L.A. Rocks: eleven acts that shatter the cliche that L.A.'s a one-note town

Interview, Nov, 2002

GILLIAN ANDERSON: This is an L.A. issue, so] was wondering what aspects of your music you think are inherently L.A.?

RAMIN SAKURAI: None of it. [laughs]

GERI SORIANO-LIGHTWOOD: We used to have a stock answer for that. We would get compared to U.K. bands like Portishead and Morcheeba and I'd joke that the difference between us and them is the weather. I think our music is sunnier in that respect.

GA: I know with your debut album you were also promoting a way of life that embraces leisure and following one's passions. Is that concept still something you live by?

GSL: More than ever. I think that the one central theme that we've got going is the attitude of "Your life is what you make of it." And that includes making time to enjoy it.

GA: And how do you do that?

GSL: Personally, I spend time with my family at home, eat nice meals, cook, go to movies, films, theater--you know, the usual. And Ramin?

RS: Oh, just falling asleep! Lately, I'm in work mode again so I find a lot of satisfaction working, and even though it doesn't sound leisurely we're probably one of the hardest-working bands in the city. But I think there's a supreme being of leisure in everybody arid it's just a matter of trying to find what makes you happy.

GSL: I think that's also central to our philosophy, that when you find what you love doing, it isn't a chore. It's actually quite fulfilling and there is a leisure aspect to that as well.

GA: I absolutely agree. Although, when I first heard the word leisure I thought of something more...

GSL: Sloth-like?

GA: Yeah. But I think that your concept goes way beyond that. There's an upbeat, high-tech spirit to your music, yet I'm wondering how that music translates into the concept of leisure.

RS: Wow, you've done this before, haven't you?

GA: No, actually I haven't.

RS: Oh, man, you're even deeper than most interviewers we've had before.

GA: I don't know whether to apologize...

RS: No, absolutely not--it's great. It's making us think. You know, we try and keep in mind that we don't want to make it too high-tech, too clubby and too underground. We want it to be more like you're on the way home from the club, you pop in the tape and you're comin' down and chilling out.

GSL: Plus we're very eclectic in our tastes and, just in order for us to represent ourselves, we need to have a wide variety in our records.

GA: Well, the band was originally four members, as I understand it, and there was quite an ethnic diversity. Do you feel that, now that you're a duo, you've maintained the cultural diversity in your music?

GSL: Yeah, we're both genetic mutts. My family's from the Dominican Republic and Ramin is half-Japanese and half-Iranian, so we still have a whole lot to draw from. And that's another thing that comes into our music: L.A. really is this incredible melting pot of cultures.

RS: I recently moved and I realized that I'm right between this Japanese section of West L.A. and the Persian section of West L.A. I'm right in the center of both of them.

GA: Wow. That must be grounding.