CityZine has found yet another LA band, The Weather Underground, to be a part of our “Get to know your Local Bands Series” where we supply you with information, dates, an interview, and free tickets to their show and you provide the opinion. I have interviewed a lot of bands who were on the road but never a band who was literally ON the road. The Weather Underground was kind enough to talk with CityZine on their way to a show in Texas. They were some where around the boarder of New Mexico and Phoenix when I got a hold of them. I mainly spoke to lead singer and guitarist, Harley Prechtel-Cortez, but the rest of the band Ryan (Bass), Shoichi (Guitar and Keys), Diego (Drums), and their honorary member Sal all joined in.

They will be back in LA soon for their show on March 24, at the Viper Room and another show on April 22nd at the Troubadour. If you want to see the band live and for FREE, you can win tickets to their show at the Troubadour, right here on LA.CityZine. Simply leave a comment below saying why you deserve to go to see the Weather Underground and a week before the show, we’ll pick our favorite comment and give the winner two free tickets and a free copy of the bands new EP!

Check out the interview and a video of the band below:

Could you give a brief description of your band?

HARLEY: I would say, its rock and roll. I don’t think any band can answer that honestly within a few words. We have a sense of immediacy in what we do.

If I had to choose one word I would say immediate.

What was the first record/cd/tape you ever bought? Where did you buy it?

HARLEY: The first one I can remember, was probably Joshua Tree, U2. My aunt was dating this this guy and he played in the car driving me and my brother. Me and my brother put some money together and we ended up buying it.

RYAN: Thriller

DIEGO: Nirvana

SHO: La Bamba Soundtrack

How do you get ready for a live show?

HARLEY: Personally I just like to be as relaxed as possible. I drink tea, read a little bit, joke around and loosen up. I don’t have any real process or routine. We all just hang out and crack some jokes. Anything as far removed as possible from playing a show.

What’s your favorite song to play live?

HARLEY: Our new song, “Bird in the hand. ” I really enjoy the intro… it’s a good little journey and all together lyrically it’s fun to play live.

RYAN: Neal Cassady

SHO: When I was a Solider

DIEGO: Old Man Jude

BAND: We all like Neal Cassady.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

SHO: Cooking Shows

SAL: I smoke a (tobacco) pipe.

BAND: Music Magazines

What’s the best cure for a hangover?

HARLEY: Love and Happiness. Chai Tea. Eastern Medicine. Gatorade.

SAL: Chai Tea

RYAN: Emergen-C

Who would win in a fight, a Ninja or a Pirate and why?

BAND: Ninja’s, but we’d root for the pirates.

If you could rid the world of one song, what would it be?

BAND: The Thong Song and You Got to Keep um Separated.

Who would play you in a film based upon your life?

HARLEY: Liza Minnelli or Christian Slater

SAL: Fabrizo (from the strokes)

DIEGO: Adrien Brody

SHO: Ralph Macchio (younger)

RYAN: Very young Donny Osmond (if it could work)

Dead or alive. What 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?

HARLEY: The National, Radiohead, The Verve, Billy Brag, and Reunited Libertines.

If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favorite album?

HARLEY: The Clash; first album

SAL: The Beatles; White Album

DIEGO: Marvin Gay; Let’s Get it on

RYAN: Television; Marquee Moon

SHO: The Beach Boys; Pet Sounds

BAND: Collection Magnet Frame by Funkadelic

What’s your most memorable experience on the road story?

HARLEY: The last time we were going to Texas, we all feel asleep in the car while Sho was driving. We woke up to find we were completely lost. We ended up in a state park, some where near New Mexico and Texas, but literally in the middle of no where. When we finally found some visitors and we asked them for directions, they were scared of us. I guess because we had been on the road for a while by then and we were looking really raggedy. I think they thought we were serial killers.

Then as we were driving it was pitch black, there were no lights anywhere, only the moon and the stars, and an eagle landed in the road directly in front of us. It’s wing span was the size of the van. It was pretty amazing.

SHO: We stayed at this hotel called the Big Texan, it was the most Texaofilic place you could go to. The drapes had the Texas state flag on them, everything was made of wood, and they announced a 72 oz. steak when we arrived. We only had two beds and we all had to fit in. So we put them together and created the ultimate man-wiche. In sleeping bags of course.

Favorite place in LA?

RYAN: Runyon-Canyon

HARLEY: Old Roger Corman Studio

DIEGO: Griffith Park

SAL: The Cove in Palos Verdes

BAND: (Laughing) Romantic places, make out spots.

What would be your perfect LA day?

HARLEY: No traffic, being able to walk, or take a bus or the metro everywhere I wanted to go. And a good European soccer game. Maybe Manchester United, Real Madrid, or Barcelona.

What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?

HARLEY: “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” - I enjoy films with a level of absurdity and surrealism. As for books I’ve enjoyed recently, I really liked a couple of books; The Devil the White City by Erik Larson, Cranial Guitar by Bob Kaufman, and the French translation of the Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire.

SAL: The Dictionary and “No Country For Old Men”

RYAN: Hans Christian Anderson’s Short Stories and “Juno”

Sho: Charlies Bukowski’s The Post Office and “Ratatouille”

DIEGO: “I’m Not There”

Which YouTube Video do you prefer, “I’m f-ing Matt Damon” by Sarah Silverman or “I’m f-ing Ben Affleck” by Jimmy Kimmel?

HARLEY: I was watching that the other day. I thought the Ben Affleck one was hilarious, but I like hers better, it had a better melody. Actually I like them both equally. I remember laughing when they were in bed together.

What three things could you not live without?

HARLEY: Love, Love, Love

SHO: Toilet Paper, toothbrush, and toe socks

RYAN: Moccasins, the opposite sex, and a good pair of sunglasses

DIEGO: Drums, converse, tooth brush

SAL: Nice Jacket, Soccer ball, and love

Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.

BAND: Half of the band is vegetarian and all us are members of Amnesty International. We play rock and roll charades - a game that we invited where you have to impersonate or mimic a band or maybe member of a band. Easy is Mick Jagger, but it gets harder the more localized you get.

SAL: I used to breed fish and now I brew my own beer which is REALLY strong.

Photo by Josh Nelson

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