is the story of three girlfriends… one was a recovering heroin addict who would masturbate 10-11 times a day to help kick the habit, another was a crystal fiend who would always disappear into a dark corner to do lines, and the third just liked to show off her fancy oral sex skills to anyone and everyone (lol). The topics always evolve, I like to write songs about the human condition and make people think about how fortunate they are, because the girl or boy next door may seem pretty innocent, but is living a pretty f*cked up life. 100 Mile Freefall is a true story about a man who jumped out an airplane without a parachute. I also have a fond appreciation of the 1970s space program for some reason, which no one really cared about for the longest time. Currently, I just finished a song called Flight of Soyuz 11, which tells the story of an astronaut who suffered from space sickness and lost his mind while docked with the Salyut 1 space station. He opened the door of the capsule and depressurized the cabin, killing all aboard. I don't know why I write about some of these things, but I think someone needs to tell the story.
Isaac: Could you briefly describe the music-making process?
The Atomic Love Bombs: I like to play through a song at home for a couple weeks and sometimes record it on my PC at home (which I haven't done recently because friggin' ProTools is non-compatible with the Vista on my new laptop (@%$%)) before unveiling it for the others in the band. I'll bring it into a rehearsal, play it for everyone, and then let them stew on it for a couple of weeks before we start playing it together as a band. This gives everyone a chance to think about the song and what parts they would like to add and changes they would like to make. I like to build songs around hooks… I could write riffs all day, but whether they work or not is a separate question. The floor of our rehearsal space is littered with dozens of songs that just didn't work.
Isaac: What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
The Atomic Love Bombs: We practice twice a week (Sundays and Wednesdays) at a nifty little rehearsal place in San Leandro, CA, called Annex Studios. We're all working folk, so we usually need to schedule around everyone's lives.
Isaac: How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Our original lead singer wanted to build a garage rock type band in the mold The Hives or The Strokes. I went along with it because I thought with both of our talents we could eventually do something special together. Dan wrote most of the songs back then, and as a band our first instinct was to speed everything up and try to make it a "crowd-pleaser" (whatever, lol). We were definitely headed in the wrong direction; the last thing anyone wants to hear is another band that sounds like the friggin' Strokes. When Dan left, I took over the songwriting. Hopefully, my influences shine through on Let It Burn. However, I gotta admit, Dan's writing has always inspired me and we will be recording at least two of the original songs that he wrote on our next album.
Isaac: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
The Atomic Love Bombs: When Dan left the band it created a fracture that upset the entire Atomic Love Bombs universe… ˝ of the band wanted to quit and Tim Rye (bass, vocals), Bryan Chaffin (guitar, vocals) and myself wanted to keep it going. Our drummer wanted to us to turn into a Spinal Tap tribute band called Shit Sandwich (!)… We eventually jettisoned him and the other parts that didn't want to stay aboard and after a couple changes at drummer and lead singers we finally settled on pretty much what our current line-up is. We re-defined our sound. I always considered Let It Burn being a transitional album of sorts. Our next one (tentatively entitled The Sun Machine) will be darker and hipper…
Isaac: What's your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Nah, we don't want no stinkin' fame and fortune. We don't want to be rock stars or play to 10,000,000 at Overrated Fest 2010. We just want to have fun being artists and create some cool music together. I have a 4-year-old daughter named Samantha, and someday I'll want her to know the story of my life. I guess I could do that with a scrapbook, but I've been a musician since I was 12 years old, I want her to know the real me.
Isaac: What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Posers are p*ssies. Don't be a musician if you want to be this guy or that guy or if you have some sort of masturbatory fantasy about wanting to imitate him or her or whatever. Be a musician. Be an artist. Get into it to create and inspire others. Oh, and practice 'til you can't stand the songs anymore. Then you'll know you're ready to play them to the world.
Isaac: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Our CD is available on iTunes, Amazon, Lala, Napster, etc. Or you can go to our under-designed website (www.atomiclovebombs.com) and purchase a copy.
Isaac: Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
The Atomic Love Bombs: I would like to thank my wife, who has put up with my music since we met in 1994.
Isaac: Any last words?
The Atomic Love Bombs: Don't open the door, the capsule will decompress.
|
|
from Sonicbids artists for general review and feature consideration. some exposure in a modern, inventive publication with an established client base. |
