Happy Monday, readers!
Meet our new Music Monday artist this week, The Life Electric.Â
The Life Electric are a Boston-based group that is ready to make to make a name for themselves on the indie rock scene with their new album The Real You, which is available on all digital retailers now.
The Life Electric came together in 2011 when former Action Verbs frontman Joey Chehade (vocals) met up with three-fifths of indie rock band Gold Star Morning, and the musical chemistry was undeniable. The band, also consisting of Ben Leang (guitar), Cory Bean (bass), and Joel Silloway (drums), brings a sound that’s been uniquely described as a combination of modern disco, The Flaming Lips, and pure f***ing rock.
Celeb Secrets caught up with guitarist Ben Leang to learn a little more about the band and how they came together. In addition, Leang talked about the group’s new album The Real You, why you should listen to it, and his love for cooking — make sure to read the full Q&A below.
For more information on The Life Electric, visit their official website at http://www.thelifeelectricmusic.com and follow them on Twitter at @thelifeelectric.
Celeb Secrets: Are you currently obsessed with any shows, movies, songs right now?Â
Ben Leang: “Totally!  I can’t stop thinking about Game of Thrones right now, like most people.  I love the Walking Dead so hard.  And since I’m a musician, I almost always have the MTV Live channel on.
As for songs, I love The Weeknd right now, been listening to that a bunch.  Jason Derulo’s great.  Oh, and the new Lemonade album by Beyonce?  That might be the best album of the year.  I can’t believe how good it is, and I’m not even a huge fan of her music.â€
Celeb Secrets: How did you come up with the name of your band?
Ben Leang: “We were trying to describe who we were as people.  We all have our day jobs, but we really want something more for our lives than just that.  We want to make music that hopefully means something to people.  So, that’s what we’re trying to describe when we say “the life electric.â€â€
Celeb Secrets: What is the process like behind writing your music?Â
Ben Leang: “Joey and I will come up with a bunch of demos on our own.  They might be really simple, like a guitar riff, it might be a complete song, or it might be something in between.  We’ll send the ideas back and forth through Google Drive, so that the other person can start really fleshing the ideas out.  After a while, we’ll try it with the entire band to make sure it sounds good when we play it live.â€
https://www.facebook.com/thelifeelectric/videos/1029088447138440/
Celeb Secrets: If you were given the chance to create your ideal band, who would you choose to be the lead singer, the drummer, the guitarist and, the bassist?Â
Ben Leang: “Interesting question!  I suppose I’d just choose my absolute heroes for each part.  Freddie Mercury would be the vocalist, Dave Grohl on drums, PaulMcCartney on bass…  I think the hard part would be picking a guitarist.  Maybe because that’s what I do?  But perhaps The Edge or  David Gilmore.  But who knows if any of them would actually get along! [laughs]â€
Celeb Secrets: What is your favorite song to perform live?Â
Ben Leang: “We have a song called “Everest†that’s really fun to play live.  It starts off kind of quiet with just guitar and vocals.  By the middle part, it gets really loud and everyone’s really passionate about the parts they’re playing, and by the end it gets quiet again.â€
Celeb Secrets: Can you tell us what fans can expect from your new album “The Real You?”Â
Ben Leang: “I think there’s a song for everyone.  We didn’t set out to do that, per se, but that’s how it came out.  There’s a lot of variety of styles, but somehow, we manage to keep it cohesive.  I think a big part of it is Joey’s voice.â€
Celeb Secrets: Is there a song that didn’t make the album, but you wish it did?Â
Ben Leang: “You know, I’m pretty happy with what made the cut.  I think the songs that didn’t make the album just weren’t quite ready yet, but that means they’ll likely end up on the next album.  Who knows, maybe we’ll have even better songs by then and those other songs will get cut again!â€
Celeb Secrets: For people who have yet to discover you, why should they give your music a chance?Â
Ben Leang: “Because we really mean it.  We’re in the business of making the absolute best, finely crafted pop/rock music out there in the most sincere way that we can.  And if I dare say, we make some really catchy tunes!â€
Celeb Secrets: Since we are Celeb Secrets, do you have a secret or hidden talent that your fans may not know about?
Ben Leang: “People might not know it, but I’m a pretty decent cook.  I wouldn’t win Top Chef or anything, but I can hold my own against most people!â€
Featured Photo Courtesy of Big Picture Media