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The Like
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 16-Nov-05 @ 05:50 PM
HQ: Los Angeles, CA
NOW PLAYING: Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? (GEFFEN) WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM:Their dads are producer Mitchell Froom, A&R man Tony Berg and long-time Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas-and you know what they say about how far apples fall from trees... YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE: Eisley / Rilo Kiley / Veda They've just followed up a successful Thursday-afternoon practice with some Mexican food, and now the members of the Like are looking into the not-too-distant future, where they'll be releasing their full-length debut and diving headfirst into an indefinite touring schedule. "I'm actually in denial right now," confesses bassist Charlotte Froom. "I think if I fully realize how busy I'm gonna be for the next three years and how I'm not going to be home at all, I'm just going to freak out." The impending freak-out, however, has been a long time coming. Since childhood, Froom, singer/guitarist Elizabeth "Z" Berg and drummer Tennessee Thomas were all immersed in classic rock, and all three took piano lessons before teaching themselves their current instruments, self-releasing three EPs' worth of lush, ethereal pop, seeing their song "(So I'll Sit Here) Waiting" appear on the soundtrack to 2003's critically acclaimed indie film Thirteen, touring the U.S. with Phantom Planet and receiving VIP treatment in Europe with Maroon5. "Our goal since we started this band has been to go from being precocious and surprising to being actually good," emphasizes Berg, who says she took up to two years finalizing each song's lyrics. "I mean, it's great when someone says, 'They're so great for being so young,' but it's even better when they just say, 'They're so great.'" "We simply started the band and have been figuring things out for ourselves," adds Thomas in her proper-British lilt. "We're not just being girls; we're being ourselves. I think it's awful when girls think they have to be really tartful towards boys to get noticed." Yes, girl power's great and all, but let's get back to the topic of freaking out. British super-producer Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails) mixed Thinking, which the three not-quite-20-somethings recorded at L.A.'s Sound City and Sunset Sound studios, previous workspaces of Nirvana and the Doors, respectively. And the latter, the Like are convinced, housed a supernatural audience member. "An amp would move three feet for no reason, or someone would walk through the room and the guitar strings would ring out like someone had hit them," recalls Berg. "We decided to call the ghost Jim, obviously." -Julie Seabaugh UNDER THE INFLUENCE What album's had the greatest impact on you? "The Beatles' Revolver was the first record where I really listened to the bass and noticed how much it did for the music," says Charlotte Froom. "Paul McCartney's obviously the best bass player that's ever existed, as far as melodic bass lines go," agrees Z. Berg, "[Revolver] was all I ever listened to in the most important years of musical development in my life." |
