There may be no group in Austin right now as suave, sultry, and infectiously grooving as Los Bad Apples. Helmed by Anita Benner with local standout rapper Zeale serving as counterpunch and opposite anchor, the quintet melds smooth R&B and Hip-Hop with jazz and Latin influences and hard driving dance beats. While the Black Eyed Peas are an inevitable point of comparison, as much for LBA’s diversity as their sound, the group’s eclectic vibe feels like a distinctly Austin hybrid, and their backgrounds from classically trained Bossa Nova and jazz, to streetwise rhymes, to Latin pop all come to bear on their recently released, eponymous debut album. Los Bad Apples have already started garnering international acclaim, and have some exciting upcoming collaborations in the works that will likely be bringing them much more attention in the next few months. Catch them while you can this Friday, July 3, at Lambert’s, for a show that will also bring DJ Chicken George back into the LBA fold.
Profile: Los Bad Apples
Year Formed:
October 2007
Members/Instruments played:
Anita Benner - lead singer & songwriter
Zeale - emcee
Aldo Ramon - bass
Greg Jones - Guitar
Joseph Serrato - Sax, keys, laptop
Honorary Bad Apple: DJ Chicken George (he took Joseph’s place on tour with us to the Middle East)
Former Bands/Side Projects:
Anita - as for what pays the bills, I worked at Dell for 9yrs in various sales and marketing roles, and currently I’m a Music Design Consultant for the sensory branding firm, DMX. My first band was a Bossa Nova duo called Aquarela. My 2nd was a 10-piece Salsa group called Morena Flor. Now, In addition to LBA I am collaborating with several wonderful local artists including Haydn Vitera (we wrote the song “The Way I’d Love You” which has been getting radio play on 92.5) and Vallejo. I recently wrote a song with Asdru Sierra (lead singer and founder of the multi Grammy-winning group Ozomatli). We recorded a rough take in the bathroom of La Quinta 
Zeale - also fronts Boombox and has a successful solo project
Greg Jones - has shared the stage with artists such as Cubanismo, Ozomatli, Blues Traveler, Brave Combo, Horace Silver and The Rebirth Brass Band. Greg has produced music for commercials, webcasts and film, and for the last 3 years has run the guitar program at Victoria College.
Joseph Serrato - occasionally performs with Boombox as well has heavy hitters Jason Mraz and Christian Castro. Joseph works full-time for Apple.
Aldo Ramon - often joins cumbia legends Los Super Reyes on their Latin American concerts where they play to sold out stadiums of screaming fans. Aldo also works full-time for Apple and stays busy chasing his 4 daughters around.
Albums:
2009 - “Los Bad Apples” (independently released)
Influences:
Our influences range from Jazz legends like Sarah Vaughn and Coltrane to traditional Latin artists like Celia Cruz and Oscar D’Leon (who we opened for last year). I love Brazilian singers Marisa Monte and Bebel Gilberto (both of whom I’ve been fortunate enough to meet). Zeale is a Talib Kweli fan and he just opened for him at Emo’s this week! We’re huge fans of the Black Eyed Peas (we’re often compared to them as their Latin counterpart) and of course, what artist hasn’t been influenced by Michael Jackson? I’m still in denial.
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
one magazine proclaimed that “Los Bad Apples will be to Latin Hip Hop what Selena was to Tejano”. I don’t relate to Tejano music and our sound isn’t remotely similar to Selena’s but if we ever reach her level of fame we’ll be THRILLED!
Favorite local bands:
My friend James Kinney is going to be huge. He’s got a similar style as John Legend and he just got signed to the biggest R&B/Hip Hop management company in the country, so catch him here in town while you can! I also love Cienfuegos (they played at my wedding) and Suzanna Choffel has a captivating voice.
Upcoming shows scheduled:
July 3rd @ Lamberts…9:30pm
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
The Black Eyed Peas or No Doubt!
Austin Sound questions:
Everyone in the band has such diverse and rich musical backgrounds. Does the songwriting ever get chaotic trying to wrangle all the influences together?
YES. Just this week Joseph and I were debating our different interpretations of a track he produced. I had written a melody & lyrics with a retro Swing feel (similar to Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics album), but he had interpreted it as an edgier Hip Hop song – less melody & more attitude.
We read that y’all have some pretty awesome collaborations in the works - can you tell us anything about them yet?
Don’t want to comment too much yet, but I will say that it’s awesome to attract the attention of people you admire. To have the opportunity to work with them is surreal!
Song Introduction:
“Pobre Corazon” is the song I chose to feature because it was just featured prominently on the MTV reality show Paris Hilton’s My New BFF! The song is the story of how I came to date my ex (who is a member of the Grammy-nominated band Grupo Fantasma). I’ll refrain from divulging additional details!
Sound Off:
Just as our musical style spans a wide range of influences, my mission through music is to promote diversity. It’s our racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious, sexual, cultural and political differences that make us all interesting and unique. Unfortunately it’s also these differences which cause so many of the troubles we encounter on a personal and global level. My hope is that by promoting diversity through our music and message, we’ll help in a small way to bridge those divides.
Mp3 from Los Bad Apples:
Pobre Corazon
Websites:
http://losbadapples.com
Myspace
