Better Looking People With Superior Ideas

Multi-Instrumentalists Craig Vermeyen and Nick Norton are prog-punk collaborators turned indie/electronic/rock super duo. Better Looking People With Superior Ideas appear to be exactly what their name claims. - Find My Song

Alright, time to mix things up a bit! Upcoming Badass Band Better Looking People With Superior Ideas are allowing us to give you a sneak peek listen to their new track ‘Where the Lights Meet’! Take a listen to this electro-rock-radness! - Badass Bands Blog

Spacey stylings and nice lead vocals from this humble L.A. duo whose guitar-less “With You” picks up steam every four bars with thoughtful production and deft vocal cohesion. The arty “Mutton Century,” with its keening synths, haunting church bells and robotic vocal fx, has an overall non-commercial edge—true alt-electronica. Best of the bunch in our opinion is “City Song,” a catchy and alluring tune with harmonies that are soaring and celestial. Superior indeed.

8 out of 10. - Music Connection

Nick Norton, Warren ’08, and Craig Vermeyen, Warren ’09, are Better Looking People With Superior Ideas. But don’t let that stop you from engaging this talented dynamic duo. Describing their sound as a “genre-bending mish-mash,” the two credit their time spent at UC San Diego for opening their ears to all styles of music, providing them with ample practice space and ultimately serving as the catalyst for meeting each other.

Based in Los Angeles, Norton and Vermeyen formed the band in the summer of 2010, taking the name a misquote of LCD Soundsystem song lyric (from the song ‘Losing My Edge,’ “But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent”). Their debut EP released earlier this year. They’ve already played a substantial number of shows throughout L.A., with plans for a more expansive tour.

While at UCSD, the two took different academic paths—Vermeyen studied mechanical engineering and Norton studied music and political theory. Vermeyen recalls doing shows for their friends in lecture halls, with projected films illuminating the screen behind them—“It was a cool experience that we wish we could still have, because practice studios and rehearsal time cost quite a bit of money. UCSD’s lecture halls saved us from those expenses.”

In his free time, Norton DJ-ed at the University’s independent radio station, KSDT, and also played in-studio shows at the station, as well as at the legendary Ché Café. Looking back, he noted that the music department offered a wide variety of genres to explore—“Whatever you wanted to pursue, they encouraged, whether it was for rock or hip hop or classical music or really hardcore art stuff, like crawling around on a beach, throwing rocks.”

When they’re not playing music together, Norton and Vermeyen lead separate and very different lives from each other. Norton is working on a Ph.D. in music and spends much of his time writing commissioned music, including a current project for Now Hear Ensemble as well as another for Worldwide Guitar Connections. On the other hand, Vermeyen works full-time at a pharmaceutical company, but he still manages to find a musical aspect to his work. “I spend a lot of time on the production floor with mechanical equipment that actually tends to make pretty cool rhythmic sounds and gives me ideas for rhythm.”

So what’s next for the pair? They’ll play an upcoming show on May 22 in the Silverlake neighborhood of L.A. with plans for future shows this summer. Be sure to stay tuned for more from the band. Who knows—maybe they’ll make a journey back to the campus where it all began.

-- Alex Morales - UCSD Alumni Online

It's been a long time since I've been to Soma. Actually, I tend to avoid that place and all it's punk ass underage kids who think they know what's up. However, when invited by a band to see their debut performance in San Diego, I'll make an exception.

While attempting to haggle my way inside with my camera, I ended up meeting the band out front when they overheard me drop their name. Since I was only armed with emails and a Soundcloud link , I wasn't really sure what to expect but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Despite it being a rather quiet Saturday at Soma, Better Looking People With Superior Ideas (whew that's a mouthful) had some fans in the crowd. For a two person band, they create a surprisingly full sound and I was very happy to see a trumpet up on stage. Perhaps my favorite element of theirs was the use of a glockenspiel. Or was it a xylophone? Either way, I though the delicate tones were a great addition and a nice layer. My only wish for BLPWSI is that they find more of a concrete direction in their music. There was a wide range and variety from raging guitar to the delicate glockenspiel and it didn't always feel like it was coming from the same band. I do see a lot of potential for growth and can't wait to see where they go from here!

Check out my favorite song below and the gallery while you're at it. - Local Music Nation

...I've got a cheeky little interview for you.

This time it's Nick and Craig, who are also known as Better Looking People With Superior Ideas. Don't give me that look, I'm still writing objectively, it's just their band name.

Nick Norton and Craig Vermeyen, located in Los Angeles (US), started the project "BLPWSI" in 2010 after playing in the same band for many years.

What started as a jam session in Nick's living room lead to recording their debut E.P to playing shows to being interviewed on house in the sand.

See what the two good looking guys have to say about their band name, their musical heroes, Discover cards and a lot more.

house in the sand: So guys, your band name “Better Looking People With Superior Ideas” probably couldn't be more unique. What’s the superior idea behind it?

Nick: Well it’s a quote, but a misremembered one. We’d been tossing band names around for a while, and Craig went to go see LCD Soundsystem at the Hollywood Bowl. He called right after the show and was like, “I have our band name. Better Looking People With Superior Ideas.” I was on board immediately. I later looked up the lyric, which is from “Losing My Edge” by LCD. James Murphy actually says, “I’m losing my edge to better looking people with better ideas and more talent.”

That said, we think starting a band and playing music that we work hard on and believe in is a pretty superior idea. But I suppose that’s subjective.

house in the sand: How would you describe your sound to people who haven’t heard it yet?

Craig: Well first I’d say just take a listen for free on our website/facebook/bandcamp. We had a blog say our music sounded like the score to a love story about robots. I really hope so, but I’ve always thought we’re somewhere between Animal Collective and Matt and Kim. Matt Collective? Animal Kim?

Nick: Yeah, I have a tough time with that one, so usually ask other people. My friend Leslie called our music “hipster anthems,” and I liked that. And a girl I’m dating texted me after the first time she heard our EP and said, “I am so glad your band doesn’t suck.” That made me really happy.

house in the sand: What gave you the confidence and motivation to start out in one of the hardest industries, the music industry?

Nick: It wasn’t such a concrete decision as that. It’s just who we are and what we do. We’d be making music no matter what, because it’s what we love.

I don’t remember a particular starting point - I mean, I remember my first music lessons back when I was a kid, and I remember the first records I bought and the first concerts I went to - but I don’t remember when I started to say, “okay, this is what I’m going to make my life doing.” I say that now, but by the time I started thinking about the industry side of it - at least, as much as necessary to build a sustainable career - I had already long figured out that doing this was my life.

Craig: Yeah, music has been ingrained in me from a very young age. I guess I can trace it back to my parents first putting me into piano lessons when I was 5 or 6 (and of course forcing me to practice every day). I kinda caught the bug from there, and never really thought about “getting into the music industry.” Like Nick said, we’re having fun.

house in the sand: Which (famous) musician(s) have you learned from?

Craig: I think I have to give Thom Yorke some credit here. I was pretty obsessed with Radiohead through most of my formative music years, and it had a tangible effect on my writing and performing. He helped me to realize being weird is okay, and actually positive if you are somehow able to make people relate to you more because you seem genuine (like Thom does). I really hope I get to a place where I'm comfortable dancing like he does on stage.

Nick: I try to listen to and learn from as much music as possible. Even the things I don’t like, I try to figure out why I don’t like them and what I would change. I try to draw lessons from those who seem the best at what they’re doing, regardless of what it is that they’re doing. That said, a few artists whose music has really taught me a lot are Radiohead, Refused, Steve Reich, Sigur Ros, Stravinsky, Bach, Battles, Miles Davis, John Cage, Mozart, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Weakerthans, Bright Eyes, Charles Mingus, The Beatles, Dillinger Escape Plan, Broken Social Scene, Nels Cline...this list could go on for a really long time. I’ve got a bit of formal training as a composer as well, and classical music types often like to brag about their teaching lineage. I’ve got direct lines to Beethoven, Messiaen, Shostakovich, Stockhausen, Xenakis, and Nadia Boulanger (hence Fauré and Saint-Saëns) in mine. So there’s also that, if that’s your thing.

house in the sand: What inspired you to write your single “With You”?

Craig: This is the only one of our songs I’ve written that is actually a story (as opposed to ju - house in the sand

The tracks create a very distinct mood…they make me feel like I’m in the middle of watching some obscure art house film about a human falling in love with a robot. - Local Music Nation

We’re fussy types here at 5albums.com, but have been genuinely impressed [by this album]. There’s plenty that’s interesting going on, and we think it’s a grower as well. - 5albums.com