Ima Robot

MEMBERS:

Alex Ebert (vocals),
Timmy "the Terror" Anderson (guitar/flutes),
Andy Marlow (guitar/keyboards),
Filip Nikolic
(bass), and Scott Devours
(drums).

Album:

Better Than Knowing Where You Are

Past Albums:

Ima Robot.

Release Date:

September 12, 2006.

You'll Like 'Em If You Like:

The Killers, Panic! At The Disco, and Hot Hot Heat.

Ima Robot on Ima Robot in Five Words or Less:

Black and blue.

Ima Robot isn't like other rock bands in that it blends rap and rock, but not in a Limp Bizkit sort of way. How do you see the two genres relating?
To me, hip-hop was my generation's punk rock. It was something that came along and everyone wanted to find out where it was coming from -- what was creating this new sound and who were the players involved you wanted to find out all the information and get a part of it, which is a rabid, viral thing. New musical genres come along once every 30 years, and when hip-hop came along, it was the late 80s and early 90s. We were kids, and that was exciting. To me, rap totally relates to rock. All music is defined by attitude. Hip-hop's attitude was very punk rock, it was "We're gonna get out, this is our thing."

Would Ima Robot ever put out a straight rap song?
There's rapping on this record. There's couple of songs where Alex is just kind of flipping through lyrics, not sing-rapping but just talking. Kids who heard it say that he's a dope rapper. It's kind of funny -- it's come full circle. People hear so much hip-hop [in our] music when we're not really trying to infuse it there. It's just a part of what we grew up with.

SPITALFIELD