nonpretentious

Heard of Elephants: This Collective of LA-based, Socially-Conscious, Experimental Musicians and Artists Want To Be Heard

The Heard of Elephants are not ones to follow the pack.

Preferring to push the boundaries as they create, they created a collective that sees no boundaries. Located in Highland Park, California, you will not find them on any tourist map.
At least not yet…

In other words, if your artistic philosophy matches theirs or if you want to snag a deal to expand your personal art collection, I’d contact the artists fast because once the word is Heard, the possibilities are endless.

Listen (there’s really something for everyone): Random Patterns (If you like (IYL): The Go Team, The Books), The Nocturnes, Pride of Kenya (IYL: Broken Social Scene), Danger Bees, Semiconscious Gloria (IYL: Pete Yorn, Jack Johnson, Singer-Songwriter), Charts and Maps, Fuckasaurus Rex

Look: Brenda So, Juice Box, Peter Van Dyke, John Taylor, Steve Baldino, Nick Barton

Watch: Friends of the Family

nonpretentious caught up with them right before they headed off to band practice…read the interview!

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…because nonpretentious knows how to spot talent

if you missed our interview with Alec Brownstein, go read it now!

once you’re done reading it, you’ll feel like you know him.

then, you can read his latest at the Huffington Post and say to yourself, “hey, i know that guy!”

Interviews: Benjamin Power of Fuck Buttons

Fuck Buttons have been on a tear this year as acclaim has poured in over their album Street Horrrsing (ATP.) Their live show is a force to be reckoned with and made me reconsider everything i thought I knew about electronic based performances (review here.) Benjamin Powers is one half of this dynamic duo (Andrew Hung being the other) and he was kind enough to take some time out of his day to answer some questions for me.

SC: What is Fuck Buttons’ greatest fear?
BP: heights and moths

SC: Does a Fuck Button have natural predators?
BP: not as far as i’m aware

SC: Least favorite interview question
BP: “why are you called fuck buttons/ explain the name”…etc.

SC: Best question anyone ever asked
BP: what came first, the chicken or the egg?

SC: What type of a producer was John Cummings? Hands on or of the “just push the record button” school of thought?
BP: john was a great producer. we asked him to work on street horrrsing with us as we were convinced he would be able to capture our live sounbd on record and he did just that. as neither of us are particularly clued up when it comes to studio recording, john took control and we’re extremely happy with the results

SC: How does your writing process work? Are some songs more the product of one member or are they pretty evenly weighted. Do either of you have a particular specialty or trademark? Basically, would Fuck Button scholars of the future be able to pick out your individual contributions?
BP: there isn’t a set role for either of us, when we jam and write music, we do it together. it’s not like one of us writes on their own at home and the other then adds to it. our music is the result of heavy jamming and experimenting with whatever instrumentation we can lay our hands on

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Interviews: Alec Brownstein

alec brownstein is an artist, writer, and all-around creative guy.

When he responded to my plea for an interview, little did he know that i’m a big fan of using brackets [to insert things that i meant to say, twist sentences to my fancy, put things into perspective, or take things out of context].

Read below for his advice on how to score a job in the advertising world (the ol’ “class credit” method), how to score another gig once you’re tired of your current one (subtitled: the rise of the sponsored link), and how to turn laziness into art.

What can I say? He’s a champ.