Prior to their performance at the Mayan theater as part of Super Estrella’s La Tocada last week with Molotov and Manantial De Fuego, I had the chance to chat with the members of A Band of Bitches (ABOB) and they talked about their music and their first performance in Los Angeles.
A Band of Bitches was a musical project that began as a studio exercise without any plans of releasing it and least of all being played live, but when leader and creator USHKA, invited some friends to collaborate in the project, it quickly transformed into what became A Band of Bitches and the album The Pre End of The World Soundtrack. The band quickly became known when the first single “Noroeste Caliente” became a hit and people began to wonder who these guys in masks were and such as the impact that they were nominated for the Latin Grammy in the “Best New Artist” categpory.
Contrary to what one would imagine from a band that mysteriously hides their identities, as I walked into their dressing room, I was greeted by smiling faces and a bunch of guys with a great sense of humor and what was supposed to be a formal interview turned to be one of the most fun and interesting chats about music.
Interview with A Band of Bitches
With this being your first time playing in L.A., how do you feel about it?
“We are very happy to be playing in a city that has so much music that has influenced us and it is also very exciting to be playing in front of an audience that knows its music.”
When you were working on your first album, did you ever imagine you would have this much recognition?
“One always has hopes that your work will be liked and it will take off, but we never expected this and it has been very gratifying because it proves that there is still room out there for different musical ideas that maybe are not the standard and people are not worried about cute the band members are or if the lead singer is good looking, so it is nice to see that there is still hunger for something musically different.”
How do you feel about having been nominated for a Grammy?
“It was a nice surprise because we thought we were some evil and subversive band and it turned out that we were pure commercial pop (laughs), but no matter how much of a rocker or hardcore we think we are, being nominated for a Grammy is very seducing because it means that the industry is paying attention to what you are doing and we had a great time in Las Vegas. We got to meet a lot of people we admire like Oscar D’ Leon and Miguel Bosé and many others, although they probably thought we were just crazy since we had our masks on all the time”
Do you have new music coming out soon?
Yes, we have the first of 3 EP’s ready to come out. The 3 EP’s basically make up a full album and it will be called 4,808 Chingadazos Musicales Volumes 1, 2 & 3. The first single is called “Sonido Paposho (Pinche Cumbión)” which we are already playing on stage and the first volume also includes a collaboration with a norteño group called, La Leyenda. For the volumes 2 and 3, we also are planning on having other guests that would be out of the norm for a band like us.”
After our chat, ABOB took the stage and gave a riveting performance in which they connected with the crowd from the very first chords. All members of the band expect for the drummer, strutted around the stage with great energy and that energy kept flowing back and forth between the band and audience. A Band of Bitches stated that they are planning to come back to Los Angeles after the release of their new music, and I for one, cannot wait to see them perform live again.
