As promised this weeks blog will be featuring the local indie-rock band Better Than Aliens. Though this was not intentional it also happens to be Valentines day, a day of love and chocolates! It seems appropriate for me to be featuring this particular band on a day that is devoted to celebrating those you love because this happens to be my boyfriend's band!
I have had the opportunity to watch this band since it first formed. The singer and keyboard player Marty Mattern was the initial creator, moving here from the East coast and was soon joined by drummer , Justin Pittman. The two played as a two-set for a few months before introducing the idea of having a bass player. There have been a few different bass players popping in and out of the group but finally they found their fit with Dan Leech.
In more recent times Better Than Aliens have been featured in some popular indie music related websites including The Bay Bridged and The SF Deli.
I conducted a short interview with the guys to give you the latest inside information
Why did you choose the name Better Than Aliens?
Marty - "It was inspired by a song called "better than aliens" by a band called "Self"; though we aren't using it in the same context. He's using the word "alien" to mean men from space, where as we're intending the word "alien" as in something which is foreign to you."
What is your greatest accomplishment so far as a band?
Marty - "When we booked the radio show at KZSU we had 20 minutes of material, however, the set on the radio was to be one hour long, with some talk between songs. We came up with an additional 30 minutes of material in 2 weeks!"
What do you guys have planned for the near future?
Justin - "within the end of this month (february) BTA will be underway recording a new EP with 5 new songs. We also have some shirts and stickers in the process!"
What is your favorite BTA song?
Marty - "In the Beginning."
Justin - "find"
What is your favorite local band?
Marty - "Mosshead"
Justin - "Mosshead!!"
BTA Supporters
7 comments:
Your blog is kicking ass. You got to try to find away to put up some audio. Music is about the sound right. Good job, very professional and very clear
I'm really liking your blog(especially the vote for your favorite song icon) and would love to see what bands you review next. In the past year I have been very lost on new music, so I'm glad to have someone like yourself introduce me to new indie bands.
Thanks for the article Amanda. We're lucky to have a drummer with a girlfriend who's into music! Keep up the great work and we'll keep up the music.
I like the interview, its an interesting read. Very weird how huge this city is, even though it is so small. So many different underground scene's, so many different types of music, so many different musicians all out of this 7 square mile city. I've never heard of BTA but i guess thats part of the beauty of this incredible city. p.s. gigging is such a fun pain in the ass.
I like your blog a lot. I always support local music. Tony is right though, you need to figure out how to put up some audio. That would be totally awesome. If you like local indie bands, check out The Botticellis.
Look at this picture. Doesn’t it make you think about why we have wars? Why are so many people inhuman? I think we should start within our own home in U.S a nation that sets the example. I think I am going to write anti-gun reform, because we don’t need guns. What do you think?
I love the crazy graphic that keeps changing. It makes your accidental person dropping by to want to stay and read your blog. I like the band you sponsored the first post and the beautiful pictures of the last post. You done well by using lots of pictures and the self-portrait of you was a good element; beautiful picture.
I am sending a link to wikipedia, a good place to start if you don't know anything about indie rock, like me but if you do maybe you would like to read this and talk about it.
History of Indie Rock>
Sorry, the first paragraph of your past comment is a comment for someone else. Small mistake when copying and pasting from word.
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