People have tried to label Los Angeles band the Knitts’ music—everything from anti-emo to post punk to Anglo pop to garage rock. But the easiest way to describe their raw, no-sampler, no-drum machine and no-filler sound? Rock & roll, baby.

For a band that was birthed in the Valley and raised on a plethora of live shows (thanks to a hookup at the former Hollywood music venue, The Knitting Factory, where they got their name) you’d expect nothing less than frenetic energy, which is all over their just-released EP Simple Folk. Made up of brothers Volkens—Charlie on guitar, Justin on vocals, and Brandon on drums—plus lead guitarist Victor Portillo and bassist Jaime “Jimmy” Luque, the Knitts divulge all to Myspace via the premiere of “Erotic Aquatic.” (Listen above.) Justin talks to Myspace about their party-hard music and the band’s origins.

Hometown: Queens, New York. Ozone Park to be exact, is where Charlie and I are from. Brandon, from North Carolina. Jimmy and Victor are Los Angeles born.

Homebase: Reseda, California is currently our resting grounds.

You’re pretty much a band made up of family, right?

Charlie, Brandon and I are brothers. When [we] first moved to California from New York in 1997 we met Jimmy in the apartment building we lived in and Victor and I became quick friends in 9th grade.

It was always inevitable we would form a band, and it was hardly a discussion since we all played together in various projects throughout our teen years. We sort of discovered music together. Since we were either born into the same family or met in single digit ages, it was hard not to share similar interests.

Tell us the cool story behind why you are called the Knitts.

Charlie worked in the Box Office of the Hollywood Knitting Factory for a number of years. Because of that, we were able to get into a lot of shows for free!

We spent nearly every day there and the five of us were referred to as those Knitting Factory kids, those Knitts kids. So we sort of took that and ran with it!

I loved the Knitting Factory, and was really sad to see it go. What was your favorite Knitting Factory show?

There was definitely a ton! But one of my favorites was Peelander-Z! It was such a party!

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Depending on which member you ask it can get pretty cluttered, because the band as a whole covers a pretty wide variety of influences. From David Bowie to Cannibal Corpse, from Black Sabbath to Electric Light Orchestra, Misfits to Grateful Dead. We are just fans big fans of music at the end of the day.

How do you describe your music to someone who's never heard you before?

With all the sub-genres in rock music we try and keep it simple with the garage rock answer. That's our simple answer usually, but those who are familiar with us know that we try and do a little bit of everything to not only surprise our listeners but ourselves as well.

Why did you name your EP Simple Folk?

We named it after the song "Simple Folk" on the EP. It's an outlier of the song’s lyrics for being slightly complicated and hard to follow. The song is about love and how intoxicating that feeling can be when it takes control of you. So the name is in contradiction to how complicated love is, yet the simplest of people can experience it.

I really like "Erotic Aquatic." How did you guys write that song?

The lyrics for "Erotic Aquatic" were inspired by Sean Connery and Ursula Andress' scene in Dr. No. However, the instruments were written prior to the lyrics and had a psychedelic vibe to the guitars yet heavy end bass and drums. We wanted to see how far we can push it before it really came to a head. It eventually led to multiple drums and a heavy horn finale!

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Damon Albarn is definitely at the top of my list. To collaborate on a Gorillaz track would be amazing!

What do you do for fun?

We play a lot of video games, and watch a lot of movies. Like, we play a lot of video games and watch a lot of movies!

What's your craziest concert story so far?

There was a time we played the Viper Room when a fairly inebriated women drank hot candle wax from the candle cup on the foot of the stage. That was definitely pretty odd, considering her lack of reaction to molten wax!

If you were a hashtag, what would it be?

#knittwitt