Queen Caveat is a quartet rock band from Los Angeles. Here I talk with Ben Epand and Lauren Little about the band’s name, inspirations, on-stage fashion, and the story behind their latest song, “Mr. California.”
Who is Queen Caveat?
BEN EPAND – GUITAR
LAUREN LITTLE – VOCALS
WILL WEISSMAN – BASS GUITAR
JESSE MAGNUSON – DRUMS
How did you come up with the band name?
We adopted the name “Queen Caveat” months after we started the band actually… When Will (bassist Will Weissman) and I (Ben) first met Lauren, we were at a party in Silverlake, and we heard and saw this girl barreling down the stairs in a frantic energy! Will turned to me and said, “That girl is the definition of Caveat!” Months later, when deciding on a band name, we thought “Queen Caveat” was the best fit-beware The Queen!
Who or what are your influences and inspirations, musical or otherwise?
The four of us are completely different people with completely different musical tastes…But we all share a love for Rage Against the Machine, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin and of course, the Beatles.
Can you describe your songwriting process?
Generally the songs begin with an acoustic guitar…Lauren and I try to work out a good skeleton with a solid verse/chorus…We then will bring the song to rehearsal where the four of us bounce different arrangements/rhythms to ultimately craft the song…We generally never call a song finished until it’s completely done in the recording studio. But even from time to time now we find ourselves making slight changes to songs.
What’s your favorite part of performing live? Any memorable or favorite gigs from the past?
My favorite part about performing live is just that…performing. I had a panic attack that really freaked me out. I couldn’t leave my house for a week or so because I was afraid of it happening again…My most memorable show was two weeks after this adorable breakdown. I was able to suck it up and perform for a packed show at the Roxy…It was the first time I really truly opened up to the audience and showed my vulnerability by explaining what happened. The love and support was overwhelming, and it was my most honest performance to date.
Lauren, where do you get your onstage energy and prowess? How important is the vibe you get from the audience on any particular night?
My energy comes from all the candy I consume, most likely…Just joking J . It is a complete rush to be on a stage with your musical best friends, feeling secure that they will deliver an amazing show. Then the people that are spending their time to digest your creation…all that plus the music you write and believe in…Well all that just creates this energy. It’s not my energy, it’s just created by living art that I tap into. It really doesn’t matter how the crowd is. If they are just standing folded-armed and unimpressed, I am just more inclined to say a bunch of sarcastic stuff in between songs.
If you could time travel, what artist/band would you choose to play with or collaborate with?
Why don’t you just ask me which parent I like most. I don’t think I would want to work with my favorite artists of all time. I mean I don’t want to understand their genius, I just want to be impacted by it…But if I must choose, Led Zeppelin…to be able to sing a duet with Robert Plant would be to feel the highest level of bliss…better than sex I imagine.
Does fashion play a role in the band’s image, or does it not matter? Do you dress differently onstage than you would offstage?
I most certainly do not wear my shows clothes offstage…I would be burnt at the stake. My fashion sense confuses me, but no one questions it…until now. I like really flowy things…it looks dramatic on stage and it makes me feel magical. My dad keeps suggesting I add red to my stage wardrobe. I think he’s tired of all my black.
Who is “Mr. California” about? Or if that’s too personal, why the creation of a song about personal triumph over one’s enemies? Does this reflect battles the band had to overcome, or is this more of a personal song, or both?
“Mr. California” is a statement that represents the final straw, the last step before the inevitable explosion that’s caused by envy, jealousy, hate, anger and everything in between. It is true that every single person is stifled by someone or something on their way to the evolution of their goal. This song is about a single person’s journey through the parallels of conflict, discovering that you are not alone. There is an army of doers and triers just like you marching by your side. If you are brave enough to look your enemies in the eye and state, “I won’t listen to you, nothing but blame nothing but pain in your heart,” it will set you free. Everything that matters to you will be achieved as long as you burn down the walls that house your insecurities. Our hearts are capable of love, so they are certainly capable of self love. Uncover your voice and never lose confidence because “all this fear ends with a choice, and all this noise in my ear… it will never poison me, it will never poison my voice.”
What’s in the future for Queen Caveat? Are you working on any new material? If so, what would you describe as the theme of this new work?
We just finished an epic 47-show national tour, and we’re back in Los Angeles at the moment working on new music for our new EP, while we plan on entering the recording studio later this month.
For more info on the band, click here.
