No, that’s not a K-Car reference: Vivekananda was the first Indian philosopher to bring Eastern thought to the West.Not your average nü-synth band: Meshing new-wavy drum-machine beats with ethereal melodies, exotic instrumentation and powerful rock guitars, their sound is best described as neo-psychedelic, with a distinct inheritance from Jane’s Addiction.Multiculty membership: All members are third-generation American kids — i.e., their gramps and grannies are from other countries: singer Ween Callas (Lebanon), guitarist Ravi Dhar (India), sitar/beats/synth player Evan Haros (Greece) and bass man Skoda (Ukraine).Ex-outfits: Lumirova, Clone Revolt.Big breaks: Before they ever played in front of an audience, Viva K were heard on KCRW and KXLU via sent-in demos; Indie 103.1 is all over the single “Does It Matter?”HipsterHQ: “The Ranch,” a groovy pad in Silver Lake where the K first jammed with a bunch of Indian instruments and ultimately recorded their melodious debut for Stinky Records, mixed by Eli Janney (Girls vs. Boys). All members have lived at The Ranch, and two still do — along with two cats, one named Viva.Beatles vs. Stones?: Viva K’s members met at a George Harrison tribute night (on the anniversary of his death) at Spaceland, and each cite his melding of Indian rhythms and rock as a fundamental influence on their music. Haros plays a “magical” sitar (it’s been thrown around in airports but is miraculously still intact) that is rumored to have once belonged to Brian Jones. Femme fatale: Callas’ sometimes shrill, often enchanting vox have been compared to everyone from Siouxsie Sioux to Karen O.Not goth, but . . . : Viva K were the sole band to play the recent kickoff party for the upcoming Bauhaus tour at the Standard (David J deejayed). “We’ve been getting a lot of goth kids interested in us on MySpace,” says Callas. “I guess I am a little witchy.”All you need is wuv: The dark, even punkish intensity of their music belies the group’s glass-half-full lyrical approach — “Here’s to the life that you came here for, you can live/And to the sky that hangs over head, we are safe” (“We Are Safe”).In their stereo right now: Ananda Shankar (self-titled), known as “the Jimi Hendrix of India.”Dig them live: The Troubadour, Tuesday, October 25.

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