A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to shoot some questions at the LA based band Crash Kings. I know this isn’t the same format as the first spotlight, but I think it’s a good way to get a unique perspective of a local band. So here we go. This is a Q&A with Mike Beliveau, the bassist of the band:

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I read that you guys (or at least some of you) are originally from Boston. When did you move to LA? And why LA?
Tony origially moved to LA to land a gig backing someone as a keyboardist and Jason moved because he got offered to play with Julliete and the Licks.   I made a spontaneous decision to move to LA to start a band with my brother about a year after he moved here. Tony and I have had a history playing music together and when I heard a demo that he sent me of his new music I had a instinctual reaction to drop what I was doing and move to LA.

Musical inspirations/influences? Cliché I know, but I have to ask it.
Here’s a short answer without listing my entire iTunes library:
Classic rock (queen, Zeppelin, beatles)
90’s Grunge rock (soundgarden, nirvana, pearl jam)
Jazz (herbie, miles, buddy rich, Mingus)
Each other and our friends and past bandmates

Being an up-and-coming local act, you must have played all over the city. What are one or two of your favorite venues to play at in Los Angeles? And what about somewhere you feel is a great place to go see a show?
The Roxy Theater is one of our favorite venues mostly because we love the people and the stage is great for our setup.  We’ll take any opportunity to get Jason a little further from the crowd to save their ears from bleeding – the guy hits the drum.  What I’ve learned is that it’s not the venue but the people that matter. Some of the best shows we’ve had have just been setting up in someone’s backyard or living room – Crash Kings crashing parties! There’s less expectations so people just end up having fun.

Something I found interesting about you guys. You don’t have a guitarist. You don’t see that everyday. Why choose to leave out such a widely used instrument?
We didn’t leave it out – we just never chose to add one after we put the trio together.  The piano can sound bigger than two guitars at times and my bass is distorted enough to get as heavy as Jason’s feet and hands.  Also we added a whammy bar hot rodded clavinet that tony stumbled upon which is basically a guitar inside (strings & pickups) that plays like a piano.  No guitar needed.

Another LA related question. What are some of your favorite hangouts in the city? Maybe a favorite bar, restaurant. Just places that you like going to and spending time at.
We love taking advantage of LA’s proximity to the mountains and ocean. Tony and I are big skiers and love mountain biking and surfing.  For partying – I love going to places I’ve never been whether it’s a new venue or the hole in the wall that I never knew about.

Having lived in other areas around the US, what do you think LA is missing, if anything, that you think would be a great addition to the city?
A big public park in the center of the city where people can hang out. LA just lacks a bit of the community vibe you get in cities like New York or San Fran or any city in Europe.

I noticed you guys have a Twitter account, so I’ll throw in a technology question to round things off. How do you feel services like Twitter and things like Facebook fan pages are changing the way artists are able to interact with their fans? Do you think that, as fans, we have way too much access to your every move?
Not at all. We understand that fans want to be involved any way they can and Twitter and facebook just give us a vehicle to bring the fans more.  It’s how you use it to involve the fans that makes the difference.  We asked our fans through our networks to suggest a cover song for us to play and we chose one, recorded it and made a video. We’re excited to involve people more with our music.  No one will remember when I beat my high score in Doodle Jump. They will remember our music though.

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And there you have it. You should all check this up-and-coming LA band out. Listen to their music, follow them on twitter, be friends with them on facebook. Also don’t miss them at the El Rey on the 27th of this month. My thanks to Mike and the rest of Crash Kings for taking the time to answer a few questions for bored.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm and is filed under interview, music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.