Riding Shotgun With the Little Ones
Just for kicks I checked out the All Music site about the Little Ones. It lists the Shins, Spoon, and A Band of Bees as similar artists, which is pretty darned accurate. They're delightfully poppy, and I'd even venture to say that the Little Ones sound like a summer day at the beach. And who doesn't like a summer day at the beach? Exactly. Edward Little One (aka Mister Edward Nolan Reyes) had plenty to say about life as a Little One, from the Little Ones touring music of choice to the Spaceland residency and over to some good old confrontation at Starbucks. Do read on, and then do get yourself over to see the Little Ones shuffle their feet at the Black Cat (October 3, with the French Kicks and the Oranges Band - $13).
Our first gig was:
In April of '05 at the AlterKnit lounge in Hollywood, CA.
Our favorite venue to play is:
That's a hard question. We love the Echo in Echo Park. Liz who runs it is so very nice. We also love Spaceland and Jennifer there.
Hygiene on a tour is:
A difficult thing to keep up. When you can clean yourself you should!
Our favorite thing about touring is:
Meeting new people and seeing new places.
And the least favorite:
Dirty truck stop bathrooms and bad food.
Band member most likely to disappear after a show:
At any point in time we can lose a member.
City with the best audiences:
Baton Rouge, LA
The tour bus/van smells like:
A gym that never gets cleaned.
Laundry is: a) washed regularly, b) washed irregularly, c) we go
shopping a lot:
Definitely washed irregularly.
What's the most unusual item on your rider?
Fruit.
Who controls the music in the touring vehicle? And what do you like to listen to while tooling around on tour?
The driver is usually in control of the iPod. We listen to a wide range of music. Although, hip hop is probably the most played genre in the band.
Your new favorite watering hole after being on tour? And/or the best place to get greasy, hangover-curing food?
I think our new favorite watering hole is the Spanish Moon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They really took care of us. The best place to get greasy hangover-curing food is White Castle.
Most amusing memory from your current or most recent tour?
Getting yelled at by some random customer in Starbucks. He cut us off in the parking lot and he thought we yelled at him in the parking lot. He wanted to fight us.
Favorite tour activity (other than the gigs themselves):
Trying to find a clean restroom.
Are there any bands you've played with that you'd like to tour with
again? And/or bands that you have yet to tour with that you'd like to?
There is a band out of Houston that opened up the show called the Dimes. They were so fun. Maybe our paths will cross again. One band we would love to tour with would be the Flaming Lips.
Please name the city you wouldn't ever play in again? Or, if not a
particular city, which venue makes your skin crawl?
So far so good, there aren't any places that we would want avoid. We want to experience it all.
Apart from the obvious cd, what's the merch item of yours you think people should shell out for?
People should check out our sticker button packs. They look like candy.
What amount of foot shuffling goes on when you're playing a really, really good gig?
I don't think our feet can be contained if we are having a really great show.
Have you been to the top of the Washington Monument?
Not yet, how is it?
You had a residency at Spaceland in August. How did it feel to be resident at such a venerable place?
We felt really honored that they selected us to be the resident band last August. Maybe it means we are doing something right.
What would you like people to be saying about the Little Ones in 50 years?
That we tried our best and had a lot of fun.
Best thing about being a Little One:
Playing with your real good friends.
Please recite a line of poetry:
(from William Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man)
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts...
And finally, it's BigYawn's round. What's your poison?
Patron shot.
More Little Ones joy awaits you at www.wearethelittleones.com, or www.myspace.com/wearethelittleones.
picture by
Aaron Farley