Carrying the torch lit by the Runaways, The Like are a rare 19-something girl group who actually write and play all their own music. The Los Angeles’ trio – featuring Charlotte Froom (bass), Tennessee Thomas (drums), and Z Berg (guitar/vocals) – first formed in 2001 when the members of the band were still in their teens. Straight out of high school, the indie rockers – influenced by the Sundays and the Pretenders – toured with such bands as Maroon 5, Rooney and Phantom Planet. And now the band’s major-label debut, Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking? is receiving rave reviews since its September release and they just hit the road as the opening act for Kings of Leon. Not a bad way to start a career after school.
While most kids were picking out prom dresses, The Like spent their time issuing three EPs — I Like the Like, …And The Like and Like It Or Not. All independently released, the CDs were completely grassroots, sold via the band’s website and at shows. That was until they landed a deal with Geffen in 2004.
“We were together for three years before Geffen signed us. We had played a zillion shows, released 3 EPs, and developed our sound and our skills, so by the time they caught wind of it, we were ready for them” said Z Berg.
 |
As the offspring of some of the music industry’s finest- producer Mitchell Froom, drummer Peter Thomas (Elvis Costello) and A&R; impresario Tony Berg seemed a natural calling for the three teens. “They had a great influence on us musically. They played us great music. They also are half responsible for us being alive,” says Z. “They were extremely supportive. They know they can’t stop us! And nor would they want to because we have good parents who love us and want us to do what makes us happy.”
Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking? is an extremely mature-sounding recording given the age of the band. Shades of dream and indie-pop gives way to thrashing guitars and beat-heavy tempos. Berg’s vocals are raw and meaty as she sings about complex human emotions as well as obscure literary references, “The writing of Nabokov, the slogans spray-painted on the walls during the May ’68 riots both inspired me, as well as everything that happens in my life,” says Berg. “We tried to make every song an autonomous entity while at the same time still sounding like it came from the same family as the other songs. We wanted every song to be different and special, but still let the whole record sound like a “record.” My favorite records are those where each song is an experience in itself, but a single sonic vision presides over the whole thing.”
While indie rock groups would appear to be the girl’s major influence, the Beatles had a hand in their development as well, “They taught us what songwriting is. They are, as far as we’re concerned, the absolute standard,” she quips.
 |
The album was produced by Wendy Melvoin (original member of Prince and the Revolution), but she wasn’t hand-picked, yet the other way around. “We reached out to a lot of producers and she got wind and asked if she could demo a song with us just for fun. She said, ‘I know I won’t get the job.’ And, of course, she did. She brought everything a good producer should – genius, vision, and a good vibe,” says Berg. Co-producer John Goodmanson (Blonde Redhead, Death Cab For Cutie, and Bikini Kill) brought his expertise to the sessions as well. “We also demo’d a song with John, and after listening to the recording -which he engineered and produced under the most stressful circumstances, I lost my voice, everyone was dead tired, it was the last demo we tried – we just knew that his brilliant engineering and good taste would be just what we needed.” Then the finishing touches to the disc were mixed brilliantly by Alan Moulder (Curve, Depeche Mode, My Bloody Valentine).
As the Like mature, they will undoubtedly get better. And though they are already consummate songwriters and musicians, the girls are still at a relatively egoless stage. “I think what makes it work so well is that we love each other and we’re all, most importantly, on the same page. We live in the same realm. And the same cannot be said of most other people. It’s just the way we’re wired and we’re all wired the same way” says Z. “We just wanted to make something beautiful. We just want to play music. And hopefully someone else will like it as much as we do.”
You can’t ask for more than that.
