by Dot Cannon

Electric guitars, piano synthesizers and Argentinean folk music?

Award-winning indie rock band Salt Petal makes them all work together.  And they throw in elements of 60s rock, blues, cumbia and Brazilian tropicalia.

The result is an exhilarating blend that gets listeners up and dancing--or suddenly turns pensive, with haunting vocals and a soft but relentless rhythm, as they explore some of the aspects of love, fear and struggling towards a dream.

Autumn Harrison and Rodrigo Gonzalez are co-founders of Salt Petal, which has played venues from SXSW to the Make Music Pasadena Festival, and which recently won first place in  World Music Network's "Batttle of the Bands" competition for their song, "Por La Luna".

Autumn and Rodrigo talked about their backgrounds, their experiences with Salt Petal, and most of all, their music.