I met Alethea “Butterfly Beats” Eichhorn and David Miller of Beehive about two years ago at the Premiere (now the Phoenix) in Seattle. We were both hired to entertain at a Microsoft Gaming Conference. I was performing in an acoustic duo. They were an electronic duo using laptop-generated break beats and live electric guitar and vocals to make a sound they call “rocktronica.” I was so jealous (but in a good way). Their sound was giant, cool and fun, and it made the room come alive. I felt small and old fashioned standing there with my acoustic guitar, but I was totally hooked and intrigued by what they were doing. It was technology and humans interfacing, causing a tidal wave of infectious energy. I couldn’t stop smiling. They were awesome. The stage was all decked out in larger than life beehive décor, the lights were amazing, and they even had go-go dancers up there! It was just about the coolest thing I’d ever seen. We discovered that we had some friends in common so we stayed in touch after the gig (don’t you just love MySpace?). When I heard they had released their first full length CD, Pretty Little Thieves, last week I immediately contacted the band to get my hands on a copy. This weekend it arrived in my mailbox, and I was so very NOT disappointed! First of all, the CD art reflects perfectly how they seem as people: cute, mysterious, modern and artsy.

Then I slid the disk in my car stereo and BAM! I was transported back to the Premiere. These are all new songs, but they have that same Beehive “buzz” I remembered from their live act. The new songs surge with the same barn-burner spirit that garnered Beehive a nomination for Best Electronic Artist by the Seattle Weekly in 2006.

The music on Pretty Little Thieves is fresh and inventive, however at times it has an ’80s feel that seeps directly to my roots and nourishes a long lost hunger. I am reminded of bands like ABC and Human League. You can’t call it retro though, I just won’t allow it because there are some amazing sounds and sonic thrusts on there that are definitely of the future.

The stand-out song on the album for me was “Hound Dog” because not since Rednex’s rave-inspired rendition of “Cotton Eyed Joe,” have I heard an electronic dance song that sported cowboy boots and sneered at me like a badass chiseled shirtless redneck.   

It’s tough to pick a favorite, though, since all the songs have killer intros, lush arrangements and lyrics that I’m sure are filled with wisdom and truth if I could only stop dancing long enough to decipher them.

Here’s what they had to say about it:

“This album is the culmination of great personal struggle,” Miller says, “and finding the strength to overcome life’s heavy twists. There were a lot of personal struggles encountered during the writing and recording the album. The album has a darkness as well as a warmth to it, but as the cover art depicts, there is a sunrise waiting right behind dark forest.”

“To me the album is a journey from start to finish in which we address the pretty little thieves that exist in our daily lives,” explains Eichhorn. “We have a choice to accept them and let them go or let them rule our world. The pretty little thieves show up in one shape or form in each one of the songs. So in a way I view the album as a commentary to the world we live in. I also think this album is fun, too. It’s a double-sided coin where you can get out all the angst and rock out to cleanse your mind and spirit.”

Beehive’s music has been aired on network and cable television shows including MTV.

Pretty Little Thieves will be available on CDbaby.com in about two weeks. You can also get it directly from the band until that time. Contact them at www.myspace.com/beehive. The album will be for sale at Sonic Boom locations, Cellophane Square and Easy Street Records next week.



My name is Angie and I’m just a shot away. If you can’t rock me, somebody will.