PARTICLE

ssue #28- Particle Interview at Mt.Aire
By Fred Villari

Mountain Aire Music Festival 2002 - May 26th, Angels Camp, CA.

I had the pleasure of meeting the guys from Particle back stage at Mt. Aire before their Sunday night set, while Trey was performing on the main stage. It was tough to leave the show, but it was worth it to meet a cool bunch of young musicians from our home town. Here is how it went. The vibe was very high energy all around as the band was minutes away from following one tough act. At first I think the band thought I was a staggering fan because they reacted a little funny when I entered their zone, but I quickly grabbed their attention, and got off a short but sweet interview.

First of all, welcome to The Mt.Aire Festival and congrats on landing such a great gig with so many other talented bands. What are your thoughts on the LA music scene and how have you played a part in its development?

Steve (Keyboards): I would say that we have seen it sprout from a small seed into a growing tree and it's really growing fast and we our thankful to be a part of it. We are very fortunate that there wasn't a huge scene going on in LA, and its really nice to be a part of something that is growing now. It has been very good thing for Particle that a lot of bands are not doing what we do in LA

Eric (Bass): Since I moved to LA five years ago, I have had tremendous faith in the scene. Every time national touring acts came around, the people came out. It's a great community of people and it feels good to be one of the few local bands to help bring the people out on a local standpoint, and we are extremely proud about that; That Particle can bring all the local jam music lovers out. It's a fantastic thing.

Can you sum up what you guys had to do as a band, and as individuals, to get where you are right now in this scene?

Eric (Bass): I think all of us have been kind of working in our own personal ways to get to this creation that we have made. We all come from different backgrounds.

Steve (Keys): I would say one thing that we had to do is just trust the people. When we are sitting there working on new material, we say this is from our hearts, but will the people respond to it? The minute we let go of our preconceptions and started trusting the audience was the moment we realized that we were free to play anything we wanted, because as long as we were true to ourselves, the audience was going to understand that, and I think that's the way to get to where you want to be in whatever you are doing.

Tells us about your experience at Jazz Fest in New Orleans...

Charles (Guitar): It was great. Second time in New Orleans, and first time at Jazz Fest. We had a lot of great sit-ins. We did four shows, and we had a 10 a.m. set and a 8 a.m. set. It was crazy.

Who are the Particle People?

Steve (Keys): The Particle People are just fans who understand what we are going for, and are adventurers. So much of art is objective, and you can include that in numbers, whether its an audience of one or one million, if they feel what you are trying to make them feel. We are never going to be satisfied with our music playing the same old shit. We will always try to take it to new heights. The true Particle People are the "balls out" fans that come out to have a good time and celebrate life.

Eric (Bass): Also, the Particle People are the people who are inspired to make art from our art. When we play music the people are inspired to do art in the general way the choose to, and that is a fantastic thing.