It's no surprise that theStart's first record, Shakedown! made it on to a number of 2001 "best of" lists.   Each of the band's members has been on 'the scene' for some time and they know what it takes to make good, solid rock infused with catchy hooks and high-quality songwriting.  Singer Aimee Echo and drummer Scott Ellis cut their teeth in Human Waste Project, which garnered plenty of fan attention but little media vibe.  Keyboardist Jamie Miller served time as drummer for LA scene giants Snot and bassist Jeff Jaeger came from Sacramento's very own Smirch (not from the NFL). 

Once the foursome came together, pulled together a record deal and found the right producer in the form of Josh Abraham (Orgy, Deadsy), the result was a record, Shakedown!, that merged the best of '80's synth-pop with 21^st century set of rock ideals.  Beginning with the title track and the energetic first single, "Gorgeous" and continuing right on through the duration of the record, it's easy to trace the influences right back to those '80's classics.

After spending the latter half of 2001 touring with Incubus, Weezer and Sugar Ray, the alternative rock media couldn't help but take notice and give Shakedown! a proper listen.

We had the chance to chat with Aimee Echo, who is a legend in the LA scene, and find out what got things Start-ed and the inner workings of the recording industry…

VOX: Let's start with the genesis of theSTART…

Aimee Echo: Ok, um, let's see…a while back I was in a band with Scott called Human Waste Project - we happened to be lucky enough to go on tour with Snot, and Jamie was in Snot, so we knew him from there.  We all lived in this house - a couple of guys from Snot, Scott and me, plus a model, a photographer, two dogs, two cats…eventually we realized that we have a band worth of people in this one house.  When our different bands ended, this just sort of accidentally…evolved.

VOX: You've been in the scene for quite some time - is it harder to start something new or does it become easier?

AE: It's easier, it really is.  Starting from scratch is really, really hard - club owners don't want to let you play and they don't care about you.  Everyone wants to play, and after you've been around, you know the club owners and know who to talk to and you know how to get it done.  People say it's more difficult to get a record deal once you've had one, but I don't think so.  I think it's easier once you know what you're doing and how to go about things.

VOX: Do you think you've been jaded by the industry?

AE: Are you kidding?  Of course.  Well, maybe not jaded, I don't know.  I do know I could teach a class - Music Industry 101.  I'm not tripping over myself, that's for sure.

VOX: What do you think of the LA scene?

AE: Um, I think that the LA scene doesn't really happen like you would think.  It has it's sporadic moments, but I don't think there's been a strong scene for some time.  It kinda goes from genre to genre - each one has sort of a baby scene.  There are some great bands out there that deserve the chance - Tape, Enemy and Deadsy all deserve some attention.

VOX: Where do you see modern rock heading?

AE: It's in a testosterone-induced haze, currently, but I think the pendulum is about to swing back.  The originators of the genre had a lot to say - Rage [Against The Machine] were fantastic, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are great - but then all the hybrids came in their footsteps, and then every label wanted to create the next band that sounded like all the others.   It's become overdone and homogenized.  Fans are starting to get bored really easily, listening to the same old thing all the time.  My CD collection is really varied.  You have to look to find the great stuff.

VOX: What, to you, was the most critical element to completing the new album?  What were you after?

AE: Wow…we were really focused on the songwriting, which is something we hope comes across.  Everything has been done before, right?  Isn't that the saying?  Well, we wanted to do it a little differently and put our mark on it.  We put the focus on the songwriting.

VOX: Let's talk about the music - what is your favorite song and why?

AE: Oh!  They're all different and special to me for different reasons.  Some are older and some are newer, so time plays a factor as well…right now, "Her Song" is probably my favorite.  It's special to me because it almost didn't make the record, but it was like, "No.  We have to do this."

VOX: What is the first single, "Gorgeous," about?

AE: It was my attempt to write…a lot of the songs I write are love songs, but I set out to write a true love song.  I've written lots of "I love you/I hate you" songs.  I think a lot of that comes from the Robert Smith influence…

VOX: Are you a Cure fan?

AE: Oh, yeah!  I love Robert Smith.

VOX: My favorite song is probably "Her Song."  What's it about?

AE: It's about, actually, it's written from the point of view of a couple of different people in my life - I wanted to put myself in their shoes.   It's the classic "You left me for her" type of song.

VOX: What are your expectations for this record?

AE: I'm really trying not to have any expectations.  I hope people will appreciate it for what it is.  I don't want us to get stereotyped or lumped into something.   Humans have a need to categorize and put things into a certain order.  We want them to say, "They are theSTART."  Hopefully that will be enough and we won't end up in some specific category.

We're also planning to tour constantly, which we think is one of our stronger points - the live show.

VOX: What can we expect from theSTART's live show?

AE: A raucous time.  We put on a pretty energetic show.  We all end up in pain when it's over.  There will be lots of sweating, too.  Like I said, it's one of our strong points.