Cliff Magreta has had a charmed life as far as musicians go. He's been a part of successful bands such as the Shore, has cowritten for major artists (who he'd rather not name but whom you'd recognize), owns a rather impressive home studio and has now managed to assemble the L.A.-based electro-rock outfit, Minutes til Midnight (MTM) with old friends from Detroit and newer friends like Bob Mustachio of the Warlocks. The band's first show was a standing room only affair opening for U.K. darlings, The Editors at Spaceland in L.A. So, like we said, charmed.

Behind the good fortune that's come MTM's way already, is a freakishly well-produced sound that combines electronic soundscapes with brit-rock anthems complete with an accompanying light show. Magreta's pop sensibility and musicianship is unquestionable yet it seems the importance of entertainment is just as integral to him,

"I want our shows to fuse visual technology [with music] because I feel that's the future. [Technology] has allowed artists to do more with their art. Of course, it's about the music but also, when you see it in a live sense, I want it to be a sensory overload. I want all your senses to be..." he starts to laugh, "Tingled...in the right way. It's like James Brown or Prince, they know how to keep you enthralled from start to finish. I love seeing a show like that because I'm a music fan."

Ironically, despite all the good things that have come the band's way so far, when asked what they consider success to be, Magreta et. al. start laughing. He deadpans, "Being able to tour, earn a living and not having to go to Taco Bell." He adds, "There are a lot of cool opportunities that don't have to deal with selling a million records by quarter three so they can prove you turned a profit."

And doing it independently is serving the boys well thus far - musically and monetarily. Not to mention the fact that Magreta has figured out a way to get free gas in L.A. by joining a fuel co-op and converting his vintage Mercedes to a bio-diesel engine that runs on vegetable oil. For some unexplainable and yet probably left-leaning reason, this fact just makes us like Minutes til Midnight even more.