I had my first encounter with the band Little War Twins 2 years back when I was doing sound at Charlie’s Kitchen for the New England Americana Festival…that first encounter left quite a mark on me. Intensely energetic performances from the entire band really made the crowd electric and amp up the energy for the venue. The band has since thinned a bit, and I recently caught up with them to answer a few questions about what they are up to, their new mixtape (to be reviewed later on this week), and all things rock n’ roll.
1) So tell the readers a little bit about Little War Twins. What kind of music would you say you play? What can folks expect at a show?
We usually define our music as: Rock/Soul/ Mystic duo. There is also a sprinkle of punk, marinated in electronics and we have also been called “spirit rock”. As for our live performance, people say there is a sense of urgency, passion and electric energy. A recent addition to our shows are large scale projections of videos we have created, as well as videos from the artist Alex Carlbon.
2) A few years back you played the New England Americana Festival and I suppose you would characterize your home as being a “Boston based band”, yeah? How have you found the community in the local music scene? Any thoughts on what it does well? Any thoughts on how it could improve?
We definitely grew our roots in Boston. There is always a very engaging and interesting music community in Boston. It is also very transient- always changing with the college season. Despite that, we have found some truly amazing bands that we regularly play with. In terms of improvement, if the venues/public transit could stay open later that would certainly be great. Most importantly: More Free Shows!!!
3) To piggy back off of that, are there any bands or artists from the area that you would like to collaborate with? Anyone you are particularly interested in melding your craft with theirs?
Oh yeah! We would love to collaborate with Amanda Palmer, Walter Sicket and the Army of Broken Toys, Bent Knee, Licious, The Stampede, Perhaps, Solo Sexx…there’s a lot of great talent in Boston.
4) Why is making music and performing important to you?
Gaetana: I have always said that I create music to inspire people to inspire themselves. For me it is about a message, free expression and finding a community through art.
Trick: Each show I play I get a free jar of Nutella.
5) You have a new mixtape that you have graciously allowed me to give a listen to. Give us the lowdown on that project and where it came from.
Well, it came from our nine month tour of the US. We started as a five piece band in 2011, and when we decided to go on tour, things changed. We want our sound to reflect our live performance and our existence as a two piece. The mix tape has live performances, studio cuts, singles from our EP and a couple extra goodies.
6) Now is the time for shameless self promotion. Plug anything you would like the readers to know about over the next few weeks/months/or year!
Gaetana:
Check out our free mix tape on www.littlewartwins.comand stream our music on Sound Cloud. We are planning another national tour starting in the southwest and then looping to the northeast in the spring of 2014. We are recording our first full length album featuring collaborations with local acts and national acts that we have met on the road. So stay tuned to our facebook, twitter, instagramand tumblr to find out what’s happening!
Patrick: These cats have some upcoming shows in the Boston Area so…
go catch Arms and Ears’ next show and listen to their stuff on bandcamp.
and
Have you heard Bent Knee yet? What’s the problem?