Friday, July 10, 2009

The Elevaters Interview (Answers provided by David Noily)









No homo intended but if The Roots and Maroon 5 produced a musical baby, they would give birth to a sensational group called The Elevaters. This diverse super group consists of six talented musicians with extraordinary gifts. Sam (Vocals/Keyboard), Miles (Vocals/Shakers), Ben (Vocals/Percussion), Itai (Bass/Guitar), Andre (Drums), David (Guitar/Bass). The Elevaters have shared the stage with groups such as The Roots, KRS-One, De La Soul, & Medusa just to name a few artists. They met as students at UCLA while studying different aspects of music. Andre joined the group after seeing them perform live at coffee shop before they had someone on the drums. Their performances have been known to be lively, ingenious, immense, and even divine. The Elevaters debut album “Rising” is a must have. It doesn’t matter if you like pop, jazz, blues, r&b, hip hop, funk, because the album has it all. Some of my favorite tracks on the album are, “Patience”, “Walken”, “L.A. Zoo”, & “Follow Me”. The album is currently on ITunes and available for purchase so you would be doing yourself a huge favor by picking up the album ASAP!


Mr. Bess: Who are the Elevaters?
The Elevaters: Six men, musicians, visionaries, groove-makers, urban planners.
Mr. Bess: How did the Elevaters come together?
The Elevaters: UCLA Theater students making poetry and music performances.
Mr. Bess: How did you guys come up with the group name, and what does is mean?
The Elevaters: In an Elevator. We changed the "O" to an "E" to imply that we have raised our game, and in turn our music lifts your mood, makes you think, move, and we hope it has an elevated intelligence above contemporary pop and hip-hop music.
Mr. Bess: Do you feel there is an advantage of having a diverse group?
The Elevaters: Diversity is a byproduct of living in a city as colorful as LA. We didn't plan it, nor do we think about it much. Our diversity, has helped us with our audience, we feel like we're looking in a mirror when we look out from the stage, you see Black, White, Persian, Hispanic, Asian, Haitian, Mongolian, Djiboutian, the whole spectra of race is in all our faces. The music brought that to us.
Mr. Bess: Where does the Funk, Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Elevaters sound come from?
The Elevaters: Take a pinch of Chic, add a dash of Prince, churn in some Zeppelin, knead in some Earth, Wind, and Fire, And then smother it in Outkast, The Roots, and our own very special, top-secret ingredient. Let it rise overnight in the philosophies of John Lennon and Groucho Marx. Bake at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for a one-hour live set and it shall serve millions.
Mr. Bess: Do you guys have a special process for making songs?
The Elevaters: I write everything (David Noily).
Mr. Bess: I’m not trying to cause any trouble, but who would win in a freestyle rap battle between Sam, Miles, and Ben?
The Elevaters: For fun, Sammy. For blood, Benny.
Mr. Bess: If you could go on tour with any 3 groups/artist right now, who would you choose?
The Elevaters: Lady Gaga for the exposure
The Roots for the challenge
Daft Punk for the addiction
Mr. Bess: Name 6 albums everyone should own?
The Elevaters:Beatles- Revolver
Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti
Daft Punk- Discovery
Nick Drake- Pink Moon
The Clash- London Calling
James Brown- No one album, but he's got to be in the mix...
Mr. Bess: Your last album was released May 5, 2007. When is the next Elevaters album dropping and what can we expect from it?
The Elevaters: Better, Faster, Stronger, Harder, Sexier, Tighter, Deeper!
Mr. Bess: What is the best part about performing on stage together?
The Elevaters: There are moments where we're not in control, we are playing our parts- not missing a beat, but we've given the song control of the steering wheel. The music between us has arrested and is moving us. That's when the audience is most akin to putty, because we are too.
Mr. Bess: What is the message you have for the world through your music?
The Elevaters: Elevaters are the soundtrack to this new activated generation that we saw wake from their sleep Nov. 4th, 2009. A hot, fresh, and fun generation that is choosing a new direction of smart, green, responsible, and hard choices to make up for the excesses and shallowness of those that have come before us. We make this revolution sound good!
Mr. Bess: Who is going to win the NBA finals: ORLANDO MAGIC or LA LAKERS?
The Elevaters: LAKE SHOW in 6!!

Be sure to checkout The Elevaters Upcoming shows
Jul 18 2009
8:00P
Private Showcase
Studio City, California







EPK from Elevaters on Vimeo.

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