A BROKE LA Band Interview: Salt Petal

Photo Credit: Sebastien Vilensky

What was once Brokechella is now BROKE LA. The 2016 BROKE LA Music and Arts Festival kicks off on April 23rd. If you’ve gone to Brokechella over the last couple years, it should be noted that they’re moving locations to 695 S. Santa Fe Avenue. So still on the same street, but just a bit south of the previous location. I got the opportunity to attend the Broke LA Artist and Media Mixer recently at Delicious Pizza and got to interview Salt Petal. ( I also interviewed Annuals and DWNTWN -- both interviews were previously posted). I also got to scarf down a few slices of awesome pizza.

Salt Petal

If you love to travel, like I do, you’ll loving talking with this band. I got to talk with Autumn (vocals, accordion) and Rodrigo (guitar).

Question:

So tell me about Annuals.

Answer:

Autumn: We were born on the moon . . . Most of the band is not from Los Angeles. There are 5 core members. I grew up in San Francisco, Marin County. I lived in Brazil for a while. When I was there, I got into Tropicalia music, which is a mix of Brazilian and 60s rock. I also spent time in Cuba via a school group. I loved it. The people were super nice. There was rationing, but folks invited us to eat at their homes. I got to see a band playing in someone’s living room, a concert out in the open.

Our first album came out in 2009, but we didn’t start playing as a band until sometime after that point. The core has largely been together for 3 years.

Rodrigo: I come from Buenos Aires.

Question:

What are some venues you’ve played at?

Answer:

Band: we played at Make Music Pasadena in 2013. We did the LA Times Festival of Books in 2015. We’ve also done First Fridays at the Natural History Museum. The Echoplex. We’ve also played at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz . . . to name a few.

Question:

What are some of your favorite local bands?

Answer:

Band: Avid Dancer. Lonely Wild. Chicano Batman. Sego. Aparato – they sound like The Cure mixed with Latin sounds.

Question:

Rodrigo, if someone was to go on a vacation in Buenos Aires, what would you recommend that they do?

Answer:

Rodrigo: Try to go to someone’s house on a Sunday for a BBQ and make sure you have some alfajores [a type of cookie].

Random conversation:

Me: So when I was in Buenos Aires, I took a train ride out of the city. When I went to buy a return ticket, the ticket person totally didn’t understand what I was asking. I spoke no Spanish. She spoke no English. There was this temporary fear that I was not going to be able to return to Buenos Aires.

Band: we had a similar experience in Barcelona. We got lost and no one would help us. We can speak Spanish, but folks there refused to speak to us in Spanish. They would only speak Catalan. We did learn how to ask for a bathroom in Catalan.

Question:

What’s coming up for Salt Petal?

Answer:

Band: We’re working on an upcoming 3^rd album. We’re deciding on how to put it out: CD, cassette, digital. We’ll be releasing a single from the album in May.