Over the past few years, the Los Angeles indie rock scene has fortunately began to replace itself in the hearts and minds of music fans who once thought of the city solely as a Mecca for hair metal bands. With the emergence of groups like Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, The Airborne Toxic Event and No Age, the city has become a fertile breeding ground for bands. Nico Vega is another one of these bands. Led by front woman Aja Volkman, the trio has a dark, brooding sound that has a rocking edge; the trio has firmly established itself as a must-see act in the city. Recently, Bestnewbands.com caught up with drummer Dan Epand while on his way to a writing session to talk about the band’s recent release, Nico Vega Covers Nico Vega and Rod Stewart, the band’s plans to record their next LP and their recording process

DK: So what’s the deal with the new EP?

DE: Our label came to us and wanted us to do acoustic versions of our songs and that just seemed boring. We’ve always messed around with a lot of different styles and thought that would be a more interesting approach than coming up with acoustic materials. So picked a style that fit the different songs. Then we felt we should close with a cover song and the only thing we could agree on was Rod Stewart.

DK: Why Rod Stewart of all people?

DE: I would say that Rod Stewart isn’t an influence on our sound. It’s just that random.

DK: Why did the label want you guys to do an acoustic EP as opposed to new material or outtakes from your previous albums?

DE: They wanted us to record our songs acoustically to be released as bonus material. It was very different from what we’ve done and that was kind of the idea. It was like we were a bunch of different cover bands doing our material and it was fun to be random.

DK: That being said, do you have plans to record a full-length of new material any time soon?

We have tons of material, so we need to figure out how we’re going to get into the studio with what we’re working with right now. So I’m thinking we may be in the studio as soon as February either here or a studio in Sacramento that’s run by the owner of Mix Magazine and he has all this great old vintage gear and you can stay there while you record. It’s called The Hangar and you get a lot of bang for your buck.

DK: I know you just got off the road, but are there any plans to hit the road again anytime soon?

We’re just working on making the record. It’s exciting.

DK: Does the band head into the studio with a set list of songs to record or do you write while in there?

We’ve never really had the luxury of going in there and letting it evolve. I think there’s something cool about that that we do want to create that way because we’re pretty spontaneous the way we write anyway. For the most part we go in there with a pretty good gameplan and do most of the writing ahead of time. Usually, we’ll meet with the producer and then other people involved like management and the label, and take the songs that everyone feels like are the good ones and go from there.

DK: Who is producing the album?

DE: There are a few we’re talking to but the main one is Tim Edgar. He produced our last record too. He’s a childhood friend of mine; I’ve known him since we were freshmen in high school. He’s one of the most talented guys I know.

With a new EP that sounds like a cover band and a new LP on the way, expect to hear big things from Nico Vega in 2011.