Waterlaso

How old were you all when Waterlaso was started?

Michael: I was 15 when I started writing some of the songs we're playing, but I was 26 when Josh agreed to join the band 2 years ago. For years it was just me, I had played live electronic versions of the songs alone, but from time to time had musicians play with me. But after knowing Josh for a few years, and realized that we would work well together in a band, I asked him to join when he was 25. I had wanted Waterlaso to be a band for years, but it was always hard to find the right people who shared the same vision for what the band should be.

How did you meet? | and what made you decide to become musicians?

Michael: We found Keith on Craigslist.com this time last year, he responded to an ad I placed for a drummer. We were really impressed with him right off the bat, he had learned a few of the songs and played them perfectly. Armando, the bassist, works with me at a hair transplantation surgical office. I didin't know right off the bat that he was a musician, but after a while we got to talking and found out we enjoyed a lot of the same music, and the fact that he was reading books & magazines about bass playing at work made him seem really dedicated to his instrument. I gave him a CD and he became a big fan of the music, and he would always ask a lot of questions about the songs. So I thought that having someone who is a fan of the music is the best possible person to have play. Josh and I met through a close friend, we've known each other for about 5 years now, and are really close friends as well. We want very similar things creatively from the band, and in the music we listen to, so he was a perfect match as well.

Do you write your own lyrics?

Michael: I write all of the lyrics, to me its the most important part, and it's what I spend the most time doing. Some songs despite their appearance take me years to complete. If I write a piece of music I really enjoy, I care way too much about it to just toss off lyrics. Some come really quickly, but its different for every song. More than anything I consider myself a writer, I used to publish my own zine that I distributed at clubs and record stores in Los Angeles. I was also a writer for Pitchforkmedia.com, Kitty Magic and contributed to quite a few publications. I usually like to live with the songs and see what they become over a long stretch of time. But every song is different and requires a different approach, its important you always follow your instinct.

From where do you draw your inspiration?

Michael: I try to interpret a wide combination of things I experience into songs. I try to do as the name of the band reflects something that is in some ways impossible, to capture specific nuances of feelings I have, to describe something that is indescribable. I revisit some films that are very important to me over and over again in the lyrics and music, I also think of specific place I've been and what it felt like to be there. It depends on the song but usually there are several things working together that seem to speak about the same subject, the challenge is letting go of the busy daily thoughts to keep track of what I'm focusing on.


What is your music about mostly?

Michael: I feel that music is supposed to be personal for the listener, so it really should be about whatever people imagine it to mean, as they apply it to their own experience. What you enjoy and what has meaning is entirely created by how you relate to it. There are very specific stories that I hear in the lyrics, and feelings and places that I try to describe that may not be obvious to anyone but me, I try to make those things as clear as possible without nailing the song down to something that would only make sense to me. I do write about myself, which is really the only person you can actually write about, even when you're writing about other people you're still writing about yourself, because you're still writing about how you perceive them and your interpretation of who they are. In many ways we can never stop looking for or seeing ourselves in everything.

Where is your favorite place to 'hang out'?

Michael: Since I spend a lot of time writing, I usually hang out places that are comfortable to think when I'm not home. I eat at a fast food Chinese restaurant called Panda Express a lot, spending hours listening to their soft rock and alternative piped in music. I go to see a lot of films, so I'm at several different theaters around Los Angeles depending on what type of movie I'm looking to see. I just saw the new Wes Anderson Film Darjeeling Limited 3 times, so I really enjoy the environment of a theater.


What is your favourite drink? city? song?

Michael: One of my favorite cities is Brisbane, I spent about 6 weeks in Australia in late 2000. I really loved how beautiful the city was, we had a great time going out to the clubs, hanging out at the beaches and enjoying how different it felt to be there, although in a lot of ways it should be similar to the US, but its very different. Favorite drink is probably raspberry-lemonade right now, and I love tropical iced tea. I drink a lot of soda but I'm trying to cut down if not quit entirely, I'm not sure thats possible. Favorite song is way too hard to choose, so I can't take just one, but I just saw Morrissey play about a month ago and he performed one of my favorite Smiths songs "Stretch Out & Wait." It was pretty amazing to see him pull it off so emotionally live, I prefer the alternate lyrics, but aside from that the song was one of the greatest moments of live music I have ever seen.


What makes a good audience?

Michael: Any audience who loves watching live music, and is willing to allow themselves to be open to new ideas. Our live show is a bit different from the recorded versions of the songs, but its done intentionally to arrange the music to be more exciting to watch in person. Some ideas that work well recorded don't always translate as well when you put them in front of a crowd. We all have ideas of what we enjoy in live shows, and try to bring the best qualities of the shows we've seen into our performance. - Baba-Cool (Australian Zine)

Waterlaso – Time Lapse

Michael Cameron sits at the helm of the Los Angeles band Waterlaso. It could be said of Cameron that he is not of this Earth and more so an ambrosial being. One could say that affixing a label to Michael Cameron, and trying to give his style and unique sound a name would be impossible. For he is indescribable and far too multifaceted to keep boxed in. If it simply had to be done, it would be said that Michael Cameron’s genesis as an artist has manifested itself in the form of an incomparable darkwave, dance, synth-pop sound, that feels strikingly familiar and yet distinctly fresh. Ever evolving and always challenging (to the man and to his dedicated following), Michael Cameron and his engaging Waterlaso are the stuff longevity is made of.

Ditte: Right now you’re based in Los Angeles, but you’re from Sedona, Arizona. Is that where you spent your formative years?

Michael Cameron: It was a wonderful experience; we had only lived in the suburbs of bigger cities until we moved to Sedona. Our backyard opened up into the forest, and it hadn’t yet built up like it had when we left there. The only high school that was an option for my Freshman year was an hour drive each way. There were cliffs you could dive off, a natural water slide and some extremely beautiful views. We even went tubing in an irrigation ditch once. It was an easy place to live in a lot of ways; maybe we should have stayed haha. It was nice living in a city that for the most part embraced new age culture, and Sedona was widely known for being one of the Earth’s major energy centers. The energy was strong there, but it felt like you could make it whatever you wanted, in Los Angeles there’s strong energy as well but it’s a lot more specific.

D: When you were in Arizona you played with There Goes Atlantis. What was that experience like? Was that the first band you performed with?

MC: It was a pretty amazing time, we had no rules, me and the other half of There Goes Atlantis, Levon, would record hours and hours of tapes on my portable stereo. We met in art class and oddly enough we were both drawing the same thing during a free drawing exercise. It was my first band and I believe it was Levon’s as well. We played quite a few shows in a short time, we started in 1994 and by 1996 we had played every garage in Sedona and started playing in Phoenix. This dive bar called The Mason Jar loved us, they let us open for national touring bands and wanted us to play weekly. We were all still in high school and sounded like Jesus & Mary Chain meets The Buzzcocks, so we were really noisy live, but didn’t appreciate what we had at the time, but this is around the time where some of the first Waterlaso songs come from, just newly recorded versions appear on the albums now.

D: When did you first start writing music?

MC: I wrote my first song when I was 8 on my keyboard, but I didn’t start to really get into songwriting until high school and Levon and I really got into it. Devoting all of our spare time and weekends to songwriting. It really is a craft, and you have to develop it over time.

D: What/who influences and inspires you creatively?

MC: I’m inspired by anyone who aspires to make something perfect, who isn’t willing to settle, someone who wants something better for our lives than what we have now, someone who goes the extra mile to not just give us more of the same. From Plato to Walt Disney, when someone really sets their sites to create something perfect, and wants to share something amazing that makes our lives better, I believe they’ll find it.

D: When did you settle on the name Waterlaso? It’s a fanciful name. Fitting. I’m curious about it’s origin.

MC: In 1999 I was considering words that I liked, and had heard of this band from Japan that a friend mentioned who only used water and wire to create music. I liked the mental image of trying to create music with tools that really almost made no sound if you just splashed them around together. Trying to define something that’s indefinable is what I have always taken Waterlaso to mean. Or, trying to hold on to something you can’t. The name came about when I started working on the first album.

D: When did you first start performing as Waterlaso? What was your first performance like? Was it a solo performance or had you already assembled a band by then?

MC: The first live performance as Waterlaso was in Oct of 2001. Some friends who ran the only indie club in Phoenix were putting on a synth-pop show and they asked me to be on the bill. They had been playing each song from the album as I had finished them. It was really exciting to see a club full of people dancing to these songs back to back with New Order, The Smiths, Suede and The Cure. - http://thesecretgirls.wordpress.com

Before the birth of Waterlaso, Michael Cameron experimented with different sounds and projects, taking cues from a variety of influences, while also developing his own way of doing things. After over 15 years of songwriting and recording, he has perfected his style and created a unique sound and personality for his songs. There is not one word or description for the music. It’s a combination of different elements, sounds, and influences. The music is catchy, melodic, beautiful, light, and heavy all at once. The words are interesting, clever, heartbreaking, humorous, and inspirational. It’s the combination that makes Waterlaso a timeless and memorable band. It all comes together to form a complete package that is accessible enough to grab your attention, but emotional enough to leave a real impression. In that sense, it can be compared to bands like The Smiths or Depeche Mode, who can get people dancing and having fun, while also gaining an endless string of devoted fans who relate to and are comforted by what they have to say.

Waterlaso’s latest release Wild, which was produced by Kramer (Galaxie 500, Daniel Johnston, Half Japanese), showcases the depth Michael Cameron is capable of, and the progression in sound since his previous effort, What Have You Ever Done To Deserve Everything You’ve Ever Wanted. Wild transitions from shimmery guitar sounds and heartfelt words of longing to darker and quirkier electronic songs about hope and fear. It keeps your interest from start to finish and evokes a variety of emotions, as it taps into different parts of your brain. Michael’s clever insights and interesting metaphors tug at your heart strings, while also managing to keep a sense of humor.

Michael has always been the sole songwriter and craftsman of Waterlaso, but he has an amazing band to back him for live performances. They gig in Los Angeles frequently (most recently at The Echo and The Smell, and an in studio performance on KXLU) and a tour is in the works.

Wild is currently available for purchase at Amoeba Records in Hollywood and online, through Amazon: Wild

To keep up with Waterlaso, please visit: www.waterlaso.com - http://thesecretgirls.wordpress.com

Waterlaso has spent the majority of last year writing and recording fresh material and are now set to release its conceptual album Wild. Here’s the first single from the album, titled “Sensual Predators.” The single’s cover matches its sound perfectly – “Adults Only XXX.” It’s gotta really dark and uneasy feeling to it, the perfect soundtrack to a cheap, sleazy strip club. I’m definitely excited to hear the rest of this album. I’ve linked to their website; turns out their trying to raise money to get Wild professionally mastered and pressed. Throw some change their way if you can.

~Quentin

http://www.newdust.com/waterlaso-sensual-predators - Newdust.com

Reviewed by Dan Vidal

Waterlaso, also known as Michael Cameron, makes music under the basic principle that music is an art created in the moment. Cameron is so adamant about this philosophy that he records everything in one take. He believes that pop music is an art form that should be as much about getting you up on the dancefloor as it is about touching the soul. His influences by artists like David Bowie and Phil Spector are apparent in his tech-pop 80s sound. However, Cameron offers a much darker twist, creating an interesting interpretation of a very dated genre. His work has appeared in an independent film and a stage production of the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company's "Modern Myths and Monsters." - http://www.urb.com/promotions/next1000/profiles/1354-Waterlaso.php

From Life & Arts:
Artist Spotlight
Waterlaso

Liz Ohanesian, Mirror Contributing Writer

Waterlaso began in Sedona, Arizona as a simple means for Michael Cameron to pass the time. He was young and "obsessed" with the four-track recording systems that fueled the popularity of lo-fi home recordings in the late 1990s.

"There's just not much to do when you basically live out in the forest," he says.

Cameron worked diligently on the project, and the music he made became a reflection of his surroundings, a combination of the indie rock and new wave CD's in his collection and the "mystical vortexes" of Sedona.

"It's a huge new wave, soft rock, new age thing," he says of his sonic creations.

Eventually, Cameron moved to Phoenix for college and, after finishing school, relocated to his current hometown of Los Angeles. All the while, Waterlaso stuck with him, resulting in three releases featuring songs with such quirky titles as "My Ex-Wife's Failed Boxing Career," "Your Mother Knows Us As Boywhores," and "You've Made It Miserable To Be Poor." Somewhere along the way, though, Waterlaso transformed from Cameron and his four-track to a full-fledged rock band.

"I always struggled with putting together a lineup that sounded good," Cameron confesses. A little over a year ago, the pieces fell into place. He first joined forces with keyboardist Josh Winter, a friend with whom he had played in other bands. Drummer Keith Krey came in through a Craigslist ad, and, after a previous bassist left, Cameron brought his co-worker Armando Madrid into the fold. Cameron calls Madrid and Krey his "Andy and Mike," a favorable comparison to the rhythm section of legendary British band the Smiths, and adds that Waterlaso's music has changed immensely since leaving his bedroom for nightclub stages. He cites "Boxing Career," which appeared on debut album What Have You Done To Deserve Everything You've Ever Wanted, as a prime example of the change, noting that it has grown from a minimally-produced pop song to a "majestic" piece.

"With the album, everything is very much like between Hall and Oates, Wham!, and '80s David Bowie-type stuff," he says. "Live, I think we kind of go for it a little bit more. I guess we're the soft rock version of heavy metal live."

Although he is no longer working alone, Cameron remains "very inspired by people who can make literally a masterpiece on a four-track cassette recorder" and hopes to retain the simplicity of his previous production despite the growing complexity of the songs' arrangements. And, even though Cameron has been stationed in LA for more than five years, Sedona still plays a major role in Waterlaso's sound, particularly in some of the more Fleetwood Mac-inspired tunes like "Inconsistent Magic [Constant Release]."

"A lot of that has influenced the music, being slightly new age myself," he says. "It's hard to live somewhere for 10 years and not have it rub off on you." - Santa Monica Mirror Newspaper, Vol. 9, Issue 17

NPR.org, Waterlaso's philosophy behind his music is that "classic pop is an art, and the clever but insightful single can not only change your life, but provide words to live by."

Waterlaso, aka Michael Cameron, is a Los Angeles-based musician who records his pop songs in his home. Likewise, according to Waterlaso, everything heard on his album was recorded in one take – done to "capture (his) true excitement for what (he) does."

"The true masters like Bowie, The Smiths, Phil Spector and Talking Heads were able to produce music that is instantly catchy, that's not only a soundtrack to your party but can also heal during your darkest moments," Waterlaso says.

As Waterlaso strives to provide a unique soundtrack to listeners' lives, his pop songs have an immediate reminder of the tech-happy, complex pop of the early '80s. Waterlaso also takes influence from the Talking Heads, New Order and My Bloody Valentine.

The featured track on Made Crooked: By Mountain Fighting is "You’ve Made It Miserable To Be Poor." - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5183721

Waterlaso is the Internet's best-kept indie-rock secret, and it's set to take the music world by storm. As the principle songwriter, Michael Cameron has done his homework. His LA-based band churns out carefully crafted indie pop masterpieces peppered with just enough obscure musical references set against body-rocking beats, resulting in an addicting explosion of dance-rock that is equal parts bittersweet and uplifting. Waterlaso's bouncy, introspective sound skips the droning wail that characterizes so many of today's bands in favor of quirky, infectious melodies layered over sublime beats. A surreal dream with a hint of noir, the music is at times lighthearted and almost deceptively simple. Clever, haunting lyrics linger over pulsating backbeats, navigating love and loss with a poetic self-awareness.

Lead vocalist/guitarist Cameron started writing and recording as Waterlaso while living in Sedona, Arizona over 10 years ago. The group underwent various incarnations as he struggled to bring the energy and passion of his recordings to the stage. After two solo shows Waterlaso emerged on the Los Angeles music scene as a quartet in August 2006, playing its first gig at the appropriately titled Gig on Melrose. The cyber-cast of the show reverberated around the Internet in the aftermath as Waterlaso's far-flung fans embraced the new lineup. The addition of Josh Winter on Keyboards increased the buzz surrounding live shows, bringing a much needed visability and a burst of creative energy among its members. 2008 holds big promises for Waterlaso as it take its refreshingly original pop to a new audience.

Roz Eggebroten is a Barnard junior and bulletin staff writer. - Barnard/Columbia University Newspaper Sept 19th 2007

Wednesday, 19 September 2007 Review By Sameerah Blue

Waterlaso

Made Crooked: By Mountain Fighting

Unsigned

Rating 5.0 out of 5.0

Waterlaso is a band that is somewhere in between happy sweet pop sunshine and tender sadness. "Your Mother Knows Us as Boy Whores" is a song that feels like you've just bitten into sparkling happiness carrying great bass lines and an disco/ synthpop inspried hook, but it turns out to be bitter fruit when you taste the bitter acid lyrics dancing against your tongue. They're Ganging Up to Kill Me may be the most fun you will ever have listening to a song about murder its that catchy. Waterlaso is a fun danceable band that you will have loads of fun with especially if you're a fan of synthpop and abstract lyrics. I also hear a tale that these guys put on one hell of a show. so if you're in LA check them out sometime. check out their myspace page www.myspace.com/waterlaso for show dates. - Ectomag

Waterlaso makes lo-fi electronic pop.

Don't groan. We aren't talking about pounding out Pavement covers with the Human Voice feature on that Casio you got for Christmas in 1984. Instead, Waterlaso creates the intimate sound of late night bedroom dancing by juxtaposing the thump of strobelit dancefloors with soft, lilting vocals and silvery guitars filtered through a homegrown studio. In an age where even demos can sound ready for Top 40 radio, Waterlaso's debut album, What Have You Ever Done To Deserve Everything You've Ever Wanted (2002), is a refreshing change. It is a sound that thrives in an environment free from the glassy sheen of modern pop.

Michael Cameron, the twenty-five-year-old mind behind Waterlaso, wrote his first song at the age of seven, something he describes as "a slight variation between 'Axel F' and the theme from 'Cheers.'" Years later, 1999 to be precise, he began work on what would become What Have You Ever...Wanted. In addition, he has DJed at the Phoenix-based indie club Panic and at the Garage in Los Angeles, shortly before that club morphed into The Little Temple, put together the zine New Generation Press (yes, like Suede's song) and authored the short story collection Fixxodent & Forget.

Cameron is about ready to self-release his second effort under the Waterlaso moniker, The Out of Africa Sunset EP. While we at The People's Dance Party could sit here and type about what we think are his influences and how this EP is the best thing we've heard in who knows how long, but we prefer to avoid this scenario. Instead, we emailed ten completely random questions to Waterlaso and awaited ten completely random responses.

# Why do you live in Los Angeles?

I've always wanted to live here, I came here for the first time on my birthday when I was 7 and I loved it. I still have really fond memories of being here then. Like driving by the fountains in Century City at night listening to Double's "Captain of Her Heart" on the radio. I love driving through the city at night. To this day I turn on the smooth jazz station when I'm by there, it's still one of my favorite things. I like that so much goes on here. I need to always feel like something's happening or I can't sleep, so when I become unconscious other people take over for me. I also just knew I was supposed to come here and I didn't question it. I've met so many great people since I've been here, it's unlike anywhere else in the world. I also love seeing live music, which you can do anywhere, but not like you can here. Everyone plays here at sometime or another, so if you have slightly obscure taste you need to be in a city like this.

# It's 3:00 a.m. and you can't sleep. What do you do?

It's pretty regular that I can't sleep at 3am or even at 8am. If I'm not working on music or writing, then I'm probably watching movies I've seen 1000 times again. I love the movie Morvern Callar, I'll put it in a couple times a week. I have DVDs of Galaxie 500 and Suede that I've been watching a lot lately too. Heavenly Creatures is also another standard. I've seen it so many times I can no longer count. I used to live in a building that would let me BBQ at all hours of the night out by the swimming pool. So I would have my own private BBQ party at 2:45am and go swimming afterward. I couldn't have music outside that late, but those were some of the best times I've even spent alone. The pool had really nice showering facilities too.

# What is the most disturbingly fanboy thing you have ever done?

I really worship Momus. His lyrics and experimentation with pop music are a huge inspiration for me. I finally got to see him play last year at Spaceland. I really wanted Momus to have a copy of my album, but I just didn't know what to say, so I just stood there for a while until the singer from the Seahorse Liberation Army saw I was waiting to meet him and took me up and introduced me. It was really nice to get to tell him how important his music was to me, and when he saw my album cover he appeared to be really impressed by the picture I took for it. It's a great memory for me. Aside from that, a few friends and I have driven by Morrissey's house a couple times in the middle of the night and plotted how I can get a picture of him checking his mail. But that's not strange though, I think everyone wants to see what he looks like getting his mail.

# What is your favorite book and why?

I love Being There [Jersy Kosinski], The Little Prince [Antoine de Saint-Exupery] or David Sedaris' Naked. All three of those really changed my life and affected my creative process. I've written a short novel and those books have changed the way I approach humor, sadness and helped me to see how to accomplish a refined overall tone to my lyrics and novel. If I had to choose just one I would take the The Little Prince, it is so effective, I remember I cried my way through the last pages or so the first and second time I read it. It does everything that people promised me that Harry Potter would, but it's ten times better.

# What is your first musical memory?

Probably hearing Lionel Ritchie or "Let's Hear It For The Boy" by Deniece Williams on the radio. I have memories of seeing Culture Club on TV very early too, possibly the first image of musicians I ever had. My dad made me watch a lot of Elvis specials on TV when I was really young too, and I still remember old-Elvis from those programs very vividly giving his all beyond what his body could really take at that point. It was really moving even then.

# Have you ever or do you ever feel like a scenester?

Haha, yeah sometimes I do. For a long time I was out at the clubs most nights of the week and I even used to DJ quite a bit then. I was putting out my own electronic/indie zine and going to any show that looked half way decent. I think it was to make up for being such a recluse for so many years living in northern AZ, all I did was record music. So when I moved to Phoenix and then LA, I really started making up for lost time. I still feel like I want to go to every show that comes through, but I've been so busy recording and writing for quite a while now I've not been out as much as I would like.

# What goes through your mind when you are dancing?

It's always different and random, but it's definitely specific to when I'm dancing. I guess I think about the lyrics mostly to get in touch with the drama of the song, and my favorite videos. I try not to think about my dancing, because if you put too much thought into it or are too self-conscious about it, it turns out bad.

# Which song are you most proud to call your own and why?

I really love the concept and lyrics behind "Pyramid Lion." I like the relationship of the characters and their love for each other. I also love "The Out Of Africa Sunset," which is about comodification of nature and love and snapping from not being able to play a role that is advertised by our culture-- and it's a fun dance song! But it's really hard to choose, because each song is such a tiny part of expressing something. I love what an entire album communicates, when you can pick up on one statement from each song and see how it fits in with your idea of the album's concept it's very powerful. - Thepeoplesdanceparty.com