Getting to know the 2016 LA Music Critic Award Winners – The Spider Accomplice

We have now completed 11 of our 17 interviews with the winners of the LA Music Critic Awards, and have published seven.  Let’s get back to our next winners, an up and coming rock band out of Los Angeles who go by the name The Spider Accomplice.  They were the winners of the Best Video (Webseries) for their very creative Indiegogo crowd funding campaign The Abduction, as well as Best Rock Band.

The band is composed of VK Lynne on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Arno Numisto on lead guitar and backing vocals and Justin Lee Dixon on drums and percussion.  Sit back, grab a whiskey and learn things about this amazing trio of musicians who are taking their audiences captive.  Let me warn you – it’s a long way cause these guys had a lot to say.

IVB:  How long have you been performing?

VK:  My first time on stage was at the age of 12.  The first time I met you was at The Gig on Melrose at a Music Connection showcase back in 2005.  Basically, I’m always performing.  I’ve done musical theater, pop/rock, country rock, blues, metal, prog, goth/glam and now modern rock.  I even got the chance recently to direct theater again.  I like to do things simultaneously, otherwise nothing would get done.  I stared directing about 20 years ago.  My first directing gig was a web series.

Arno:  I first started at the age of 10 (or 8 years ago).   I’ve been in quite a few different kinds of bands and had a few influences.  I mostly play guitar and bass and started playing mandolin a few weeks ago.  I think that songwriting is fun.

Justin:  I have been playing drums since I was eight.  As a side fact, Arno and I were born on the same day but nine years apart – that makes us very competitive.

IVB:   Who are your influences?

Arno:  I love great songwriting, regardless of genre – it’s  all about the feeling the song creates:  My favorites are Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Metallica, Jimi Hendrix – classic rock in general.

Justin:  I also grew up on classic rock acts like Metallica, Iron Maiden, KISS, and Megadeth.  Their Countdown to Extinction and Rest in Peace albums especially made a mark on me.  I made mix tapes of their music.   I studied music in grade school and learned about classical and jazz music.  I loved the music of Buddy Rich and Alvin Jones, Miles Davis and John Coltraine and Thelonious Monk.  In high school I started listening to progressive metal and rock – bands like Dream Theater and the like.  I was also heavily influenced by Korn’s original drummer, David Silveria.

VK:  For me it was artists like Patsy Cline, Melissa Ethridge, and Beth Hart – they put every emotion into their music.  As a result I am very transparent in my songwriting and all my emotions come out in my music.  I also loved the honesty of Emily Dickinson in her writing.

IVB:   What made you decide to DIY?

VK:  A lack of funds.  We really didn’t have any money so we learned to improvise.   We all have very strong opinions and a very strong vision of where we want to go and we didn’t want to have anyone telling us what to do.

IVB:  Who came up with the idea for The Abduction?

VK:  Justin came up with the idea while brainstorming on cannabis.  But seriously, we all try to contribute – one thing leads to another.  Since it’s so corrupt in the (music) business these days, the only way to truly find funding is through crowdfunding platforms.  And since basically they are holding us hostage, why don’t we frame it like we need to pay a ransom to make a new CD.

Arno:  We decided VK would be the face of the campaign.  We wanted (the campaign) to be campy and different so it would stand out from the pack.  So we created a storyline to get people involved.

IVB:  Are you seeking to be a mainstream artist?

Arno:  We do have a desire to be in the mainstream market, but we all have vastly different experience in the business.  We want to do what WE want to do, and DIY offers that as opposed to mainstream.  Our music is very marketable and accessible to everyone, but we don’t want to give up our soul, our brains and our talents for the benefit of someone else.  It (a label deal) would have to be so awesome as to make us change our mind.   We’re sick of hearing the horror stories of friends who have label deals.   Honestly, you can do so much on your own now, why should you give that up to be a mainstream artist?

IVB:  What are your future plans?

VK:  We will be completing the new album, and plan to release it at the end of September.  It’s called Los Angeles:  the Abduction, and it contains six tracks.  We are trying to take one thing at a time.  At t his point, touring is an expensive proposition.  We’ve been spending all the money we raised on Indiegogo to complete the album and promote it.    Right now there are no plans to tour in the near future.

IVB:  Any good stories from touring/recording/performing?

VK:  Honestly, most of them are unprintable, but there was this time . . . We were so devastated and at the same time so angry when the van break down while we were on tour.  It began making such a horrible noise and then it just died in front of a Catholic church near the Arch in St. Louis at 10:30 pm.  It truly was a POS and a rolling death trap.  A guy on a bike came up and asked how he could help.  He called a tow truck for us.  We convinced the driver to let us ride in the van on the flatbed.  We had to stay out of sight so the cops wouldn’t see us.   We finally got back to our hotel in St. Louis where our guitarist was crying like a baby.  I got a message on Facebook from one of our fans that it was her husband that helped us.  We just sat around the room, sang acoustic songs and drank beer, and decided everything would look better in the morning.   The van was demolished but we got through it because we never give up.

7. Any social media?

VK:  The usual sources – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and ReverbNation, to name a few.