BeatCrave is excited to bring you band, Saint Motel, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. It’s not too often that you meet a band at a Thai restaurant, hear one of the band members speak fluent Thai, then have another band member tell you they’re honorary Thai guests. That or have one of their moms come in only to exclaim, “I have the fake blood!”

With Saint Motel, everything is extravagant but it’s all done in a very homemade way. This is another way to say that Saint Motel is one very hard working band who knows how to engage fans, look professional, yet also just be who simply they are: Four normal guys who met in film school and decided to start a band that would eventually rock the hell out of LA.  If you haven’t been to one of their shows, that needs to be added on to your “To-Do” lists, because it’s music fully enhanced. They make sure of it.

We got the chance to chat with Saint Motel about everything serious, silly, and anything in between. Check out this exclusive interview with the entire band and learn what they think about illegal downloading, how they changed digital purchasing, and well… their possible careers as match-makers!

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BeatCrave brings you band, Cosio, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. This five-piece band is no stranger to the pages of BeatCrave as they were not only a BeatCrave Fav of the week but also our winner for BeatCrave Fav of July. So we decided to please you, our loyal readers, as well as ourselves by featuring them in a full interview!

Cosio, a band that is part testosterone and estrogen, creates beauty in sophisticated form through their charming, mystical folk rock sounds. Led by tender yet unyielding vocals, their orchestration is enticing as a night out on the town in Paris. Although LA is comprised of mostly alternative and noise rock bands, Cosio combines every imaginable instrument for refreshing and unusual melodies that stick with you like a lifelong fantasy.

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BeatCrave is proud to bring you band, Meho Plaza, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. This three piece band is possibly the most quintessential LA band I have come across yet, and by using the term “quintessential,” I definitely don’t mean the “typical.” At first listen, the distorted bass and screeching guitars under the heavy drums may mistakenly group them into only noise rock bands of LA. However, as soon as you listen to your second Meho Plaza song, you begin to realize that this band is nothing like the others.

Meho Plaza could easily be as big of a name as HEALTH or No Age. Intsead, Mike Thrasher (vox/guitar), Jennifer Hwang (keys), and James Connelly (drums) have been keeping their profile low with only two-self released EPs and one full length album. Not only are their song titles clever, (I Sold My Organs, Let’s Play Police, We’ll Drink The Blood) but under all those chaotic layers of lo-fi quality is refreshing songwriting. Combining electro with punk will always win me over, but when you insert insanely catchy pop melodies in there, I become deliriously giddy. Anti-melody and synthesizers on the surface may be too tricky for some,  but that’s the best thing about this band. They make juxtaposition sound easy, AND naturally good. So, in this case, quintessential only takes on the meaning of “original, pure, and concentrated form” – kind of like the first time you ever heard Sonic Youth.

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As our BeatCrave Fave Pick of the Month and a band whose concert we have joyfully reviewed, it seems there is little left to be said about the awesome foursome comprised of Sarah Ellquist (vocals), Daniel de Blanke (guitar), Preston Scott Phillips (drums, percussion) and Keith Boyarsky (bass). BeatCrave however, thought it would be a great idea to go beyond singing (pun completely intended) the bands praises and take some time to talk with some of its members.

The Robotanists thought it would be a good idea as well and Sarah, Dan and Preston gave us a rare glimpse behind the scenes of this truly spectacular group of artists. Take some time and get to know, even better than you already do, the one and only Robotanists!

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BeatCrave is excited to bring you band, Avi Buffalo, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. If you’re in the Long Beach or LA area and HAVEN’T heard of these guys yet then you may, in fact, be living under a rock. The band that consists of members who have just graduated high school (one still having one more year to go!) are taking over the areas with their non-pretentious hooks and trouble-free lyrics. It’s always hard to believe that such a great band could be so young (or make you feel old) and have such talent as this. Tunes like “What’s In It For” may have a Shins vibe, but these kids are completely original in their compositions and their outlook on making music. Let’s face it; when a band has a song titled, “Summer Cum,” and you actually want to listen to it for the songwriting instead of the clever name – your ears have found something!

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BeatCrave brings you luscious band, Warpaint, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. Although your research on this band may be obscure, word of mouth is by far the best resource for this four-piece band. Better yet, take in a live show of Warpaint’s and throw all your research away. With three rad females and one bad ass male drummer, this band brings you the atmosphere of mystique, beauty, and psychedelia all at once. With gorgeous vocals eloquently coming from all three girls, the melodies are lilting yet seductive and their instrumental skills speak for themselves in a live setting. It’s almost impossible to define Warpaint’s exact sound in a wikipedia entry or summarize it in a bio. The essence of this band is an organic experience.

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BeatCrave brings you band, Aushua, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. Although they are from the Santa Ana area, they have been making great friends and music over here in the LA music scene. With their foundation of folk-rock and a splash of new wave, they are more than deserving to be featured.

Brothers Phil, Eric, and Lee Newyear and long-time friend Nathan Gammill have made music together that breaks all stereotypes of the beach lover/skateboarder/surfer in the OC area. Gammill’s vocals are tenaciously delivered and the melodic guitars among the steady bass and drums create an amalgamation of classic comfort and refreshing edge.

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Los Angeles is a town where bands break up, form and then break up again over the course of an hour so it goes without saying that it takes a true commitment to music and a bond that runs deeper than pure aesthetic to stay together for over six years. Oh No Not Stereo is such an LA anomaly and one that you should be listening to, if you’re not already.  Comprised of two core members: Skyler Nielsen and Mykul Lee, Oh No Not Stereo were formed in 2003 and have collaborated with numerous other talented musician throughout their career.  Presently, Marc and Jussi have joined the duo to create “003,” their most recent, self-released, LP.

BeatCrave was fortunate enough to talk with Skyler Nielsen about the formation of Oh No Not Stereo, their creative process, the story behind some of their work and the five albums he would not be able to live without. It was really fun learning more about this band whose  rock sound is so fun and infectious that you’ll quickly find yourself playing air guitar and singing along.  We hope you enjoy getting to know Oh No Not Stereo as much as we did.

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BeatCrave brings you band, The Living Suns, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. This 6-piece group may not exactly be from Los Angeles (more like Fullerton), but they sure are doing a hell of a job by already making a name for themselves in the Orange County area. The Living Suns have briefly integrated themselves into the LA music scene by doing a few shows with bands such as Local Natives and Aushua, but that was a mere taste for music goers. With their widest range of progressive rock possible, they’ll be all over the Eastside with the rest of your favorite local bands in no time. (It also doesn’t hurt that that sell out House of Blues Anaheim from time to time.)

Although most tend to categorize The Living Suns into “stoner rock,” true fans know that TLS’ sound is a lot more diverse than just psychedelic. Flying by the seat of their pants on stage (they don’t like to rehearse set lists), these guys will go from a bluesy jam (“Monk”) to a percussion driven classic rock hit (“1000 Ways to Use A Dollar”) to a gentle pop-rock ballad (“Gestle”). Whatever it is they’re churning out on stage, they do it with such ferocity that their fans eat it up, and online-music geeks (us) can’t get enough of it either.

Catch The Living Suns live! They’ll be playing at The Blvd in tonight at 8:00! Don’t miss out on the next big thing to hit LA. Until then check out our exclusive interview with their very own guitarist, Matt Mason, below!

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