Published: April 21, 2009 9:11 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight April 2009 Edition
The Alternates
The Alternates Picture Taken by: Kevin Landes
The Alternates are going to blow you away with their catchy tunes, funky rock flavor, and stylish lyrics. The band knows how to rock out and you will be amazed when you hear the band for the first time. I spoke to Spencer of The Alternates who was more than eager to enlighten us on who are The Alternates. Enjoy this spotlight.
Isaac: How do you sum up 2008 for The Alternates?
Spencer/ The Alternates: 2008 has been a very productive year for us. We played a bunch of shows, wrote a whole new group of new songs and our fan base has really grown, especially in Los Angeles. 2008 has been really fun and I promise there will be many more years to come for The Alternates.
Isaac: Describe the music scene in Toluca Lake, California.
Spencer/ The Alternates: There isn't much of a music scene in Toluca Lake actually. We just happen to live in Toluca Lake but the real scene is in Hollywood and Los Angeles. That's where the magic happens. I think we have the coolest following in the world! There are the usual teenagers and young people that we see at every show and now new people from all over the place, that we don't even know are starting to come out to hear us. The most fun part about what we do is to play in front of an entire audience of people that really cares about what we are doing. When we were just getting started, we quickly learned that it's much more fun to play for a few people who care then an entire venue full of people who don't care.
Isaac: What do you feel was the band's biggest accomplishment for 2008?
Spencer/ The Alternates: One of our biggest accomplishments for 2008 was being one of the winners of the BB King Battle Of The Bands at Universal Citywalk. It was like 4 months of shows and eliminations and there were over 70 bands to start with. In the end we came out on top along with another band called Hindu Kush who has some pretty cool songs as well. We also played The House Of Blues in West Hollywood for the first time with our friends Monte Negro. We actually met Mickey Rourke backstage at that show which was pretty random and very cool. We wrote a lot in the past year and came up with some new songs that we are really proud of. We are still working out some of the kinks on a few of them but we plan to play some new ones at The Mint on May 6th 2009.
Isaac: You guys have played together for four years. What do you contribute to your lasting power as band to stay together?
Spencer/ The Alternates: I think the main thing that keeps us all together is the fact that we were all friends before we were in a band together. Believe it or not, all five of us have gone to the same school since 4th grade. We were all best friends in high school and always played music together so we decided to call ourselves The Alternates and start playing shows. That's kind of how it started. At this point, I can't imagine not being in The Alternates. This band is our lives and we will be doing our thing until one of us dies. Whether we become the biggest thing in the world or just play music for our enjoyment, the point is that we will always stay true to ourselves and what we do.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Spencer/ The Alternates: We listen to every kind of music you can think of. New stuff and old stuff. Rock, Jazz, Rap, Metal, you name it, we have probably heard it. We like The Beatles of course. Bob Dylan's style of writing is definitely a big influence on the way I write my lyrics. Neil Young is a huge influence on us especially our guitar playing. I would say Radiohead, Wilco and Modest Mouse are just about the best thing out there right now. This up and coming band called Autolux is pretty damn cool also. As far as I'm concerned, Radiohead is the most important band of this generation.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Spencer/ The Alternates: I think we have a fresh sound that no band can imitate, especially live! We aren't afraid of failure so we will pretty much try anything if we feel it is right. At the moment, some people might consider us to be a rock band but I know that 10 years down the line we will evolve into something different. I would go crazy if I stuck to writing one genre of music. That's so boring. When I see a lot of pop bands on TV and on the radio I wonder, where is their creativity? Don't they get bored of writing the same kind of song over and over? I think we can really bring quality music into the mainstream again instead of all these cookie cutter pop bands you hear out there today. There will always be a market for that kind of crap but I really think that real bands like The Kings of Leon are paving the way for bands like us to make our way to the forefront of what is popular.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Spencer/ The Alternates: If we could work with one other group, I would have to say Wilco. I just think we have a lot in common with them. They have always stayed true to what they do and they are amazing songwriters and musicians. I think Jeff Tweedy's lyrics have the most unique ideas and beautiful visual imagery of anyone since Dylan. We have seen them live a few times and I don't think there is anyone out there that can put on as hypnotic of a show as they do.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Spencer/ The Alternates: Our music has no boundaries. We don't like to categorize ourselves because once you are stuck in a certain place, you will always be there. I would have to say that we make music the way we want to hear it and hope that people like it. I am all about lyrics, smooth melodies and harmonies. I like writing lyrics with double meanings. In other words, what might mean something to one person may mean something completely different to someone else. Most of the time, no one has any idea what I am talking about so they make their own assumptions and draw their own conclusions.
Isaac: What is your definition for Rock Music?
Spencer/ The Alternates: Rock music is music that has energy, and changes your state of mind. A good rock song will make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You might feel angry or excited. Rock music brings out the teenager in every one of us.
Isaac: What has been the inspiration behind the music you make?
Spencer/ The Alternates: We have been inspired by a lot of things. The world inspires us. Our lyrics about things that go on in the world so it's a good thing the world isn't a boring place. Our families are a big inspiration. They have always supported us. They even let us use the living room of my house to practice when we needed to. Other artists that we idolize are huge inspirations on us as well such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Thom Yorke, Isaac Brock and Jeff Tweedy. They have shown us that it can be done. Our fans are also probably the biggest inspiration to us. They give us hope and show us that someone believes in what we are doing.
Isaac: What can fans expect from The Alternates in 2009?
Spencer: In 2009, our fans can expect that we will continue to be The Alternates. We will have plenty more shows, new songs and are working on putting together a summer tour.
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Spencer/ The Alternates: Thank you to Anel Mora, Hailey Livingston, Nick Nye, all of our families and of course thank you to all of the fans that have always supported us and made every show so much fun.
Isaac: Final words from The Alternates…
Spencer/ The Alternates: We aren't giving up any time soon!
