THE AME are coming!

MAX(drums) JEFF(bass) MATT(vox/gtr) JODIE(vox/tamb) CHRIS(lead gtr)
THE AUTOMATIC MUSIC EXPLOSION was born in January of2006 when Matt, who had recently relocated from New YorkCity to Los Angeles, met Max at an LA record store. Withina few days the two agreed to start a band. A week laterthey were joined by Chris, fresh from Cleveland. The threeof them immediately started rehearsing five nights a week.Within a couple months, Detroit city rocker Jodie and Phillytransplant Jeff were added & the line up was complete.The newly formed group found common ground in high energy bands ranging from The Dave Clark Five to AC/DCas well as the early 70’s sleazy Sunset Strip glitter scene. Itwas now their mission to take that spirit & energy into thefuture.
The AME played their first two shows on the same night,August 1, 2006. They booked themselves at two differentclubs on opposite ends of Los Angeles with an hour in between each show. A perfect start for the band that SamLanni (Owner - Safari Sam’s, Los Angeles) calls the “Thehardest working band in Los Angeles”. Immediately, theband began playing anywhere & everywhere they could,building their reputation as well as their live show. Alongthe way, they recorded & released a 4 song EP entitled“This Is!” This led to airplay in Los Angeles as well as all of the songs beinglicensed for various MTV programming. Most recently the band has struck a deal with International Publishing & Licensing company PigFACTORY.
The band continued to work hard, spending their nightsplaying clubs from Santa Barbara to San Diego & their daysperforming at local High Schools. Now it was time to recorda full-length record. The AME chose to work with acclaimedand legendary producer Mike Chapman. Having written &produced over 140 top ten hits & sold over 350 million recordsworldwide with artists such as Blondie, The Knack, The Sweet,Suzi Quatro & many more, he was the perfect producer forThe AME’s style of rock & roll.
When asked how a band with no record deal & no management were able to get the attention of a Producer likeChapman, Matt explains, “I Googled his name for weeksand found out where he lived. I basically stalked him." Aftersending Chapman a copy of their EP and getting no responseback, the band took all the money they had & in a boldmove, flew Matt back East to meet Chapman in person.A month later Chapman flew to Los Angeles to see the bandperform live & he was blown away. Mike says, “I have beenin this business a long time & I have never seen anything likethem in my life”.
Max speaks with an excited energy when he talks aboutthe future of the band, “We’ve got a finished record thatwe’re really proud of. The next step for us is to build ourteam & then decide how we are going to get this recordout there”. With such personality & a powerhouse of music,THE AUTOMATIC MUSIC EXPLOSION is a band that knowswhat it wants & will do what it takes to get it.
-Michael Fields (freelance writer - SPIN, Alternative Press)
photo: Jiilian Schroeder