By Talia AlbertsPLAY Writer

Los Abandoned saben rock and roll.

Singing in both English and Spanish, the band produces what lead guitarist Don Verde calls a “soundtrack for Los Angeles.”

“It’s the hodgepodge that you get living in a big city – different languages, different sounds,” Don Verde says. “There are new wave-y, dance, pop, rock, folklore, Chile(an) and Puerto Rican aspects to our music.”

Although Verde and lead singer Lady P had previously met, the band wasn’t formed until 2001 when the two reconnected after Don Verde’s former bandmate roomed with Lady P while studying Gamalan music in Bali.

With funny nicknames, creative costumes, and crazy-themed live shows, Los Abandoned prove they are a band who know how to throw one hell of a fiesta and have a good time.

In keeping with their themed live shows, Don Verde recalls a month where each member of the band dressed like the characters from the movie The Royal Tenenbaums.

Additionally, the band’s drummer, Dulce, says he enjoys wearing the long girls’ T-shirts the band sells as merchandise. Dulce says he likes the combination of the shirt and his beard.

Besides offering fans a visually stimulating live show, the band gives fans an opportunity to transgress boundaries of ethnicity and nationality within the music, as the band members are as ethnically diverse as their sound. While Lady P is from Chile, Don Verde is American-born; bassist Vira Lata is Latino and Dulce comes from a “low-rider culture.”

Los Abandoned’s music has crossed national boundaries, touring with leading artists in both the Latino and American music scenes including Cake, Molotov, Garbage and Aterciopelados.

With so many bands to choose from, members of Los Abandoned say they have a hard time choosing a favorite band they have shared a stage with.

“Every time we play with someone, they (turn into) my favorite band,” says Vira Lata. “If I had to choose, (it would be) playing with Caf