PURPLE MELON Supergoodmusic

August 25, 2010

Purple Melon Unofficially Kick Off SSMF At The Viper Room Thursday



Purple Melon, a British quartet
that now rocks it proper in the
states, is kicking things off,
unofficially, for the Sunset Strip
Music Festival at The Viper Room
on Thursday August 26th. We had
the privilege of catching up with
these budding Beta Records stars
for an interview before they get
things cooking in Sunset’s
venomous music kitchen, and of
course, our 14th question was “is
bacon good on everything?”
To our surprise, that led to quotes
of Karl Pilkington and a proclamation of love for swine flesh. But, before we divest those tasty details,
get a little bit of an idea of where this band came from and how life has changed for them since moving
to LA a year and a half go…..

SUPERGOODMUSIC: Where did you all meet?
Eric: I met Tom back in school when we were both 16-17. … Owen and Jason came a few years later.
Before them we had a few suicidal drummers, bigot guitarists and Hawaiian short-sleeve shirt wearing
keyboard players that didn’t suit the band. After long stints with those guys, we decided that we
couldn’t bear it anymore and we found Owen via audition and Jason on the internet on a sex site.
Tom: We found Jason on adultfriendfinder.com.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: And what made you decide to come to LA?
Tom: The rock music scene in LA Is a lot better than England at the moment. Plus, the weather is nice.
Owen: LA just seemed to be the right place for us to be based. There’s a much bigger scene for classic
rock music out here in America. We’ve always set our sights high so we figured we’d take a risk, move
here and see what happens…
Jason: And we wanted to release our album and do our thing in the states!

SUPERGOODMUSIC: Where do you live in town?
Jason: We live in Hancock Park, in our legendary pool house.

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Eric: It’s a very Orthodox Jewish area. I’m not sure how our neighbors feel about us playing loud music
everyday. I suppose they’ve never complained though, maybe they’re secretly rocking out next door to
our rehearsals?

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What’s your favorite part about the city?
Owen: I just love the fact everywhere you go it feels like you’re on a movie set! Having watched so many
American films growing up, it’s really cool living here. I can’t imagine I’d get bored of being out here.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: And the music scene?
Owen: The music scene is quite mixed. There are some very talented individual musicians, but it seems
not so many great bands. One of the good things though is that there are a lot of opportunities for
bands here. Lots of venues and places to get to showcase yourself where hopefully you’ll get discovered.
Eric: I love the music venues; I love the Strip and being part of a great music scene. California girls aren’t
bad either.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What do you miss from across the pond?
Jason: I miss football! Soccer to you guys. I love it so much, miss it every day!
Eric: Cheese and onion crisps, fish and chips, Scotch eggs, marmite, ginsters pasties and my family. Not
in order of missingness.
Tom: I miss Marmite and Quavers.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What are you favorite L.A. venues to play at?
Owen: I’ve enjoyed most of the venues we’ve played. As long as the sound is good and there’s a crowd
than it’s usually fun. We’ve played quite a mixture of places – from the usual Sunset venues, to dive bars
to arenas. It’s tough to pick a favorite, but we always have fun at The Viper Room.
Jason: Viper Room!!!
Eric: The Viper Room, Molly Malones has a great sound, The Whiskey A Go-Go. Looking forward to
playing the House of Blues soon!
Tom: The Viper Room and The Troubadour. The Viper Rom has a great vibe and the sound guys always
do a great job.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What was the last show you saw but did not perform at?
Jason: Think it was Ozzy Osbourne at House of Blues…that was sick!
Eric: I saw Nico Vega at the Troubadour. Pretty sick!
Tom: I went to see The Dirty Diamond at Hotel Café. Great local band.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: Are concerts a good place to take a first date?
Jason: I can’t see why not! Unless you recommended the band and they sucked!
Eric: Only if you know who’s playing and what sort of vibe you want. Imagine turning up to a
death/gridncore/brutal/black metal show with your woman.
Tom: Definitely. Girls love being taken to rock concerts, so long as they don’t mind waking up with
tinnitus and stinking of beer.
Owen: If it’s not too loud, then yes. Generally, it helps to be able to communicate. Perhaps Motorhead
might not be the best for a first date.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What can we expect from Purple Melon for the rest of 2010?
Jason: Hopefully world domination!!!

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Eric: Exciting stuff. More packed out shows all over L.A. We do a lot of free guestlists too, so add us up
on Facebook and we’ll let you know about all of them (http://www.facebook.com/purplemelonmusic)
We’ve also been working on our own rockumentary/reality TV show and we’ve pretty much finished
writing a second album.
Tom: Loads more gigs and TV appearances. Jason will probably get more muscular, I might invest some
time into a tan, and we will all have haircuts at some point.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What’s your favorite eating spot in LA?
Eric: Purple Melon loves a good burger. In N Out or Umami Burger are favourites. Tom loves Jack in the
Box’s curly fries too. It’s bordering on an obsession. I bet Jason will say something healthy for this
question. He is very self-conscious about his body at the moment and is going through changes. I think
he’s finding hairs in funny places.
Jason: Probably Cactus Tacos.
Tom: Koi
Owen: I love the variety of burger chains here. My favorites are In N Out and Umami Burger. I still have
quite a few more to try but I’m sure eventually I’ll get through them all. I’m also loving Mexican food.
Addicted to tacos!

SUPERGOODMUSIC: Is Bacon good with everything?
Owen: Yes. I love pig tissue.
Jason: Pretty much.
Eric: I don’t think it’s good with everything. It’s good with fried eggs, backed beans, toast and a cup of
teat. Bacon can also be used to lure Vietnamese lake worms out of one’s system by placement upon
one’s head. Not my words, the words of Karl Pilkington.
Check it out:

SUPERGOODMUSIC: What isn’t it good with?
Eric: Um, can’t think of anything. I suppose it is good with everything then,
Jason: Chocolate.
Tom: Maple syrup. What the fuck is that about?
Owen: A heart condition and 50 lbs. of excess weight.

SUPERGOODMUSIC: How do you feel about Lebron James’ decision?
Jason: It doesn’t matter, the Lakers will still beat the Heat in the Finals.
In addition to having a sense of humor, an appreciation for L.A. culture, and some discerning taste buds,
this cast of characters clearly has an affinity for the Sunset Strip and more particularly The Viper Room.
You can catch them performing at their favorite musical stomping ground tomorrow night as Sunset
Strip Music Festival kicks off at the various Sunset Strip venues. Check out more show information at
The Viper Room's website - www.viperroom.com.
Purple Melon is scheduled to perform around 10 p.m., but come early, locate the band mates and
discuss your thoughts on burger joints in LA (convince them to try The Counter, Father’s Office, 8 Oz.
and others), applications for bacon, why marmite is something they crave and why the Lakers will beat
the Heat next season…
You can check some of their righteous rock in this cool little video they sent us!

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