[TMN Exclusive Interview] Talking Music, Performance and Brotherhood with The Bots

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The Bots
All I Really Want

With every generation comes a new wave of artists who, while often influenced by their predecessors, push music forward reflecting the collective consciousness of their time. Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei, 21 and 17 respectively, are certainly representatives of this emerging class but, considering how long the duo has been making music as The Bots, they’ve got a solid head start on most of their peers. The LA-bred brothers recorded their first album nearly 6 years ago and have been rocking the festival circuit, starting with appearances on Warped Tour, ever since.

Musically, The Bots brand of rock is certainly a product of some of the great musicians of the past ranging from punk’s roots to contemporary icons in the genre. In fact, they’ve seemingly followed a chronological trajectory of the genre, fusing styles and injecting their unique twist along the way. In mastering the craft of those that came before them, The Bots have truly found their artistic identity and are poised to make an impact with their forthcoming album, Pink Palms, which will be released on October 14th via Fader Label.

We had a chance to catch up with the promising band at this year’s Outside Lands finding the brothers, as we expected, to exude an aura of youthful creativity. Check the conversation below, stream the first single from Pink Palms above and, if you’re digging it, grab the track on iTunes as well.

TMN: When did you first start listening to music and what was the first artist that you really got into?

Mikaiah: Our parents showed us a lot of good oldies and reggae growing up. I was listening to a lot of MTV stuff so that was, at the time, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Avril Lavigne, Green Day

Anaiah: Do you even know a Backstreet Boys album?

Mikaiah: No, but that’s what I listened to!

Anaiah: I liked a lot of Reggae and Punk Rock music.

Mikaiah: Commercial radio and stuff like that was what I was into, but then I grew up. After the punk thing, I was like, okay, this is real cool music. I started weeding through all the other types of music and figuring out what I really liked. As I grew a bit older, I realized I shouldn’t be so worried about what people think if I like Madonna or whatever. I listen to everything now, but back then it was a lot of Reggae and Oldies. When we came to a certain age, our father introduced more 80s hard core. It was a lot of Black Flag. Also, Rock ’n Roll like Ramones and, everything more classic, like Led Zeppelin and ACDC—it was punk and then all the rock bands. That’s when we found out what we really like. We like rock music. Anaiah listens to a bunch of stuff, I listen to a bunch of stuff. We share music and that’s how we keep things interesting in the band itself when writing. Continue reading

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Outside Lands 2014: 10 Acts to See Before 3PM [Event Preview + Playlist]

With the inevitable shenanigans that occur during preparation, it can be difficult to get to a music festival in a timely manner. As a result, its fairly common for festival-goers to miss out on acts that play early in the day. While headliners rarely disappoint, there’s something incredible about discovering an artist for the very first time during a live performance–a mutually beneficial exchange between artist and fan. The first few hours of a lineup provide ample opportunity to do so without compromise often producing some of the most energetic shows of an event.

Outside Lands is coming up on Friday, and we’ve decided to do our best to compel all our ninjas to make it to Golden Gate Park early this weekend by highlighting 10 acts worth seeing before 3PM. In creating the list, we found that there is certainly no shortage of artists, both established and up & coming, that we’re excited for during the first few hours of each day. If you can’t make it in early, don’t sweat, because at least a few of these bands will be headlining festivals themselves soon enough. Check out the playlist below and we hope to see some of you at OSL this weekend!

Day 1 (08/08):

Night Terrors of 1927 (Noon, Panhandle Stage)

Sounds like: Brooding, dark pop bringing together powerful emotions on either end of the spectrum.

’Night Terrors of 1927 – Young and Vicious’
’Night Terrors of 1927 – Dust and Bones’

Aer (12:45PM, Twin Peaks Stage)

Sounds like: A sunny blend of hip-hop, alternative rock and a splash of Sublime.

’Aer – Feel I Bring’
’Aer – Won’t Laugh’

Run the Jewels (2:15, Lands End Stage)

Sounds like: Hardcore hip-hop with counter-cultural commentary.

’Run The Jewels – Banana Clipper feat. Big Boi’
’Run The Jewels – Get It’

Continue reading

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