Los Angeles-based Calamity Magnet melds the world of indie-pop with girl gr… Read Full Bio ↴Los Angeles-based Calamity Magnet melds the world of indie-pop with girl group harmonies of the sixties, adding a hint of country flavor and the occasional peek at a Beatles influence. The brainchild of Texas-born songwriter/musician Sara Radle (ex-The Rentals), Calamity Magnet picks up where her critically acclaimed solo records left off.
For a band that only started playing together in October 2007, Calamity Magnet already have a lot under their belts. They headed into the studio in January 2008 to work with multiple Grammy Award winning engineer Dennis Moody, and created their first group of recordings together. Three months later, they released that collection of six songs in the form of a self-titled EP (now available through iTunes, as well as their MySpace page.
In early June, Calamity Magnet shot their first music video for the last track on the EP, Movin' On, and in late June will head out on their first tour together. At a time when not many bands are dealing with rising gas prices and hitting the road, Calamity Magnet will play 20 dates across the United States in 3 weeks, supporting their new release. The band will document their experience through video blogs that will be posted daily to their YouTube page.
About the band members:
Lead singer Sara Radle's music career began in San Antonio, Texas, fronting the punk/pop band Lucy Loves Schroeder. She later moved to Dallas, released a string of solo records, and started her own label before relocating to Los Angeles to help Matt Sharp (ex-Weezer bassist) form The Rentals. Sara recently parted ways with The Rentals to be able to dedicate her full attention to her distinctive song-writing through Calamity Magnet.
In a recent blog Sara posted about her departure from The Rentals, she writes, "I am so thankful Matt asked me to move to Los Angeles from Texas to help him start the group back up again, and I leave The Rentals with amazing memories and the experience of having worked with some of the best musicians I know. While it makes me sad to leave that experience behind, I have realized that what makes me happiest is being a songwriter, and that's where my focus should be returning to at this point in my life."
To learn more about Sara and her previous bands and records, please visit her MySpace page (myspace.com/sararadle).
Lead guitarist Joe Bourdet was raised in the California foothills near Nevada City where the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Sacramento delta informed his rootsy musical sensibilities. A stint in college and other travels saw him move from Santa Cruz to Glasgow Scotland where he cut his teeth playing with any band that could play 'the good music.' Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Joe joined up with a group of Laurel Canyon styled folk-rock mavericks that became Jonathan Wilson and the Whispering Pines. Following that, he joined The Shore - a combo with a vision of American rock filtered through the best anglo-centric interpretations. Joe then moved on to working as a side-man and occasional session player in and around the southland. His latest project, Bolero, is a country-psych powerhouse led by Josh Schwartz, an early band member, songwriter and architect of the late Beachwood Sparks.
Growing up in Honolulu, Valerie Ngai has classical bass training and performed in chamber ensembles, symphonies, and musical theatres around the west coast. Currently, she is also playing bass and drums with Loverlee, an indie pop band from Burbank. Loverlee has been recognized as a Featured Band at liveatthegig.com, and has had their song, When We're Alone, be named as one of the L.A. Times Top Ten Songs by Unsigned Artists to Download.
A Los Angeles native, keyboardist/vocalist Genevieve Kwong meandered musically through a milieu of bands, perfecting her pleasantly unique style along the way. Currently, in addition to Calamity Magnet, she is also playing with Loverlee, mixing it up with keys, flute, bass and percussion, while singing back-ups and sometimes lead vocals.
Joe Zabielski came up in the vital Western MA indie scene of the late 80's and 90's drumming in Amherst and Northampton based bands, most notably in the University of Massachusetts's psych-rockers, The Eyes. Once that scene had run its course, Joe moved on to Silverlake, CA where he currently plays with Moving To France and Calamity Magnet.

Figure It Out
Calamity Magnet Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You don't know exactly what you should think about me
And you got yourself flipped upside down because
She's back in your life
And you don't know if you want to stay in mine

And I know exactly what it is I need to do
Step one, got to make myself stop coming back to you
Steps two and three

I'll kiss you goodbye and then I'll let you be

And you'll have to go away, go away from here
Yeah you'll have to figure out where to go from here

So you'll drive yourself on down to Mexico
And you'll try to figure it out, when you get back you
Just might know
What you got to do
But I'll have to leave that decision up to you

And you'll have to go away, go away from here
Yeah you'll have to figure out where to go from here

Try to picture you with me, is it really so bad?
If you haven't figured it out by now, honey I've been had

And you'll have to go away, go away from here

Yeah you'll have to figure out where to go from here
You'll figure it out now

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Calamity Magnet's song "Figure it Out" describe a situation in which the singer and their partner are struggling with their relationship due to the return of an ex-lover in the partner's life. The partner is unsure of what to do and is torn between staying with the singer and returning to the ex. The singer, on the other hand, knows that it's time to move on and let the partner figure out what they truly want. The singer outlines the steps they need to take in order to let go of the partner, including kissing them goodbye and allowing them to go away and figure things out on their own.

The song is a reflection on the complexity of relationships and the difficulties that arise when people are forced to make tough decisions. The singer is resigned to the fact that they can't control the partner's decision and instead focuses on taking care of themselves and moving on. The lyrics are melancholic and bittersweet, capturing the sadness and uncertainty that comes with the end of a relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

You don't know exactly what you should think about me
I'm aware that you're not sure what to make of me

And you got yourself flipped upside down because
You're feeling confused and disoriented because

She's back in your life
Your ex-girlfriend has re-entered your life

And you don't know if you want to stay in mine
And you're unsure whether or not you want to stay in a relationship with me

And I know exactly what it is I need to do
However, I know exactly what I must do

Step one, got to make myself stop coming back to you
First, I must force myself to stop returning to you

Steps two and three
Second and third steps are as follows

I'll kiss you goodbye and then I'll let you be
I'll say goodbye, then leave you alone

And you'll have to go away, go away from here
You'll have to leave this place

Yeah you'll have to figure out where to go from here
You'll have to decide what to do next

So you'll drive yourself on down to Mexico
Perhaps you'll drive yourself to Mexico