Los Angeles based two-piece The Palms, composed of Johnny Zambetti and Ben Rothbard, are making big strides in the alt-pop world, now more than ever with the release of their 14-track album, Mulholland Dr. After feeling somewhat creatively restricted in their previous band, The Palms was formed as a way for Zambetti and Rothbard to forge their own path and create authentic music. Exploding onto the Californian music scene, The Palms look to expand their horizons and reach many other places. With tracks that can uplift, amp up, and chill out, The Palms tick all the boxes that an alt-pop band seeks to fulfill. Get ready to groove when you put on a record from The Palms.
The Palms answered a few of our questions, and we discovered that pretty much everyone hates the Snapchat update.
As an L.A. based band, did the band’s name inspiration come from the locale, or elsewhere?
100% from the locale. I was living in Venice at the time as Johnny and I were starting our new project and desperately trying to come up with a name. During one of our early Studio sessions, most likely as we were writing Push Off, I took a bike ride to grab some stuff from the local market and passed Palms Blvd. It hit me like a lightning bolt and i texted Johnny. He agreed immediately and that was that.
What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
Our music has to feel fresh and classic at the same time.. We’re influenced by The Beatles and Beach Boys as much as we are OutKast or Kanye West.
If your band was a color, what would it be?
Purple
Describe each other in a word.
Ben to JZ – Talent
JZ to Ben – Vocal
Favorite live show played to date?
Playing The Troubadour is always a trip being that we’re both born and raised in LA and the history of that place is intertwined in the identity of the LA music scene. Hometown shows are always special too.
Snapchat or Instagram?
Instagram 100%. Snapchat update might’ve been in the fork in that one.
Dream collaboration?
Kanye West or Kevin Parker. That should give you an idea of what we’re going for with this project.
Thirteen years ago, Gibby Paul and Kix Mead, as University of Kansas students in Lawrence, formed the dream pop group Mammoth Life. They eventually relocated to San Francisco where they continued to play and record for several years. Now Gibby Paul has his own gig, expanding his vocal chops while still shredding on the guitar. The four-piece is already playing sets in the Bay area, shaking shit off the walls to warm folks up to their debut album, So Savage, set to drop this spring, with a big grin, on 4/20.
Two singles, with videos, from the LP have already dropped. The fun and raucous “Rock N Roll” was shot on location in the Pill Hill area of Oakland with a good dose of world-class air guitar. “Not the Only One” is a wonderfully trippy take on heartbreak, complete with vintage pop imagery.
Ideally, what would be the role of social media for Gibby Paul?
Social media for GP is to be a glimpse into my rock n’ roll reality. You know, like me getting loaded on speed, or pissing off the porch, or like ripping a Telecaster guitar and making it scream. Bong rips, chef boyar-D, passed out in a pile of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans…Taco Bell, cigarettes, LP records and teenage rebellion.
What elements of instrumentation have been essential to you throughout your career?
I love rock n’ roll. At this point in my career, I let the venues we play dictate the instrumentation that is essential to me with as few people as possible on stage playing. I like guitars, bass and drums. I like tube watts, and sub tones. Fuzz rock and dark rooms. I wanna bring it back to its roots.
Your video for “Rock N Roll” was filmed in the heart of Oakland, California. What do you like about the music culture there?
Oakland is the last of the old wild west. Grime and stickiness and sex and drugs all are prevalent and easily accessible here and are granted free flow. I call West Oakland and Pill Hill our rock n’ roll playground. ‘Cause you can have an awful lot of fun and a gorgeous stage to let the rock n’ roll commence and unfold upon. It is a beautiful and inspiring backdrop to score music to.
When will you be going on the road with your music? Any plans for a return to Lawrence, Kansas?
We will be touring on and off throughout all of 2018. I wanna say we will be back in LFK and KC, MO this summer.
What would you pay $1,000 to see?
If I had a thousand bones floating around, I’d buy another guitar.
Adding to their growing collection of produced music is up-and-coming indie/alternative rock group Lowpines with their newest single, “Parasite”. This track features dreamy synth sounds as well as hypnotizing vocals that speak truth and honesty. Like their other releases, the members of Lowpines have been able to put together a new single that will resonate with those who listen and is sure to be put on repeat. Check it out!
Amidst the release madness, we got a hot second to catch up with the artist behind it all. Those words can be found below.
Given your success among fans in the UK, do you have any intentions of reaching a bigger market or fan base in other countries?
Absolutely, it’s always fun to be invited to play in other countries, and I’m always looking to do more. I’ve played some wonderful festivals in Europe and Scandinavia and plan to do more later this year. A lot of my listeners are in the USA so we’re planning a first run dates there this summer.
While looking to expand your musical lexicon, do you ever find it difficult to create music that matches the same style palette that you have created in the past.
I think I have the opposite problem – I’m always experimenting with different sounds, styles, instruments, collaborating with different people and producing other people’s music. But as soon as I sing on something it sounds like me. Which is something I always used to find frustrating, but I’m starting to enjoy it. Someone once said to me, whatever it is you don’t like about your voice, exaggerate it – because that’s the thing that makes it you. And I can totally see that now.
Now that you have done a cover of “It’s Not Happening”, will you look to do more covers performed by other artists or is the focus to write music and lyrics that are all your own?
I did that version of ‘It’s Not Happening’ when I was just starting out as Lowpines, and I wanted to see what happened if I did a cover in the style of what I was working on. I did a few songs and only that one sat right. I was pleased with how it came out and I learned a few things about the sound I was going for. I’ve done a few other covers since, and I keep a long list of songs that I want to try. Most of them don’t sit right so I ditch them, but I always learn something from doing it. I covered Judee Sill ‘There’s A Rugged Road’ and it got picked up by the radio in the UK, and is still my most popular song on Soundcloud, so it’s interesting seeing what happens with a cover, even if it’s not an especially well known song.
Where do you see Lowpines in the near and distant future?
The new record ‘In Silver Halides’ is my first full-length with Lowpines so it’s exciting to get it out into the world and see what that does. It’s the first time I’ve taken Lowpines into a studio environment and worked with other people on the recordings. I’ve been very lucky so far that my lo-fi home-record Eps have picked up fans around the world and appeared in TV shows and films, which was beyond any expectation I had when I was recording them. Lowpines has always been a selfish place for me to do my own thing in my own way. I used to do it alongside other bands I was in and now I’m doing it full time. So long as it continues to feel like something I can do well and enjoy I imagine I’ll there’ll always be something I’m working on. Right now I’m just looking ahead to a new EP I’m finishing to follow up on the album.
Where do you find inspiration to write lyrics that have constantly been marked as honest, unique, and deep?
It’s always different places I think. I tend to write lyrics in bursts, sitting down with a million rough voice memos and writing down whatever sounds and half-words I hear in there until I think I have something. I think that way of working kind of taps into your state of mind at the time – perhaps your subconscious makes you hear what you want to hear, or need to hear. So when I start to flesh them out I start to see themes emerge and explore them further. Sometimes I realise I’m getting too close to something I haven’t really dealt with, and that can be unnerving. So I have to finish the song to see if it helps me come to any kind of conclusion. Then I have to decide if it’s any good.
I try to read as much as possible, and whatever I’m reading at the time of writing will probably influence some of the imagery. My last record was full of scenes from Raymond Carver stories as I’d imagined them while I read, but relocated to whatever narrative my song was taking. I’d been re-reading a lot of his short stories on tour so my head was full of these dark, charged situations and beautiful, nuanced imagery. So I’d try and take myself to those places while I wrote.
For this record, I actually wrote most of the lyrics very early in the morning, straight out of bed. I’d be half asleep and my brain still churning over whatever dumb shit I’d been dreaming about and start writing long streams of consciousness. Once I had the music coming together, I mined those streams to find things that fit and went together. Some, like the song ‘Chambers In The Canopy’ came out pretty much fully formed and fit straight into the song. I’ve never been good at setting out to write a song specifically ‘about’ something, I always enjoyed the discovery of figuring out the subject as I write it. So I guess that method leans toward a lot of personal experiences being woven into the words.
When your followers and fans listen to your music, what would you like them to feel? How would you like your music to influence their lives?
If someone listens to my music it’s enough for me that they’re listening. I don’t try and create a certain mood or specific influence, but it’s always interesting, and at times very moving, when people write to me and tell me how a song of mine has helped them in some way, or is of importance to them. Whatever it means to the listener is so much more valuable to me than any intention I had in making it.
If you were to associate a mood with the songs that you have produced thus far, what would it be?
It’s funny, I always played in noisy indie-rock bands. So in my mind I still do. But from the beginning Lowpines was always wilfully quiet and intimate. I tell myself I’m still in a rock band, but it’s the quietest rock band in the world.
So I guess the mood that most people associate with Lowpines would be one of quiet, stillness, calm. For some that seems to be a melancholy, reflective place. For others it’s a just a chill, relaxing music. Someone wrote to me once that their dog always jumps around to music, but that when Lowpines comes on he just lays down in the middle of the kitchen floor and won’t get up. That sounds perfect to me.
It’s not A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but Oberon Rose might just fulfill all your musical dreams. New England-based Oberon Rose is gearing up to release their sophomore album, Tell Me All About It on their own imprint, ThouART Records, and are dropping their single, “No Stranger” off the record. The trio is composed of Mike Keyes’ drums, Chris Listorti on bass/keys and Tommy Oberon providing guitar and vocals, with songwriting by the band’s namesakes, Tommy Oberon and Rebecca Rose. Says Rose of her writing: “As a lyricist, I want the listener to bring their own experiences to the song, so I like to keep it open. Let the listener decide what it means.”
Between the musical ideas of the trio and Rose has evolved what many call psychedelic pop/rock – but no matter what you want to call it, you’ll like it.
“No Stranger” is a bit of a retro track, with a 70s feel to it. Oberon’s vocals are accompanied by the the evident talent of his band. If Oberon Rose has got one thing down, it’s teamwork – you can tell how well all the members play together from the first notes. “No Stranger” is just a bop, period.
Check out the track below, and continue the fun with our exclusive interview below!
In your online bio, it relates Tommy and Rebecca to Elton John and Bernie Taupin as both have similar song writing relationships. Have you ever seen these two idols as role models?
I wouldn’t say role models but we are fans. To be clear, we are in no way comparing ourselves to them, it’s just that our method of collaboration is similar.
In order to give your lyrics and song writing the space to allow for people to relate, do you base the lyrics off of personal past experiences?
We like to base the lyrics around universal experiences. Generally, the experience of being human.
What kind of dynamic exists in the creation of music in Oberon Rose?
The dynamic is always different. Sometimes I’ll bring music to Rebecca, and sometimes she’ll bring lyrics to me.
What are your goals for Oberon Rose? Where do you see the band in the near future?
We’re looking forward to playing out as much as possible. We’re currently playing shows in New England, but we hope to do some touring in the near future.
Have you ever thought about expanding your performance locations to the more central or western areas of the United States?
Absolutely. We’re looking forward to getting out that way soon.
Has there ever been a time where you felt connected with an audience above any other time that you have performed in the past?
Connecting with the audience is what it’s all about. With each show, we try to make that connection stronger.
Is there an experience that brought the band together? Or did it just seem to form effortlessly?
I don’t believe anything in music happens effortlessly. Only after a lot of hard work and determination do things start to fall into place.
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Tell Me All About It is out March 30th. Stay connected with Oberon Rose below: Website – Facebook – YouTube
Recently we had the particularly amazing opportunity to interview Raju and Chai about their creative process and where they see themselves going forward in the music community! This is what they had to say….
What was it that inspired you to start writing music?
Chai: I think my exposure to music outside the radio scene showed me how multidimensional music. My brother also opened me to both many genres and types of music, and both of these, paired with finding artists such as Frank Ocean and Coldplay, helped me develop my writing style.
Raju: I’m assuming it’d be a surprise to everyone, but its my little sister who inspired me to write music. She started both singing and writing before me, and seeing that kind of talent from someone who was 10 years old at the time brought both singing and songwriting out of me.
In a hundred years, how do you want people to remember you and your music?
Chai: i want people to remember my music as something that matters to them, helps them learn about themselves, and reminds them about certain times. Thats the type of music i consider the most powerful.
Raju: I definitely want to be remembered as an artist who provided meaning in his lyrics and used his platform to give people something they could hold close to their heart and relate to during all the moods an individual can go through. I want my music to be remembered as a force that brought people together and helped when people needed to hear the right words.
When you are having a mental writer’s block, is there something that you do to get those creative juices flowing?
Chai: i like to watch documentaries or interviews on my favorite artists to get more insight on their creative process. It really helps me push past the mental barrier and try new things that keep me going.
Raju: I like taking a shower, because mentally i can keep coming up with endless melodies and lyrics that rhyme and maintain a flow when im in there. The only difficult part is remembering what was particularly relevant to what i was working on after i get out.
Being an up and coming artist also means a flood of new fans and social media contacts from people who appreciate your music–has there been an experience that has stuck out to you with your fans?
Chai: not particularly, because It all still feels new to me. However, this makes any form of support i receive, whether in person or social media, so incredibly important and vital in terms of what it does for me. It gives me a reason to give back in the form of music.
Raju: The support i received from my classmates really struck me. People who i saw everyday but never talked to made me believe that they were numb to my existence, but seeing how they were responding with such pride and faith in me after hearing my stuff gave me more faith in my ability and in other people.
Out of all of your songs, which one is your favorite to perform or the one that gets the band pumped?
Chai: Probably “Diamonds.” It really sets the tone and puts everyone in a good mood, including myself. It follows a universal concept of having fun with people you care about, and its simple, which makes it enjoyable to everyone.
Raju: Definitely “Ambition.” Everyone ive showed it to loves it the most out of all my songs, and i think its a good expository of how i can bring a very intricate flow without compromising lyrics or melody. Its definitely something that reflects my true self in terms of music, and the beat goes hard too.
What is your current guilty pleasure song or album?
Chai: flower boy by tyler the creator is definitely my guilty pleasures because i hopped on the bandwagon for that album, having never listened to tyler before. Nonetheless he’s now a huge inspiration.
Raju: Im gonna have to say everything by Lil Uzi Vert is my guilty pleasure, because some of my friends bag on his lyrics and “repetitive” flows that are found on many trap songs. However, i dont share these views, nor am i really guilty because i actually take pride in listening to a nas song and then going to uzi right after, for example. Both of them inspire me, nas more lyrically, and uzi more melodically.
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As you can see, there is a lot going on in the lives of these two up and coming artists!
The Temptations gave so many generations of music lovers some of the most infectious, intriguing music to enjoy. But that’s not all they’ve bestowed on us, as Temptations member Ali Woodson’s daughter – Aliah (Lia) Ali – is a quadruple threat (singer / actress / songwriter / dancer) and making her mark on the entertainment industry.
What was it that inspired you to start writing music?
Different artists inspire me in different ways, but singing and writing music has always been a passion of mine ever since I was a little. As a little girl, I would always spend hours in my room just singing and coming up with the most random lyrics/music of my own and as I got older, I took it more serious and realized it’s something that I want to do for the rest of my life. Although, my writing skills can improve a lot, it will always be something that I strive to get better at because it’s my passion and my therapy.
In a hundred years, how do you want people to remember you and your music?
In a hundred years, I want people to remember me and my music as a light to the end of their tunnel, something they can listen to and still get that feeling they got when they first listened to it. I want to put smiles on people’s faces eternally and make people feel good about themselves when they listen to my music!
When you are having a mental writer’s block, is there something that you do to get those creative juices flowing?
One of the hardest things about having mental writer’s block sometimes is figuring a way out of it, but my go to remedy for it is taking time to myself to meditate and pray to God to help me get my creating juices flowing again and that always works.
Being an up and coming artist also means a flood of new fans and social media contacts from people who appreciate your music–has there been an experience that has stuck out to you with your fans?
Becoming a new artist can be stressful sometimes, especially introducing yourself and your music to the world and just hoping and praying people will love it as much as you do. So far, I’ve been blessed with amazing people by my side supporting me along with a small fan base, at the moment, but I know eventually it will grow and more people will hear and love my music and that’s just a feeling I long for.
Out of all of your songs, which one is your favorite to perform or the one that gets the band pumped?
I love all of my songs, but the one song that gets me pumped up so far when I perform it is “Work It.” It has such an old school vibe to it that people automatically love and I just love to see people vibe and dance along with me while I’m performing it!
What is your current guilty pleasure song or album?
My current guilty pleasure song at the moment is “Frozen” by Sabrina Claudio. I literally listen to it at least 5x a day. It’s such a soothing song and it gets me in my feelings, good feelings for sure!
Anything else to add?
I would love to tell people who are reading this to follow your dreams no matter what people tell you. Whatever you dream about yourself doing, DO IT and be the BEST at it because the sky is your only limit. Most importantly, believe in yourself. Believe in the passion that you have for your dream and ask yourself this, if you believed in Santa Clause, The tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny as a child then why can’t you believe in yourself? Follow your dreams.
