THE BOTS

Artist Information

Biography

Forging their own path in today’s music industry, brothers and band-mates Mikaiah Lei, 18, and Anaiah Lei, 14, are producing an infectious strain of rock and with a style all their own. Known for their fast-paced driving drums, grinding melodies and radical breakdowns, The Bots’ songs have been reviewed as ‘fresh’ and ‘raw’, their deep appreciation for the truth of their music always evident, never over producing and ever exploring a variety different styles and instruments.

The Bots have recorded three albums, two of them singles, and are currently working on their next full length. “Self-Titled Album” (2009), “Black and White Lights” (2010), and "Ladies & Gentlemen" (2011) all available on iTunes. They have put forth an army of videos on YouTube, played (and continue to play) an extensive string of live shows around the L.A. area over the past two years and have played both the Vans Warped Tour ’10 and '11, the Afro-Punk Tour ‘09 and ’10.

Mikaiah (lead guitar, vocals), was 15 years old and brother Anaiah (drums, backup vocals), was 12 when their band The Bots recorded their first album, “Self-Titled Album” at Paramount Ameraycan Studios in Hollywood, CA in the spring of 2009. It consists of 10 original tracks that the boys co-wrote together and one cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s song, “Art Star”.

By the spring of 2010 they were back at Paramount recording a two-track single, “Black and White Lights” that includes their songs “Notre Monde” and “No One Knows”, almost complete opposites of one another in their pacing, structure and attitude but both delivering insightful and often profound lyrics within their haunting melodies. The boys maintain that the words are very much secondary to the emotions evoked by the music itself.

Two months later in June 2010, The Bots were re-united with long-time family friend and front man for the Bad Brains, H.R., after opening for them on the Afro Punk Tour in Brooklyn, NY. They describe the experience as a definite highlight of their career, while articles and reviews hailed their performance as watching the ‘future of punk’.

In the spring of 2011, they linked up with Agent Orange drummer and producer, Dave Klein, who along with the boys produced their most recent single "Ladies & Gentlemen" which includes the tracks "Northern Lights" and "Vanity".

They put out a video for "Northern Lights", (a video release for "Vanity" is expected as well this fall) and then were on the road for the 2011 Vans Warped Tour where they played Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, TX, Las Cruses NM, Las Vegas NV, Pomona CA, Ventura CA, Mountain View CA, Kansas, Indiana, Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota!

The reviews from the Vans Warped Tour included a write-up in RollingStone:

"One of the day's coolest, most unexpected sets was delivered by the Bots–- two brothers from Glendale, California, ages 13 and 18 – playing tough and melodic punk 'n' blues in the Black Keys mode. "I'm pretty sure their mom is out on tour and watching over them," Against Me!'s Tom Gabel told Rolling Stone backstage, calling the young duo one of his favorite acts on this year's 44-date tour."

–RollingStone [ July 5, 2011]

The brothers credit their mother, for her guidance and faith and their father, for his support and inspiration. Their broad span of influences include Black Flag, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, LA’s Wasted Youth, Circle Jerks, Rancid, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The XX.

Instrumentation

Mikaiah Lei - Vocals/Guitar/Keys
Anaiah Lei - Drums/Backup Vocals

Discography

"Self-Titled Album" 2009 (LP)

1. You Name It, We Got It
2. These Feelings
3. My Apparatus
4. War
5. Stop
6. I Like Your Style
7. We Are Not Kids Anymore
8. You Are A Liar
9. Dream
10. Old Days
11. Art Star


"Black and White Lights" 2010 (EP)

1. Notre Monde
2. No One Knows

"Ladies and Gentlemen" 2011 (2-track single)

1. Vanity
2. Northern Lights

Links

• Afro-Punk
• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace

Audio

• Vanity
  Listen  
• Northern Lights
  Listen  
• I Like Your Style
  Listen  
• Notre Monde
  Listen  
• Old Days
  Listen  
• No One Knows
  Listen  
• You Are A Liar
  Listen  
• Stop
  Listen  
• Art Star
  Listen  
• We Are Not Kids Anymore
  Listen  

Video

THE BOTS - Northern Lights.mov

I_Like_Your_Style_Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Warped Tour Roars Into SoCal Home Base [+ Show ]
  

  "One of the day's coolest, most unexpected sets was delivered by the Bots–- two brothers from Glenda..."One of the day's coolest, most unexpected sets was delivered by the Bots–- two brothers from Glendale, California, ages 13 and 18 – playing tough and melodic punk 'n' blues in the Black Keys mode. "I'm pretty sure their mom is out on tour and watching over them," Against Me!'s Tom Gabel told Rolling Stone backstage, calling the young duo one of his favorite acts on this year's 44-date tour."

• The 8 Best Moments of Brooklyn's Afro-Punk Festival [+ Show ]
  

  BEST NEWCOMERS: THE BOTS Coming on after P.O.S. and before Bad Brains is not an easy slot to fill. ...BEST NEWCOMERS: THE BOTS
  Coming on after P.O.S. and before Bad Brains is not an easy slot to fill. Still, the Bots, a duo of brothers from L.A., held their own -- and they're not even old enough to buy a pack of smokes. Drummer Anaiah, 12, and singer/guitarist Mikaiah, 16, played an out-sized blend of scuzz punk and garage rock to a thrilled, slightly stunned crowd Saturday night -- the largest of the day so far. Whether insisting his audience "go crazy on this one" while rolling around on the ground with his sky-blue Danelectro guitar, or jumping out into the audience to sing a verse, Mikaiah played confidently, like he'd been doing this professionally since preschool. And his little brother was no slouch behind the kit either, his massive red knit cap nearly popping off his head with each pound on the snare. It was the Bots' first time in New York -- but they'll definitely be back before Mikaiah graduates high school.
  
  BEST FOREFATHERS: BAD BRAINS
  A crowd littered with punks, metalheads, hip-hoppers, skaters, and BMXers swelled to capacity for punk veterans Bad Brains. And even in their old age -- each member is over 50 -- the quartet did not disappoint. The opening one-two punch of "Attitude" and "Right Brigade" -- pulled, like most of Bad Brains' set, from their seminal self-titled debut -- had the mosh pit kids in a frenzy and parents hoisting toddlers on their shoulders. Even when the quartet delved into their less-appreciated reggae material, they never strayed long enough to lose the crowd's attention. By the end of the night, the Brains had Anaiah Lei, the 12-year-old drummer from awesome newcomers the Bots (see review below) crowd-surfing to his heart's content (unbeknownst, of course, to his mother) -- as sure a sign as any that the band's influence will remain long after they've quit the festival circuit.

• The Bots nominated for 'Best Punk Artist' - All Indie Music Awards 2012 [+ Show ]
  

  On Friday, February 1oth, 2012 the All Indie Music Awards will be hosted at the famous Key Club loca...On Friday, February 1oth, 2012 the All Indie Music Awards will be hosted at the famous Key Club located on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA.
  

• Afro-Punk Festival Explores Another Side of Black Culture [+ Show ]
  

  It’s easy to point to icons like Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim and Busta Rhymes as Brooklyn’s fi...It’s easy to point to icons like Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim and Busta Rhymes as Brooklyn’s finest, musically speaking. But the latest installment of the Afro-Punk festival, which bills itself as “the other black experience,” questions the idea that African-American culture and hip-hop have to go hand in hand.
  
  With more than 20 bands, from Ninjasonik, to punk legends Bad Brains, to tween rockers The Bots, Afro-Punk explores the pocket of life where punk rock, hip-hop and urban culture collide — all in musically and ethnically diverse Brooklyn. This past weekend at Commodore Barry Park, inside the chain link fences on the hot and shadeless blacktop, people of all colors, shapes and styles converged and pushed the definition of Brooklyn music. From the cackles and rhythm of skateboards grinding on ramps built for the festival’s skating competition, to the beats of Belikos, the festival showed how creative and diverse this lesser-known Brooklyn sound, and the culture it fosters, can be.

• Warped Tour 2010 - Day 50: BOISE, ID [+ Show ]
  

  For the 50th day of tour things started to get pretty bittersweet. Homestretch, 3 shows left and the...For the 50th day of tour things started to get pretty bittersweet. Homestretch, 3 shows left and then adios. Boise, Idaho is where we stopped for our first show back out of California. i caought sets from typical tour acts like TheWord Alive and Mike Posner, but a big surprise was in store when I wandered by the Kevin Says Stage during The Bots set. The kids, literally KIDS, were jamming so hard that I spyed a few members of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die lurking in the corwd. Watch the video and decide for yourself, but that's some serious backage...

• Have you heard of The Bots? --two brothers from Glendale, California who are causing quite a buzz with their debut album. [+ Show ]
  

  Interview by Rob Fields How did you two get your start with music? Mikaiah: It’s always presen...Interview by Rob Fields
  
  How did you two get your start with music?
  
  Mikaiah: It’s always present in our family. We have a musical family, you know, my parents are Rastafari so reggae was always playing. They loved music, and we’ve always loved music .
  
  Anaiah: And our dad always showed us music on the computer too. We always did that too.
  
  M: Yeah that’s something we always did together, us and him, since we were like 5 years old. He’d show us the stuff he liked, like hardcore stuff, and rock today. And yeah, and you know our dad used to take us to the studio a lot. His friends are engineers.
  
  What’s it like having to balance touring and school?
  
  M: I actually haven’t noticed the change. We don’t participate in any activities at school. We just do our music. We go to school, we do a show, we practice.
  
  How are other teenagers reacting to you?
  
  A: They’re really inspired. We get comments on our MySpace page that some kids are now picking up instruments because of us.
  
  M: My friends are really happy for me. They’ve been supportive. I’m still that kid in school. My friends still treat me the same. I play music, and my friends know about it. That’s all. They let me know I’m still a normal kid.
  
  What has been your favorite out of all the shows you’ve played so far?
  
  A: The best was opening was for Saul Williams for [The] Afro-Punk [Tour]. Yea. That was so fun, that was definitely my favorite show, crowd surfing and everything. That was epic.
  
  M: Best show though… my favorite? I would have to say the Rastafarai Music Festival, when we were younger. It was our first real show, I think I was 12 and I played “Redemption Song” on my guitar. Yeah, it was crazy … I guess people didn’t know what to expect. But I think I felt then, like this was something I could really do.
  
  To what extent have you thought about careers in music?
  
  M: We really want to continue to be musicians. When I was younger, I wanted to be a chef, but my teacher makes it seems so complicated. I’d rather just do my music. But being in music is a big choice to make. Most kids—I don’t want to sound like we’re bragging—aren’t like us and don’t want to be as seriously involved in music as we are. When we first started off, it was just for fun. Over time, I had to make the decision whether to get serious and I did, so my life has kind of changed from what it was. It’s just what my life is now.
  
  When you’re not touring and making your own music, what do you do to chill out?
  
  A: Lots of videogames. Guitar Hero or Rock Band.
  
  M: He’s super good. He’s an expert on all the instruments. I’m terrible at the game. I can’t do the guitar. I can play it in real life, but not on the videogames.
  
  Any plans to add any other instrumentation?
  
  A: We don’t plan on adding new members. But we plan on collaborations with other artists.
  
  M: I’d like to add bass. Myself, that is. I don’t want to add anybody else to the band, I just want to play additional instruments.
  
  “Old Days” towards the end of the album is really nice.
  
  A: Our Auntie Emily recorded the piano for us.
  
  M: I wrote the piano piece.
  
  A: But she recorded it for us.
  
  M: I was too lazy to just play the guitar part and go back and re-record the piano, so we had her do it at the same time I was playing!
  
  To check out more tunes by Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei, and the debut album from The Bots, head to www.thebotsband.com
  
  Rob Fields writes about black rock, Afro-Punk and black alternative music and culture on his blog www.boldaslove.us

• Brothers slam as the Bots: Teen siblings with punk rock in their roots take to some high-profile stages. [+ Show ]
  

  By Steve Appleford, steve.appleford@latimes.com 4:08 p.m. CDT, November 4, 2011 “Check, check, che...By Steve Appleford, steve.appleford@latimes.com
  4:08 p.m. CDT, November 4, 2011
  “Check, check, check! — I’m checking,” says Anaiah Lei, 14-year-old drummer for the Bots, looking up from his microphone as a soundman adjusts the volume. He’s in a small Silver Lake practice studio with his big brother, 18-year-old singer-guitarist Mikaiah Lei, ready for another night of rehearsal.
  
  The Bots are a couple of Glendale teenagers who play music rooted in the same punk and blues traditions as the White Stripes and the Black Keys, and have already gotten the attention of rock fans during live sets both locally and during more than a dozen shows on this year’s Vans Warped Tour. They’ve been mentioned in the New York Times, Spin and Rolling Stone, and this spring, the Bots will tour the U.K. for the first time.
  
  “People are intrigued because we’re a young band,” says Mikaiah with a smile. “They always assume we’re much younger than we are. They think I look 12 and my brother looks 7: ‘These guys are so young, it’s awesome!’”
  
  This isn’t Justin Bieber or Hanson. Anaiah hits the drums hard, has braces and wears a T-shirt that reads: “Punk never dies.” His brother stands tall at the microphone, slashing at an electric guitar, wearing a colorful shirt decorated with rainbow trout. The band’s self-released recordings are raw and hook-filled rock songs. (They are available for streaming or purchase at thebotsband.com.)
  
  During the rehearsal, Mikaiah begins strumming a ballad called “Old Days,” a slower, wistful song written when he was 13. “That’s one of my favorite songs,” says his mother, Akosua Lei, who watches from a nearby stool. She is also their manager. “And I asked him, when did he learn about the old days?”
  
  The Bots will perform Nov. 12 at the Universal Bar & Grill in North Hollywood, and join Mos Def at Hollywood Park Race Track on Jan. 7.
  
  “It doesn’t make sense to me why people enjoy live music,” Mikaiah says, joking. “It’s very nasty and loud and sweaty and weird. I guess people like it, and I like it. It’s interesting how people are gathered around — a bunch of strangers — for the same reason. I find it fascinating how this sound inspires movement and all this weird stuff.”
  
  Before hitting the road with the Bots, the only time Mikaiah had ever left California was at age 13 on a visit to a grandmother in Texas. Last year, the Bots opened a show in New York City for the groundbreaking punk-rock act Bad Brains, whose enigmatic singer, H.R., is a longtime friend of their father, Alex Lei, formerly of the influential Goldenvoice Productions. “When we were growing up, H.R. was around the house a lot. They were very good friends. It’s awesome to have someone like him around and not really know who he was until we got older.”
  
  On the road with Warped, Mikaiah says other bands were supportive and offered tips and lessons. One good friend he made was guitarist Joe Nelson of the hardcore band I Set My Friends On Fire: “He told me you don’t have to play as hard. He told me about wrist control. You don’t have to bash your strings. You can play firm and steady and keep the heavy sound at the same time. I use that in my playing.”
  
  Both brothers work at rehearsals twice a week, and Mikaiah is constantly writing new material. He estimates he’s written about 70 songs. “I like to get up onstage and show another side of myself,” he says. “I’m much more exciting when I’m performing. You can’t spazz out and shake your body and talk about things that make no sense on a normal day without people thinking you’re insane. Music allows you to express a weird side of yourself, which is great.”

• Punks, Skaters, and Everyone In Between Get Warped at The Gorge [+ Show ]
  

  4:00 PM: Teggart/Main Stage: "...Dillinger [Escape Plan] stopped mid-set and invited L.A. blues/punk...4:00 PM: Teggart/Main Stage: "...Dillinger [Escape Plan] stopped mid-set and invited L.A. blues/punk duo The Bots up on stage. During their set time. The Bots (a pair of Los Angeles-based brothers, age 17 and 13) made the most of an awesome opportunity, breaking up Dillinger's set with a pretty mind-melting, energetic double shot of hollering, filthy blues. The members of Dillinger Escape Plan waited on the side of the stage, watching with giant smiles and obvious looks of admiration on their faces in what was a pretty special moment. After The Bots hugged all of Dillinger, the band came back even more ferociously, with Weinman and Tuttle jumping off of 6+ foot tall stacks, and ending their set with Tuttle solo'ing while being carried through the crowd on someone's shoulders, then running through the middle of the crowd, still playing guitar while knocking into hundreds of surprised audience members."

• Concert Review: Afro-Punk Festival [+ Show ]
  

  ...The music portion of the festival started Saturday with acts such as P.O.S., The Bots, Ninjasonik......The music portion of the festival started Saturday with acts such as P.O.S., The Bots, Ninjasonik, and others all opeing for the evenings headliner, Bad Brains. Fitting with the whole point of Afro-Punk Festival, there was a wide range of music genres represented throughout the weekend but each set was connected in that they all required tons of dancing (or jumping) and lots of sweat. The Bots were probably my favorite performance Saturday night. They haven't even graduated from high school yet (the drummer is actually only 12), and the duo behid The Bots, brothers Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei, seem to have already amassed a strong following of fans. Their music ranges from punk to reggae and everything in between. Both boys are really talented musicians and by the time they actually do finish high school they're going to be pretty much unstoppable. They are eagerly anticipating the July 25th release of their debut album Self-Titled Album and I'm excited to hear what they're bringing...

• Random Cool: Bad Brains, Mos Def, The Bots & More Rock 2010 Afro-Punk Fest [+ Show ]
  

  The other band to check out is The Bots! In the tradition of hard hitting kid bands like Tiny Master...The other band to check out is The Bots! In the tradition of hard hitting kid bands like Tiny Masters of Today, these two brothers, Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei, banged out power punk chords and drum beats. Already awesome at 16 and 12, this duo will only get better.

Setlist

The Bots do not use Set Lists:)

Basic Requirements

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