The first thing that must be said about Other Natural Flavors is they are one of the nicest, hardest working local acts I've met. Each member of the band came over and introduced themselves to me prior to their set and singer Chris Van Cott and drummer George Loiodice sat and chatted with me while waiting for the bar to fill up a bit more (they had a very early start time of 8:30). They were proud, and rightly so, to tell me they had recently been added to the rotation of over 100 college stations around the country and will embark on a 4 month national tour in September to support their CD.

Although I classify them as a pop-rock act, it has to be said that ONF's songs are very diverse. I didn't really pick up on this until I watched them live and noticed all the different tempos and styles of rock they were playing. Van Cott and Ritzy Rodriguez harmonize perfectly together and the crowd that slowly trickled in were quite responsive to the band. My friend also really dug them; Their modern rock sensibilities and at-times groovy tunes are right up her alley, which is why I brought her along.

Following ONF was another local act by the name of Campaign for Quiet. These boys are best described as indie/alt rock smart-alics and I loved them. The drummer had flare, the singer had the obligatory thrift-store style, and they all hammed it up for my camera. Sadly my flash and their antics didn't coincide. All between set banter was conducted in Spanish, except for the request "We need the people in the back to move farther back because these 3 people up front need more room." Ah, I love me some humor. The syncopated rock wasn't too bad either. There was a hit on of surf-rock in one tune, a folksy love song (or maybe it was just the twang in singer Frank's voice), and a catchy one called "Begins to Fade" which was about a French girl. And possibly penicillin. I go to shows to be entertained by the music as much as by the performers, and Campaign for Quiet, with their fists in the air during every pause and trick ending at the supposed end of the set, met both my needs.

Other Natural Flavors took a little time to answer some questions (and tell a few jokes) for SDAM about where their name came from, why the San Diego music scene is suffering, and explain why Dave Ghrol is a rock god. The interview is below. Enjoy.

-AS

Find out more about Other Natural Flavors and Campaign For Quiet.

SDAM: How do your *parents/family* describe your music when they tell friends what you do?
Chris: My mom says that our songs are good to tap your foot to while my dad simply says, "They rock."
George: "Eclectic" or "I dare you to come up with someone they sound like."
Joe: A couple of my family members like to bring their copy of Drop the World to the gym. They say it makes them move.

SDAM: What bands, artists, books, people have had the most influence on your band as a whole?
Chris: I'm a grunge guy, so bands like Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice in Chains were very influential to me. I really love the rawness of Pearl Jam, the sound writing of Stone Temple Pilots, and the voice of the late Layne Staley.
George: Anyone that's had an influence on me artistically has beaten the odds while doing something in their lives that has amused and/or inspired me. Elvis Costello had the guts to bash the recording industry and radio in his song "Radio Radio". Then he played it on Saturday Night Live after they told him specifically not to. It took the network 30 seconds to cut to a commercial before they figured out what was going on. Inspiring, gutsy, funny. A couple of people have said we sound like the Pixies, which is the ultimate compliment. Frank Black (Black Francis) has been this indie rock god for 15 years now. Kurt Cobain and countless more famous (than the Pixies ever were) artists have adored him. He's the king of the "I don't give a crap. Here's what I do" attitude we strive to embrace as a band. Recently, I met Alexandra Nechita, the 17 year old international art phenom (can you believe that, 17?) and she said something very inspiring. "With modesty, imagine yourself to be invincible!" I'll never forget that.
Joe: Stefan Lessard, the bass player for Dave Matthews and Eric Wilson from Sublime have influenced my playing the most.

SDAM: Where'd ONF's name come from?
Chris: We were playing a festival in upstate NY on 4th of July weekend a couple years back and the fireside conversation turned to the ingredients on a soda can. The question popped up, "What are other natural flavors anyway?" It stuck in our heads for a while and when we needed a new band name, Other Natural Flavors was the one that all members liked unanimously.
George: Prune juice. It's the "Other Natural Flavor" in Dr. Pepper. But you wouldn't drink it if the can listed prune juice as an ingredient. It makes you wonder then if it really is natural, why don't they just tell you what's in it? Anyway, we trademarked the name and we're going to sue Coca Cola and any other corporations that use "Other Natural Flavors" on their cans and bottles. I imagine we'll settle out of court and we'll let them off the hook if they agree to put our faces on all the cans and bottles next to the words "Other Natural Flavors".

SDAM: What's your favorite song on the album?
Ritz: I love "Miles Away" because it shows our versatility as a band. It's really different from anything else on the record.
Chris: "Justified Celebrity". It has great lyrics and combines a little jazz and a little rock. It's definitely an example of what the band does well, which is combining genres to create the "ONF Sound"... Not to mention I get to scream a little in this one. That's always cool.
George: "Where Were You?" It's the eerie one on the CD. It's a song about self-destruction, making the same mistakes over and over. Musically, it's got this "Turkish" kind of bridge that's weird and fun to play. And it's the first thing that went to tape in the studio when we were recording the album. It sounds great on 2-inch tape.
Joe: "I'm Lookin' for Someone". It makes you want to tap your foot or get up and dance. I really like the bass line and witty lyrics.

SDAM: Speaking of songs, I read that a couple of your songs ("Tell Me to Run" and "Drop the World") were picked up for use by MTV for next season's installments of Sorority Life and Fraternity Life. How'd you guys manage that?
Chris: Our radio promotion company, The Planetary Group, serviced MTV with our album. In addition to getting Drop the World played on over 100 college stations nationwide, they received a call from the Music Supervisor at MTV's Fraternity Life and Sorority Life series. They asked us if we wanted to license the songs "Tell Me to Run" and "Drop the World".
George: We have Adam Lewis at the Planetary Group in Boston to thank for that. He helped us with our college radio campaign and a copy of Drop The World fell into the hands of someone at MTV.

SDAM: You had a little impromptu mini-trip to Las Vegas recently. It sounded almost like an episode of that VH1 show, Bands on the Run, what with booking your shows from the mobile home as you drove there. What prompted the trip? Play any bizarre 2am shows in bars on The Strip?
Chris: We recently bought a motor home for our national tour to kick off in September to support our successful college radio campaign. Steve (guitar) suggested we take it for a spin to become familiar with driving it and living in it. We also got a lesson in booking on the fly. We called a bunch of places to book us for that night... So much for notice, eh? We booked three shows, but the only one that worked out was this heavy rock club called the Cheyenne Saloon at two in the morning.
George: What prompted the trip was the fact that we just bought a motor home and trailer for our gear. Everyone's attitude was, "Let's try out the new toys. How 'bout we leave tomorrow?" We called clubs along the way. A few managers listened to some tunes on the website and called us back. We wound up at this heavy metal club, like you said, at 2 AM. It wasn't a "women's undergarments thrown on stage show" by any means, but people watched.

SDAM: ONF is one of the hardest working, multi-faceted local bands I've run across. What about ONF are you most proud of?
Ritz: Thanks for noticing. We do work really hard. I'm most proud of the fact that we are not afraid to take risks. That comes out in our songs and in the fact that we took a risk leaving New York and starting over on the West Coast.
Chris: I'm proud of the fact that we don't let outside opinions affect what we're trying to do. If you're focused in what you're trying to get done, you'll be better for it. ONF is better for it because we do our own thing despite the lack of support from the industry or comments from the many peanut galleries across the board.
George: Independence. It's almost clich? now, but we are a DIY (Do It Yourself) outfit and it's been that way for a long time. I'm also pretty proud of our songwriting. It's interesting and diverse. I like to call it "genre-eluding".
Steve: I'm personally proud of the work ethic and attitude of my bandmates. I'm the newest member and what attracted me originally and keeps me interested in our ambitious endeavors is the attitude for success that pumps through every member.
Joe: I'm proud of the fact that we work hard and have a good time doing it.

SDAM: Your band is very supportive of the local music scene and the concept of bands helping support bands. What are ways you try and spread this attitude within the local scene?
Ritz: I check out local shows and I am always looking to see what bands I can make a connection with musically. It's tough to find bands to play with, bands that have a similar sound. Most bands around here have the "So Cal" sound or they're hard rock. We stand out. I think it's important that bands stick together. It's beneficial for the bands and the local music scene as a whole. Right now, it's dead. The scene needs all the help it can get. I just recently met the guys from Buford after going to one of their shows. And now we have two gigs lined up with them. Bands have to help each other.
Chris: Over the years, we've learned that it's important for bands to network with each other and play shows with bands they respect and who feel the same way about creating a scene.
George: Stay and watch the bands you play with. What makes a music scene lame and stagnant is when bands show up 15 minutes before their set and leave when they're done. More bands do it than I like to admit. In New York we had a pretty cool thing going. We started to book nights at certain clubs exclusively with 2 or 3 bands we liked. We wouldn't play without them. The place would pack out because the fans all began to know each other and no one would leave. We'd like to get something like that going again here. Also, when we're not booked, we like to go out as a band, to see other bands. If we like them, we'll set up shows with them. And hang out with them. We went out to see a local band called Buford at Blind Melon's a couple of weeks ago. We introduced ourselves. They came to see us at the Brick By Brick a few nights later and we hung out and had some laughs. Now, we're playing two shows together. You meet some pretty cool people this way.

SDAM: And what do you think of San Diego's illustrious music scene? You relocated here from NY. Any particular reason? Or differences between the two scenes?
Chris: Establishing a scene comes with support from the bands, venues, radio and press. If all areas aren't working together, then it makes it really hard. Coming from the NY scene we can say that the two places are exactly the same in terms of what bands are up against. There's a lot of competition, but not a lot of support. It's tough. You'll see bands come and go for this reason, but if you keep things in perspective, you can last as long as you want to.
George: We thought that people would go out to see music here. We found that although there are a lot of talented bands here, people generally go out to see their friends' bands, then leave. There is not really much of a difference between the two scenes. A scene starts with the bands. No one's gonna do anything for us. There's one or two more radio stations that play local music here, but it should be part of the regular rotation, not a show for 3 hours on a Sunday night when only bands are listening for their songs to be played. You know, like it was in Seattle and Minneapolis and other cities that truly helped revolutionary bands. I've read and heard recently that bands come to San Diego to die. There's too much damn talent here for me to believe that. What we do need is more people like you watching local bands and writing about them.

SDAM: What CDs are currently in your stereo?
Ritz: Sleater-Kinney's (One Beat). They get better with every album.
Chris: The new Flaming Lips album is really great. Queens of the Stone Age (Songs for the Deaf), and there's always a Beatles album to remind myself what good music and production are all about.
George: Guided By Voices (Isolation Drills), Old 97's (Satellite Rides), Cake (Prolonging the Magic), and Beastie Boys (Sounds of Silence)
Steve: The Doors (Absolutely Live), Traffic, Led Zeppelin's Greatest, and Sublime.
Joe: Everclear (Songs from an American Movie Part I) and G. Love and Special Sauce.

SDAM: Who would you say are among the best nationally recognized bands in your genre?
Chris: Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl has to be one of the greatest talents of our time. STP's been around for a long time and came out on top through some troubled times. Radiohead. Do they need an explanation?
Ritz: I agree with Chris. Dave Grohl went from one amazing band to another. What he did is incredible.
George: As a songwriter first, then a drummer, Dave Grohl is one of my idols. I don't know if we're in the same genre, but I think that there's a similarity in the diversity of songs on both the Clash's (London Calling) and Other Natural Flavors' (Drop the World).