Once described as an LA hipster's wet dream, The Adored's post-punk, mod-influenced sound stays true to their indie sensibilities and can be heard throughout the small club circuit east of the plastic glam of Hollywood. Drew, Max, Nat and Ryan have stayed under the radar from larger crowds in Los Angeles but that is likely to change in 2005 with their V2 Records EP release set for January and a great kick-off to the year as the featured band New Year's Eve at one of LAist's favorite local music venues, The Echo.
1. Age and Occupation:
Ryan (vocals): Young Again. The Adored.
Drew (guitar): 2-4, crossover success.
Max (bass): Twentysomething, bass player in The Adored
Nat(drums) : 25, drummer in the Adored
2. How long have you lived in Los Angeles, and which neighborhood do you live in?
Ryan: Between neighborhoods.
Drew & Max: 3 1/2 years, Eagle Rock
Nat: I've lived in Los Angeles for 7 years and I presently reside in Hollywood.
3. Have you written any songs specifically about Los Angeles? If so, what is it about?
Ryan: A song called Chemistry on our EP. Drugs, tears, panic, friendship, trash, me…
Drew: I thought that was about San Francisco?
4. How does living in LA effect what you write songs about?
Ryan: Los Angeles lends itself well to writing about drugs and heartbreak.
5. If you could live in any neighborhood or specific house in LA, where/which would you choose?
Ryan: Anywhere with a kitchen, bath and bed is good.
Drew: There’s a weird stark white garage apartment on Willoughby in West Hollywood that I’ve always wanted. Otherwise, maybe the Frank Gehry KFC on Western?
Nat: I'd love to live in Wilt Chamberlain's old pad in the hills. Allegedly his entire bedroom was one big waterbed-- that sounds promising.
6. Where are you from?
Ryan: Michigan and San Luis Obispo.
Drew: Coastal Connecticut.
Max: New Hampshire.
Nat: The sprawling metropolis that is known as King City, California.
7. Share your best celebrity sighting experience.
Max: I saw the guy that played Pootie Tang at Ralph's on Sunset once.
Nat: I saw Weird Al Yankovich at Baja Fresh, about a week or two after his parents died.
Drew: I had my shoulder rubbed warmly by Telly Savalas at the Sheraton Universal when I was 12.
Ryan: I saw Drew.
8. It's 9:30 pm on Thursday. Where are you coming from and where are you going?
Ryan:The Coach & Whip.
Max: Easy enough. Thursday night; Dinner at Klippoteket. Drinks at Brasserie Godot (very expensive and the clientele is secret). Dancing at Sophie's (where you have to be rich and beautiful to get in.) Black Mercedes to an afterparty in the Hills, cash all over the floor. The Eames table we're doing coke off of cost sixty thousand dollars. We invite supermodels back to the house we're renting so they can "look at our Oscar statues." We drink Tequila shots and they ask in unison, "What do you want to do now?" as if they have any say in the matter.
9. Los Angeles is often stereotyped as a hard place to find personal connections and make friends. Do you agree with that assessment? Do find it challenging to make new friends here?
Drew: Max and I actually haven't met anyone outside of these two- we don't need any other band members!
Nat: It is hard in LA, but to be honest, I've got all the real friends I need anyway.
10. Describe your best LA dining experience.
Ryan: Kung Pao Bistro.
Drew: Marco's West Hollywood!
Max: Monday night dinner special at Eat-a-Pita on Fairfax.
Nat: Astro Burger late on a Friday night after Club Underground is very gratifying.
11. What do you have to say to East Coast supremacists?
Ryan: Haters! Just kidding, I don't care.
Max: I will never move back to the East Coast.
Nat: I play in a band with two of them.
12. Where do you want to be when the Big One hits?
Drew: When our album goes platinum, hopefully I'll be in a country where Billboard is shipped daily so I can read the chart over and over again. That's what you mean, right?
Nat: Under a table or in a doorway.
13. Besides yourselves, who are your favorite local bands (big and small)?
Ryan: Behind Her Back, The Germs (RIP), Circle Jerks!
Drew: Brian Wilson, The Blood Arm, Layton, the Bentleys, Lost & Found, The Colour, singer-songwriter Ron DeAngelis.
Max: Ashbury, The Blood Arm, Plastic Letters, Mika Miko, Thelonious Monster, Foreign Born, The Mean Reds, Layton
Nat: I'm a big fan of The Blood Arm, Ashbury, Foreign Born, and The Moving Units.
14. What should we expect at your New Year's Eve show?
Ryan: Pogoing and gobbing!
Drew: I predict sometime around the stroke of midnight a large crowd of people will suddenly count backwards in unison.
Nat: The most memorable night of your life.
The Adored will rock the house with their New Year's Eve dance party hosted by Club Underground, Club 82, Moscow, Hang the DJ's, Trash, Fancy!, and Revolution at The Echo. Tickets are only $10 and you only have to be 18 to get in the door.
