They’re from L.A. and somehow these BeeGee-ified rockers slipped under our radar, but pretty soon it will be hard for you to miss Under the Influence of Giants as their debut release picks up speed and they begin a series of tours. If we were one of those rags who did the whole “recommended if you like†tag we’d say, “recommended if you like Yacht Rock.†And if you knew what we meant by that, then we’d make out with you.
In the meantime, enjoy these answers from frontman Aaron Bruno of UTIOG (and boy, would we like to see them on a bill with And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead…preferably with their name posited right after)…
1. In your photos/videos there are a lot of head bands, tight pants and moustaches going on. Please explain this fashion phenomena.
Hmmmmmm, well I think we have always enjoyed the “perverted/classy” look, sort of like Beethoven sleeping with Herbie Hancock and then jumping Bruce Lee.
2. Man, I’m waiting for Andy Gibb to bust out and sing in one of your songs – which would be impressive since he’s dead. Your reference points seem to be very different than most bands today. Why is that?
I think that we have never had any boundaries to what we listen to or get inspiration from, I could listen to a Wham! song and then jump right into a Refused track in the same minute. We just love great songs, regardless of genres.
3. How does the songwriting process work – and how long did it take to record your album?
We hired David Hasselhoff to write all of our songs, and then we recorded them in his bath tub. It only took a minute, the acoustics were insane!
4. You’re called an L.A. band – are you guys originally from L.A.?
Yes we are, and we are all aspiring models and actors, Jamin was an extra in the movie Willow.
5. Did you play much before getting signed? It seems like you emerged out of nowhere or perhaps, we don’t get out much.
We have always been in bands and toured the country, but the Giants formed over two years ago, and have been playing L.A. and its surrounding areas ever since. We figured, if we could sell out venues in L.A., we could do the same around the world eventually.
6. Who’s single and who’s taken. A lot of girls read this and need to know whose names they can scrawl on their Trapper Keepers.
We are all in love with each other. I am dating Dave and Drew is with Jamin, but we switch from time to time.
7. Write your own question and answer it [here].
I notice that you guys seem to be one of the best bands in the world right now, why is that?
Thank you, I am extremely flattered. I don’t know if we are the best, I just feel that we are as good as we could be right now, and hopefully are getting better each step of the way. I also believe that we are a really good live band, which is something that has been missing for some time.
Ah, so humble, like all frontmen of bands with debut releases…however, we’d like to follow up by saying the ability of The Giants to cite George Michael as influence and cover Olivia Newton-John is pretty fresh.
