David Mohr expands his musical horizons with Favors

The breakup of Sacramento’s 20,000 was a complicated one. The group had an electro-Sonny and Cher thing going on, until it imploded at a fateful summer night’s show. David Mohr, one half of 20,000, was Cher in this scenario, in that it led to songs in the vein of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” Assuming the moniker of Favors, Mohr’s series of fractured digital EPs sought comfort in the familiar synthesizer framework, a kinship with Lou Reed’s “Hangin’ Round” chorus and anti-anthems that put weekends and summers in their crosshairs.

With the heart pain now out of his system, Mohr is exploring the futuristic vision his friends have always associated with the bedroom project before he was able to see it. “I started writing these songs when I was living with the rest of the band, so that is over a year’s worth of songs that I picked from to form this album,” Mohr said. “So in that time, I basically started feeling like there were a lot of different subjects I hadn’t approached yet with Favors, and I wanted to open it up so that the future of the band could go in any direction.”

The band he lived with was once called Impotent Ninja, which consisted of Ben Lewis, Chris Metcalf and Crystal McCarthy. The house mates have since gone their separate ways, but their time together allowed Mohr to get in a better place that led to the completion of Five Million Years, a record which is somewhere between sugary synth-pop and music that can help break a healthy sweat. “The songs I write will always have a pop element to them, I think,” he said. “Unless I become so involved in it that I lose focus of what it means to be pop. But I don’t know. I like fun songs. I like dance music and I like electronic music. My friend’s little sister said that Favors sounded like ‘workout music’ when she heard it. That’s perfect.”

When I last talked with you, Favors was a bedroom project of EP releases with a lot of post-breakup songs. Listening to the new record, it seems as though Favors is exploring abstract territory, with songs of starships, cash-machines and caves. What brought this change in songwriting?
A friend of mine said that Favors sounded “futuristic” to him, and I thought that was funny. I had never thought of it like that, so I thought I would push the science fiction element in some of the songs. I was hesitant to do that at first, because I didn’t want the songs to feel too distant or detached from reality, but I kept reminding myself that David Bowie wrote tons of futuristic space age songs, but it took me years of listening to ever realize that. They always just sounded like awesome songs from the ‘70s. Maybe I don’t pay attention to lyrics.

Now that you mention Bowie, I feel like the album title Five Million Years is just an extension of Bowie’s “Five Years.”
The album title Five Million Years comes from my desire to create a larger time frame and a more expansive imaginary space for the listener to step into. I’m interested in the way that time can be distorted by music, like how fast songs can make the listener feel as if time is moving quicker. It’s strange; music is very connected to our concept of time.

Favors is a full band now, but what’s the recording process like? Is it done as a band or do your band mates learn the songs after you’ve created them?
In terms of songwriting and recording, Favors is still a bedroom project. I write and record the songs on a laptop at home. The live band was formed at the very beginning; it was always Chris, Ben and Crystal, but it just took some time to get things going with that part of the project. Usually I’m working on music alone, but I always wanted the live band to exist as well. It’s nice to have a group to share it with, and it makes practicing and playing live way more fun. During practice of course, everybody contributes their own touches, and of course Ben is a wizard on guitar, so we have to incorporate that. Everyone is amazing at their instruments and is way beyond me in musical ability. I’m very lucky to have friends who want to play the songs.

You don’t see many indie bands with a frontman. Was it weird at first to have no instrument responsibilities on stage?
I’m really not a very good musician, so playing keyboard on stage is difficult for me. I thought it would be best if I just focused on the singing, that way I can express something that the music isn’t expressing live. I still feel uncomfortable performing live, though; it definitely feels like the fakest part of the whole thing for me. But that doesn’t mean I’m not trying to do my best.

From what I’ve seen, you’ve taken to the art of being a frontman. Were there any famous lead singers you took cues from?
David Byrne became a huge inspiration early on. He added so much to the music just with his movements and appearance on stage. Of course he was a great guitar player and a great musician, but I was most intrigued by his gestures. It seemed like he was really thinking on stage, and channeling that into the songs.

Have you gone for the cord windmill and catch the mic maneuver yet?
I used to do the windmill cord spin in my first band. I was really good at it, but I had to duct tape the mic to the cord so it wouldn’t fly off. I’m too old for that now. My favorite part about live shows is when things start going wrong, though. It’s fun to try and make the best of it and keep the show going. During our last show, Crystal’s electronic drum set kept falling apart because I had broken it in half while loading gear on stage. Chris had taped it together before we started, but I had to keep lifting it up for Crystal while she played. I love those moments. Things start falling apart so quickly that trying to fix them becomes ridiculous.

The cassette culture is on the rise, but has not quite hit Sacramento yet. Why did you choose this format?
I’ve always wanted Favors music to be available for free. I think that anyone who wants it should be able to have it. Also, I don’t know too many people who pay for music anymore, and I especially don’t know very many people who buy CDs, so I thought I might as well do a cassette.

It’s still nice to hold something in your hands that represents the music. I think the same reasoning goes into vinyl production, but personally I have more of a nostalgic connection to tapes. The first music I owned was They Might Be Giants’ Flood on a cassette that I bought from my brother. I listened to records as a kid, but I had a more personal connection to tapes. I used to make cover art for cassette tapes of made-up bands years before I ever started writing music. Despite all the nostalgia and my love of cassettes, there is also something funny about releasing tapes now in 2011. I like the fact that I recorded the music on a computer but I’m putting it out in a medium that degrades the quality and its near obsoleteness. It’s a wink backwards.

The bonuses are that it is really cheap to do and they look cool. I had fun designing them and putting them all together. It’s also funny to see people’s reactions. At least one member of Favors thinks releasing a cassette is a terrible idea.

Terrible idea or not, Favors’ new album Five Million Years will be available on cassette around Aug. 1. You can order a copy and get a free full digital download at Favors.bandcamp.com. Check out the band live to celebrate the release of the album at The Press Club in Sacramento with Evan Bailey and The Happy Medium on Aug. 4.

The Speed of Sound in Seawater Are Out For A Good Time

There’s been a lot of crazy shit happening around the world lately–maybe you’ve noticed? Earthquakes, tornadoes, Osama bin Laden’s death, all this nonsense about the Rapture! It can be overwhelming and downright depressing at times to turn on the news or read the newspaper, or, let’s face it, stare at your Facebook feed. For these reasons and so many others, it’s important to have creative outlets in life where you can simply have fun and get your mind off things. The members of local indie-pop-meets-math-rock band The Speed of Sound in Seawater know just this. “If we ever stopped having fun, we would stop making new music,” admitted lead vocalist and guitarist Damien Verrett during a recent conversation in a midtown coffee shop. “That definitely is key.” Fellow six-stringer Jordan Seavers (who also sings) agreed with that notion. “Obviously the music is important,” Seavers said. “But we’re not so much like, ‘We’ve got to make it as a band!’ We just have fun playing music.”

The theory of “having fun” makes its way into every aspect of the band: song titles, album titles, even their promo photos–one of which sees the four young gentlemen dangling their feet in a swimming pool while sporting pink bath robes. “There are so many stupid little inside jokes on the new EP,” said Verrett, referring to the group’s latest offering, a five-track EP released on April 27, 2011 titled Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets. “Lyrically, in titles, so much of it,” he said. “Even the name of the album, it’s just this stupid inside joke. It’s something Fernando [Oliva, drums, vocals] said like maybe three years ago. We were all swimming in the pool and he comes up and whispers to me, ‘Do you want to play underwater tell each other secrets?’” He laughed and continued, “I just thought it was the funniest thing ever, and we remembered it. When it came time to name the new EP we were like, ‘Let’s call it Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets.’”

“We’re all pretty goofy,” Seavers butted in. “We like to entertain other people but we like to entertain ourselves at the same time and just be goofs.”

All jokes and goofiness aside, The Speed of Sound in Seawater are a really talented band, and Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets showcases their ability to blend technically advanced playing (i.e.: a flurry of finger tapping, complicated hammer-on riffs, shifting time signatures and rhythms, etc.) with an undeniable knack for writing pop-y, memorable melodies. When listening to their songs, it’s difficult not to think of one the genre’s pioneers, Minus the Bear. Verrett recalls when he first heard the Seattle-based group. “I remember just finding them randomly on some forum and someone was calling it ‘math-rock,’ and I was, ‘What the hell is that? I’ve never heard of that.’ Then I listened to it and I was like, ‘Well, that’s exactly what it is.’” Verrett went on to explain how he thinks Sacramento natives Tera Melos and Hella are good examples of bands at one end of the math-rock spectrum as far as being “way out there and not as accessible,” and that groups like This Town Needs Guns and Maps and Atlases are at the other end of the spectrum and are becoming “indie sensations who have songs in commercials and stuff.” He went on to say, “I didn’t really know if those two sects of math-rock were aware of each other, but I feel like we’re more leaning toward the pop-y side. I like that about us.”

For Underwater… TSOSIS enlisted Robert Cheek as producer/mixer/engineer and from March 11 to 13 they worked out of The Hangar, arguably one of Sacramento’s most credible recording studios, where they did all the takes live. Seavers and Verrett both agreed that it was a sonic match made in heaven. “I was actually thinking about this last night,” Verrett said. “Just how many records he’s produced and engineered that I’m a huge fan of. There’s got to be like six or seven that are just some of my favorites.” He goes down the line: Tera Melos, RX Bandits, Mister Metaphor; all bands that TSOSIS share qualities with. “It just fit so well,” Verrett said of the pairing with Cheek. “He’s from here, he records all the music we love, he’s really experienced in the genre. He just got us instantly.”

For months leading up to The Hangar recording sessions, the band practiced full-on dress rehearsal style, setting up microphones around them and demo-ing their songs in the living room of the house in Elk Grove in which Verrett grew up. “We actually share the same practice space as Damien’s dad does,” Seavers joked, referring to Verrett’s father’s R&B cover band formerly known as The Detours.

“Once my mom gets home we have to play a little quieter,” Verrett joked. “I really don’t like having to quiet down, these guys are always like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry Mrs. Verrett, we’ll turn it down,’ and I’m always like, ‘No guys, we don’t have to do that!’ It’s really funny, that has to have influenced our music in some way.”

This is a fair assessment, considering TSOSIS rarely use distortion on their guitars, giving their music somewhat of a shimmer and an overall easier-to-listen-to vibe than bands with heavily distorted guitars constantly blasting. “Damien and I both really like jazzy tones and stuff like that,” Seavers said. Verrett jumped in, “And all the distorted parts hit so much harder when they’re so infrequent, you know? If there’s hardly any distortion, you really notice.” Their songs are consciously “loose,” too. Frequently, the skilled musicians will slip in and out of one part into another, sometimes perfectly in sync, sometimes not, giving their recordings an organic feel. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Man we sound really sloppy, we need to clean it up,’” Seavers admitted. “But then sometimes I’m listening to another band and I’m like, ‘It’s so cool they’re sloppy, I want to play like that.’ It sounds a little more fun when people are sloppy.”

With a new EP freshly tucked under their belts, along with two others (2009’s Blue Version and 2010’s Red Version), TSOSIS has a plethora of songs to pull from when they tour throughout California this summer. “It’s odd that we’re at the point where people are like, ‘Oh your first EP is the best one!’” Verrett joked as our conversation was coming to an end. “It’s like, ‘Are you kidding? That was like $200 and we made it in like eight hours, and you think that’s the best? We just dropped a lot more on this one; you better think it’s the best.’”

The Speed of Sound in Seawater will play at Luigi’s Fungarden on Friday, June 17 alongside Town Hall, The Relatives and The Dreaded Diamond. Show starts at 8 p.m., is $5 and all ages are welcome. TSOSIS will welcome back their former bassist Lucas Ulrici for this show and a number of other performances this summer, as their current bassist Michael Littlefield will be busy recording with his other band, A Lot Like Birds. To learn more about TSOSIS and to stream or download tracks off all three of their EPs, visit Thespeedofsoundinseawater.bandcamp.com.

A New Album, A New Leaf

Since 2007 ZuhG has been representing Sacramento with its groove-funk style and earth-centric liberal aesthetic. They play a bit of blues, a bit of jazz and a bit of psychedelic rock. They mix hip-hop and saxophones, flutes and Rastafarian herbal idolatry. Yet, despite the multiple influences and wide range of instrumentation, ZuhG is able to sound crisp and precise. The songs on the bands upcoming CD Free Love are well produced, the bass lays in the pocket with the drums, it shifts in and out of blues guitar movements and references other standards like “Footprints.” On a musical level the group invokes a wide variety of influences, all courtesy of the guitar work of JR Halliday and Bryan Nichols, the drum work of Matt Klee, the beatbox-flow of Charlie Wheeler, and saxophone melodies from Jake Gleason. Bianca Wright holds down the luscious background vocals. All of these performers create movements that build, ebb and hit in syncopation under the optimistic experiential vocals and lyrics of Nichols.

Through multiple incarnations, ZuhG has pushed forward and with a backbone of Nichols and Klee, they’ve found a level of success, a degree of professionalism–dare we call it such–that enables the members to identify themselves firstly as musicians, secondly as anything else.

Curiously enough the group collectively (with a few friends) operates ZuhG Life, a store inside of Downtown Plaza where everything sells on consignment, and the music culture of Sacramento holds some 1,000 square feet of retail space in a largely corporate environment. Submerge was able to catch up with Nichols and discuss the upcoming album, the storefront, the popular pastime of parking-lot camping, optimism and the ever fashionable burrito windshield.

Tell me about the ZuhG Life store, how did that come about?
It’s a local music store basically. All one wall is CDs, and we’ve got local band T-shirts as well. I was booking live shows for the mall, and I needed to get paid in advance for a road trip to Oregon. When I went to get paid they brought me up to this empty store. I thought they were going to fire me, but they asked, “Hey you want to open some kind of music store?” And we just did it. The stores helped us get a lot of recognition. We’re on the news and stuff. Sometimes people think we’re called ZuhG Life, I’ve seen it on flyers. That’s funny.

Did you have any retail experience? How was that transition into owning your own shop?
I don’t really have any experience. I worked at Surf & Skate, and I hated it. I had to follow the customers around the store. The owner was all on me about it. Even when it was obvious that people just wanted to look around.

ZuhG has to be one of weirdest names I’ve ever heard for a band. How’d you decide on that?
ZuhG means to be unlike others, and to do something different. I think it’s German. I found it in a Rolling Stone ad. I turned it in for a homework assignment. I asked my teacher, after we’d been playing, “Hey I named my band that, do you think I could get that ad back?” But he said it was a really good example and he wanted to keep it. At the time I was like cool, I’ll just pick up another Rolling Stone, but I never did. I’ve never seen it since. My friend has searched countless dictionaries, and she’s never found the word.

What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you on stage?
I caught on fire at Northstar ski resort. They always have these little propane heaters on stage. The back of my shirt caught on the little flame, and I started patting myself out when I realized I was on fire. Then JR comes over and tries to pat me down. We’re playing at the foot of this ice skating rink and everyone is watching by now. JR couldn’t put me out either, so I threw my guitar down and literally stopped-dropped-and-rolled right in the middle of the stage. It went out. The whole back of my shirt was gone. I have one little scar. It was bad at first but it healed fine.

Did you finish the set?
Yeah, we played three more songs. I think more people checked us out that day than ever.

That’s flaming! You got any other cool road stories?
We don’t ever get hotels because that would be all our gig money. Every night on the road we try to find some friends or get someone to let us sleep at their house. Sometimes we don’t get so lucky. Once in Ventura we played a shitty show, no one was there, so we just slept in the parking lot. There was this big rundown bus in the parking lot so we just pulled our cars next to it. Random [Abilideze] was with us. He was pissed that night. Six people were sleeping in the van, which is ridiculous because it only sleeps three comfortably. Dudes were sleeping in the front seat of the van. I have a little tent and I posted it up right on the concrete. Jake, our sax player, was sleeping on a cot right outside. Our roadie was sleeping in the trailer. That was fun.

You hear about bands that hate each other when they’re in the van, but when they get on stage they have amazing shows. Does that describe ZuhG, or do you get along all the time?
We bitch at each other for sure. There’s definitely some hissy fits out there. Usually whoever is pissed will just play with a ton of energy on stage that night. One time after a show in Oregon at like 3 in the morning, we stopped at a Taco Bell, and we didn’t hear our drunk bass player say he wanted a taco, so he walked out of the van. He went and sat on a curb in the parking lot. When we got up to the window we ordered him a taco and a burrito, because we forgot. I went over to our bass player. I said, “Here’s a burrito, sorry we forgot.” He grabbed the burrito and walked over to the van and threw it hella hard at the windshield. There was a whole fight in the parking lot. The Taco Bell people started calling the cops. It was hilarious. Stuff like that happens every once in a while.

Do you have any thoughts on the recent tsunami in Japan?
I was thinking of throwing a big benefit show at the ZuhG Life store to raise some money we could send over there. I want to do something to help.
 
If you turned into a human-instrument mutant because of Japanese radiation that had made it over to Sacramento via the Pacific winds, what instrument would you prefer to be combined with?
My right arm would be a melodica, my left arm would be the neck of a guitar, my upper torso would be the body of a guitar, my right leg would be a high hat, my left leg would be a rain stick. That way if I did a handstand I could work that noise out. My head would be a djembe, and all my fingers would be kazoos! This would be a cool painting; one rad man band.

How often does ZuhG go skinny dipping together?
Ha! Never. I don’t want to see these guys naked. We do bathe in the ocean and rivers often when we’re on the road, but not naked.

Why are you such an optimist in such trying times?
In our song “New Shoes (Hippy Feet),” the hook of the first part of the song is “I’m feeling so good, I’m alive today/I’m feeling so good, and I can’t complain.” Living the ZuhG Life makes me happy, might as well be positive and peaceful. Life’s too short to be so serious. There’s no point in being pissed off all the time or pessimistic. I get stressed out every once in a while with everything that’s going on, but I love everything I’m doing, so it works out.

You sing a lot about the environment, wouldn’t it be better for the earth if ZuhG hitchhiked when you all went on the road?
Our mechanic friend, Ryan Casey, is looking for a diesel for us that we can covert to run off veggie oil. Then we’ll be green and smell like French fries all the time, but it’ll be worth it.

Theodor Adorno hated Jazz because he said the fans and musicians who thought it deviated from more traditional song structures failed to realize that it always maintained a relative steady beat, and therefore they were pretty much just hipsters–in so many words. Why do you hate jazz so much?
I love Jazz! What’s a hipster? People always say that about people but I don’t get it. Am I one?

ZuhG’s CD release show will take place at Beatnick Studios on April 9, 2011. The band will also play an Earth Day show on April 13 at Sierra College in Rocklin.

Lite Brite, Mondo Deco, The Babs Johnson Gang
Friday, Feb. 11, 2011 – Luigi’s Fungarden – Sacramento

Thirty minutes into watching a live band, the singer tells you, an audience member, to waddle. If you’ve ever seen local duo The Babs Johnson Gang play, you’re already prepared to start shaking your ass, because if you’re the best waddler during the “Waddle” song, you are finely rewarded. This time, the band offered up a tiny trophy, which was immediately swiped by a middle-aged woman who stepped onto the stage and started swinging her hips.

The Babs Johnson Gang opened Friday night’s show at Luigi’s Fungarden with Mondo Deco and Lite Brite, a local lineup that brought a night of ass-shaking rock ‘n’ roll to the cramped all-ages music venue.

The Babs duo play music that is both grungy and honky-tonk, rock ‘n’ roll and punk at the same time, using little more than distorted guitar coupled with crashing drums. Ten or so people were standing in front of the stage at the start of their first song. The two band members exchanged messy vocals that began in rants and would crescendo into shrieking howls over the drums and guitar, and then abruptly alternate into psychedelic, reverb-rich melody. Drummer Cory Gorey piped viciously into his harmonica between singing and drumming. More people filed in to watch. Smashing away intensely at the drums, Gorey tipped over his tom and later shoulder-bumped his mic into an obnoxious swivel around his head. Unaffected, he kicked the tom away and the two carried on, rarely pausing between songs. Midway through, guitarist Tim Pronovost stepped into the crowd, beating one of Gorey’s toms and handing it off to an audience member to play before returning to the stage. By the time they started playing “Waddle,” the crowd reached to the back of the room.

The Babs Johnson Gang was followed by Mondo Deco, one of Sacramento’s newer rock acts. The six-piece band stepped on stage looking like they walked out of a ‘60s film, sporting black and white pants, button-down shirts, suit jackets and bowties. In addition to two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, the band featured two shimmying back-up singers/dancers in sparkling attire and boots. Singer/guitarist Jeremy Green, who also fronts local band Goodness Gracious Me, has the voice of a quintessential rock vocalist, hitting shrill, high-pitched screams and low notes, too. Guitarist Kolton James’ fingers glided along the neck of his guitar, delivering smooth solos and progressions with ease. Green counted in the last song, “Mouth Without a Muzzle.” At this point the crowd was thick and the room was hot. The band delivered one more dose of heavy guitars joined with a danceable beat, riling up the crowd to clap and sing along. Then the drums and bass slowed, the dancers slowed to a sway, and the crowd sang with Green until the song came to a harmonious halt.

Enter Lite Brite. Frontman Eddie Underwood kicked off the set with a power-driven guitar riff, summoning the start of the three-piece band’s hit “Big City.” Underwood’s gritty, reverb-filled screams matched with surging guitar distortion and grinding bass conjured up an amphitheater-style performance. The Led Zeppelin influence is apparent. Underwood leapt in the air, shredded his guitar and thrashed about his mane of curls simultaneously, pausing ever so often to thrust his guitar high above his head. Sweat dripping from his chin, he turned to jam his quivering guitar up against the face of his amp, delivering pulsing feedback throughout the room. Heads were rolling in the front row by the time they played their final song, “Space Shuttle.” The guitars shot off like sirens and the massive drums rolled in. By the end of the song, Underwood was on his knees face-down on the stage, moaning into the drum mic cupped in his hands.

At the end of the show, Submerge asked Babs Johnson Gang for their set list. Gorey answered, “We never use set lists. Stick that in your Submerge.”

Then he offered us a free CD.

Lite Brite

Sacramento’s Not Your Style to Release Pop-Punk Debut In Season

Make no mistake about it: pop-punk as a revolutionary genre of music is quite dead. Even as a marketable way to sell skate decks, or dunks, or hair gel, it’s a goddamn apparition. But–and this is a big but–this is not to say that there aren’t times when you can relish in the finer glimmers in the flashes in the pan. Most everyone who digs pop music can appreciate the hook-y sensibility and heart-wrenching gloom of an old Saves the Day record, or a (A) New Found Glory EP. Where was I the first time I heard Blink 182’s Cheshire Cat? On Airport Road in Redding, Calif., after school on the way to Circuit City. See how that works? Those who experienced Lagwagon can’t tell fans of Panic! At the Disco about it and expect them to listen; just like those who wiggled to the spastic skate-punk of Descendents couldn’t expect Lagwagon disciples to “know” what it “really meant to rock!”

It’s for the reasons above that Not Your Style’s relatively tardy arrival to the pop-punk canon can be dismissed. Because inside all the premeditated naysaying hard-wired into critics who are interested in moving past frigid forms of expression, there lies that concession that every take is a new scene.

Not Your Style is resurrecting sunny melodies in Sacramento, and back-dropping them with crunchy riffs, four-on-the-floor rock drumming and saccharine-sweet lyrical imagery. It’s a formula that vocalist Laith Kayyali says has been honed over the last two years through heavy writing, recording and building a name for themselves. With a stated goal of becoming “the world’s greatest pop-punk band,” Kayyali and bassist Kylan Kegel laid the foundation of Not Your Style after the demise of their former alt-rock band, and a search through Craigslist to round out the crew.

“We wanted to take this more seriously and put a lot more time and effort into this band,” explains Kayyali. “We didn’t really go in with a lot of expectations. Things kind of just took off beyond anything we thought would’ve happened.”

After a couple of drumming substitutions, the band recorded their debut EP, …In the Conservatory with the Wrench, with Sacramento producer/engineer Jay Trammell after only six weeks together. The EP found its way into the hands of Mark Gilmore at 98 Rock, and around the same time, their song “Not a Star” was entered into a local contest for a set at the upcoming Rockalottapuss metal concert at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, to open for Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Saliva, among others. The band won the opening gig by popular vote.

“We were in a little over our heads, but we enjoyed every second of it,” remembers Kayyali. “Compared to the other bands, we didn’t have much business to be there. We were a brand new pop-punk band, playing with metal gods Judas Priest and Whitesnake. Obviously, that didn’t crush our spirits.”

That same resiliency led the band full-steam ahead into their second recording session with Trammell, to record the It’s Treason Then EP, with a much more refined focus on waving the pop-punk flag…unwaveringly.

“Our writing definitely matured,” says Kayyali of the second EP. “Our first session wasn’t as ‘pop-punk’ as our newest stuff. We sat down, and established we want to write fun, upbeat pop-punk songs, so our newest songs have followed that. We didn’t really put a timeline on it, but we’ve at least established what we’re trying to be.”

Kayyali reports the band is more interested in its songs translating well to the live setting. But that doesn’t mean the band’s debut full-length In Season is anything less than a sonically enjoyable listen. NYS spent all of November 2010 at Fat Cat Studios fine-tuning their sound, and grooming their new drummer–ex-Resolve to Burn skin man Ray Sisco–for what’s easily their biggest achievement yet. They’re currently gearing up for their official CD release show, set for Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale.

Blasting from the main speakers that night will be samples of Kayyali and Company’s affection for peppy riffs, big choruses, rapid-fire drums and lots of “whoa-oh” harmonizing. “Last Forever”–probably the most single-worthy track in this self-released collection–tunes up the schmaltzy cues of early Anberlin, replete with hook-heavy bridges and perfectly pitched vocals. “Hakuna Stigmata” clears the way for double-bass-as-brigadier metal-lite, with heaping helpings of layered choral effects and a never-ending lead guitar that showcases the fretwork of the ax men. The result of these and their companion tracks–diverse despite themselves–reinforces the band’s devotion to their goal. What was that again? Oh right: to be The World’s Greatest Pop-Punk Band.

Even the band’s name seems to suggest that they’re letting you in on a ruse–that though music listeners at large may sigh a collective “neeeeext” upon news of the pop-punkiness of the band, they’ve got a response to that covered by their very moniker. You lose. But, as Kayyali explains, that’s really not the case.

“[Not Your Style] fit our idea of what we wanted the band to be,” says Kayyali. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we know pop-punk isn’t the most widely accepted genre, especially in an area where pop-punk bands are few and far between. So it really works on all levels.”

As for the critics, the hipsters, the ever-present posh police, don’t expect NYS to bow to anything aside from the resonance of a timeless melody or a potent pop guitar progression.

“We always wanted to be known as one of the best live bands in the area,” relates Kayyali. “We feel pop-punk gives us what we need to make that happen. The genre definitely isn’t what it used to be, but we’re hoping to change that. I’d love to hear more criticism about our genre, band and what we’re trying to accomplish. Hopefully critics will watch our live show and enjoy it no matter what we’re playing. With criticism, we can only get better.”

Sister Crayon Steps It Up Further on Debut LP

It was a gray and windy afternoon on the beaches of Malibu. A tidal wave warning was in effect, but there local band Sister Crayon stood, fully-clothed, sharp shoreline rock at their ankles, as photographer Eliot Lee Hazel barked orders to capture the frozen chaos of crashing white caps for the band’s debut album art.

Lead singer Terra Lopez slipped during one shot, cutting her leg, but Hazel ran his shoot like a drill sergeant. “He just said, ‘Get up. Don’t smile. Don’t look at me,’” Lopez said. “Well, he’s a sweetheart, nice guy, you can sit down and talk to him, but when he’s taking photos he is so intense.”

As absurd as it feels to the members of Sister Crayon, Lopez and drummer Nicholas Suhr spoke of the shoot as one of their most memorable music experiences–even though it had little to do with music. Along with Hazel’s artwork, the band has a high-def music video done by celebrity photographer Robert Ascroft. Browsing both photographers’ websites, perusing the tastefully gratuitous images of Devendra Banhart, Usher, Mariah Carey, Edward Sharpe and Brad Pitt, Sister Crayon will be the first to tell you how privileged, yet out of place they feel. Are these the last remaining minor moments of Sister Crayon before they receive Coachella bookings and Japan tour offers?

In the next few weeks, the band is playing humbler venues like Townhouse for the Sacramento Electronic Music Festival and Luigi’s Fungarden for the Bellow album release party. So our indie darlings have yet to grow too big for our sleepy city. Lopez looks like a siren Viking vixen in the video for “(In) Reverse,” but when I met with her and Suhr at Mondo Bizarro (formerly Butch & Nellie’s) for an interview, she was back in her Midtown garb, a second-hand green army jacket and jeans–the Lindsay Weir of Freaks and Geeks look. She’s still the same shy songwriter, fronting a gloomy pop act that seeks inspiration in the lonesome despair of poets like Jean Genet and Fernando Pessoa.

The Bellow sessions scattered across the span of a year and a half. The newly realized lineup of Sister Crayon crammed in 18-hour shifts at The Hangar with engineer Scott McShane, who described the process as “tense” and a “guerilla recording style.” McShane produced the first Sister Crayon EP, Enter Into Holy (Or)ders, and the band never entertained the thought of working with anyone else. “Recording already is a really intimate thing. We bond so well with him. He gets what we’re trying to do, even before we understand it,” Lopez said.

“He’s able to throw out ideas that’s not in an insulting way. It’s just full-on experimenting and you know that it’s for the best. He pushes us to succeed,” Suhr added.

The tension came from the hourglass pressure of paying for studio time and the unfamiliarity of having a new drummer join two weeks prior, writing his parts on the fly. Suhr was not a complete stranger, knowing Lopez from her stint in The Evening Episode, but he and Lopez talked of the anxieties surrounding a debut full length. “We were zombies. We’d spend 18 hours in the studio and you can hear it in the record,” she said.

Originally, Bellows was intended to be a five-song EP, written by Lopez and synth-keyboardist Dani Fernandez, with “I’m Still the Same Person” being the only pre-released song to make the album. But once the band wrapped recording those five songs, creativity was running high and five more songs were written collectively. “Scott kept telling us there was a lot of tension on the record,” Suhr said. “If you know what was going on at the time it makes sense. There was a lot of time spent coming to an agreement on things, but whenever we’re writing together there’s no awkwardness. It was easy to go into the next five songs with an open mindset.”

Indeed, the settling in is brazen and culminates with a spacious piano ballad called “Ixchel, The Lady Rainbow,” in which Lopez’s visceral croon soars over a piece written by former member Genaro Ulloa. “Ixchel” was the last song the band recorded, a one-take recording done well past the midnight hour. “We did it live tracking,” Lopez said. “He was in the other room and I was in the main room singing. We could see each other through a little window, but that was it. It was the first take and it was incredible. I know it sounds corny, but there were tears in everyone’s eyes. We were all exhausted. Even Scott had tears in his eyes.”

Suhr added, “It’s one of those songs. Every other song on the record we did multiple takes because we felt we could do better. At the end of that song, everyone was just like what the fuck. It’s one of those songs where if it didn’t sound like that, with the imperfections left in, it wouldn’t have worked.”

The gloomy pop instrumentation informed by the troubled words of dead poets is an appropriate setting for an album titled Bellow, but Suhr said a lot of the mood is owed to McShane’s guidance. “I heard the five songs written before I joined, but the mood had changed through Scott’s ears.” Lopez said his touch is most prevalent on “Here We Never Die and “(In) Reverse” as he took the band’s ideas and focused them into a cohesive sound.

In addition to McShane, the Sister Crayon sound, most notably the lyrics, is in homage to the writings of Fernando Pessoa, a 20th Century poet and literary critic. Lopez only admitted her obsession with Pessoa’s work. She has a Pessoa tattoo and her Pug’s name is Ophelia, after Pessoa’s secret crush to whom he never confessed his love. “It’s the despair,” she said. “It sounds dramatic, but he was such a lonely individual. He was very mysterious and obviously people are drawn to that.

“I think that is a huge part of Bellow. ‘Here We Never Die’ is my talking to a lover in that way. The despair and sadness that he wrote is so sad that I can’t even finish one of his books. I have to read a sentence a day sometimes because it’s so much. It just floors me. I have no option when it comes to his presence in my music.”

As intense as Sister Crayon is sonically and visually portrayed, Hazel’s insistency that the band stop smiling as the chilly Pacific waves capsized on their heads speaks of the band’s unbridled joy in its work. As arresting as “Ixchel, The Lady Rainbow” is, Bellow closes with “Souls of Gold,” a cheery campfire sing-a-long with a blasting brass section and woozy synths. “We’re always such a serious band and a lot of our songs are really dark,” Lopez said. “I do like that the album ends on a lighter note than what it could have been.”

See Sister Crayon live at their release party for their new album Bellows at Luigi’s Fungarden on Feb. 19.

Pets Return to “Kill The Boredom” For Second Album

Most people watch TV and play video games in their living room, but Allison Jones and Derek Fieth of the rock band Pets use their house space a little differently. For the past few years, the rock couple has used their living room as an area to practice their music for upcoming gigs and recordings.

“Our living room is set up so one side is a couch and the other side is all of the amps and guitars set up against the wall,” said Fieth with a laugh. “So when it’s time to practice we have to drag it out, like we are setting up for a show. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s great to practice at home but it does make it a bit of an event.”

Although they would like to have a separate music room in their home to rehearse in, the only thing they seem to need is each other to begin the creative flow.

“He just doesn’t write a song and then I am like, ‘OK show me how to play it,’” explained Jones. “We write at the same time.”

But after much practicing, Pets are ready to unveil their second album, Ready the Rifles with 10 new tracks that will turn your mundane day into a rock out session. At first, they chose their album name because it simply sounded cool, but Jones and Fieth soon realized that the title had more meaning than they thought.

“The ‘rifles’ are whatever you use or we use to kill the boredom,” Fieth said. “So it’s like a call to action…your rifles kill the boredom. The last song is called ‘Bored to Kill’ and that’s what the whole thing is kind of about. If you’re bored, then make it better.”

The amount of footwork Pets put into their new CD could make them one of the hardest working bands in the area. The guitar players made sure that every part of their new album, from the artwork to the packaging, was under their control.

“It was cool to be so hands-on with the company making the CD though,” said Fieth after sipping his $1 Olympia beer. “It just shows that anybody can do it, if they get into it and go for it.”

Both band members agreed that if you mixed the music from The Raveonettes and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club it would equal their new rock sound for Pets’ upcoming album.

Ready the Rifles is fully equipped with live drums and has a “straight rock ‘n’ roll” feel to it, compared to their debut album Pick Up Your Feet, which prominently featured a synthesizer and a drum machine. These days, the duo decided to drop the old drum machine and only play with a live drummer for all of their shows.

“So that’s a big difference. It’s always going to be a live band from now on, which is fun,” said Fieth. “We love the drum machine, but we had pretty much had that machine run its course… But the energy playing with live drummers is awesome, especially with the new songs.”

“There’s obviously extra energy on stage,” added Jones.

Pets recorded Ready the Rifles with Ira Skinner at Alley Avenue Studios and hope to book him for future shows as their drummer.

“We would have had to buy a new [drum machine] and learn how to use it,” Fieth stated. “Or hire a regular full time drummer, but we love being just a two-person band. We don’t want to officially have a third member.”

One of their personal favorite tracks on the new album is “Sweetspot,” because it only took them about two afternoons to put together, unlike some of their other songs which took them months to produce.

Both members are Sacramento residents. Jones, from Citrus Heights, and Fieth, from Yuba City, feel like they have played at almost every local venue such as Old Ironsides, Marilyn’s, Press Club, The Distillery, Luigi’s, The Blue Lamp and even Sacramento State. But with the rapidly changing music scene in Sacramento, booking shows for their new music might be a different experience for Pets.

“When we had the drum machine it seemed like sometimes people didn’t know where to put us on a show,” said Fieth. “Now we’ve got this full, loud, rock ‘n’ roll set up. So we’re excited to see what happens.”

In 2010, Pets were pleasantly surprised to win the Sacramento Area Music Award (The Sammie) for “Outstanding Pop,” because they have been nominated multiple times but in different music categories.

It took Pets five years between their two albums, because they never feel the need to force the music out of their heads. They only play rock ‘n’ roll to have fun.

“If it gets hard, then we kind of put it off,” Fieth said.

“We go out instead,” continued Jones.

Even when choosing a band name in the summer of 2003, they decided to keep things short and sweet.

“We made a few simple rules,” said Fieth. “We wanted something that didn’t tell you what kind of music it was going to be. A lot of bands you can tell what you are going to hear just by reading the name. Pets was pretty unassuming.”

But when the fun-loving rockers aren’t on stage, they enjoy a good night out on the town in Sacramento’s downtown grid, mini vacations to San Francisco, and taking care of their pet cat named Townes. They even like refer to themselves as local “happy hour hounds.”

“We can tell you all the good happy hours,” said Jones. “We would have moved if Sacramento wasn’t so good… If there were no downtown, we wouldn’t be living in Sacramento. It’s comfortable, it’s nice.”

When the duo is on stage playing their loud rock set, it is easy to expect both members to be full of delicious pizza every time they perform. When it is show day, Pets have their pre-show ritual food at their weekly downtown eatery, Pete’s Pizza.

Whether its happy hour hunting or guitar practicing in their living room, Pets’ are ready to rock Sacramento and Ready the Rifles definitely won’t kill anyone from boredom, with their raw guitar sounds, synchronized vocals and live drumbeats.

If you are 21+ and missed their all ages CD release show at Luigi’s Fungarden in Jan. you can see them this coming Friday Feb. 4 at the Townhouse. Show starts at 9 p.m. with DJ SAMiJAM, Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, Taylor Cho and Roger Carpio.

Veteran Sacramento Rock Band Breva Comes Full Circle

The music business, even on a local level, is tough to break into. It’s cliquish and nepotistic, and like any other field, it’s all who you know. For the patient and persistent, however, the rewards are there. Local hard rock/alternative band Breva, from Folsom, is just now ready to reap those rewards, with the help of some local rock heavy-hitters.

According to drummer John Dutra, Breva has “been a band for six years, but we’ve been playing together for eight or so.” They put out two self released albums–their eponymous, self-recorded full-length album in 2005 and The Great Communicator, a five-song EP in 2007–and in early 2011, they will put forth The American Landscape, a more proper debut full-length. This time around, Breva worked with Simon Says/Rock Inc.’s Zac Diebels, who served as producer, and Far’s Shaun Lopez, who mixed the LP. Dutra says working with these two stalwarts of Sacramento’s rock scene felt like Breva had finally come “full circle.”

“To come and meet that circle, that we’re working with these dudes now, that makes us feel like we’re really doing something good and trying to kick down some doors in the Sacramento scene, which we really haven’t tried to do before,” he says.

Originally, Breva was set to work with only Diebels on The American Landscape, but at their producer’s suggestion, they brought Lopez on to mix the album.

“Zac and Shaun go way back, and they’re good buddies,” Dutra says. “That was kind of [Zac’s] call. It was his suggestion. He said it might be best to get another name on it, give a little more power to it and get fresh set of ears on it to mix. We were totally stoked about that.”

The result is an album on which Dutra says Breva “is coming into our own.” Not only did they get to work with more established Sacramento musicians, but the band also took more of a collaborative and varied approach to its songwriting.

“The 20 songs [we wrote] that have been hacked away to 10 on the album have been single songs that have been brought in by one person, things that have been jammed out in the room and things that have been taken a piece from this song here with a piece of this song here,” Dutra explains.

On their last release, Dutra says the songs were generally written by just one person and brought to the rest of the band.

“This one is much more diverse,” he continues. “There are songs that Phong [Ho, guitarist] wrote entirely on his own, and we didn’t even touch them. We just practiced them and recorded them. There are songs that we have that are four years old that we’ve tacked new parts on to and took out old parts and extended parts and twisted parts around. The main point is we’re all super involved in every aspect of it.”

Dutra contributed by stepping out from behind his drum kit and writing a few songs on guitar. He says that he knows enough guitar “to get ideas across,” then leaves it up to Ho to embellish upon those ideas and make them better. Dutra says his proficiency on the guitar also informs his work on the drums.

“I think of myself more playing the drums like a guitar player or a bass player,” he says. “I’m not really a drummer kind of guy where I’m up there shredding and trying to do drum solos and four bar drum fills. I just try to play the song.”

One song that Dutra had a big hand in on The American Landscape was tentatively titled “The Mars Volta.” The title of the song has since been changed to “Paper Is Poverty.” Dutra says he’s got a hit-or-miss relationship with the music of The Mars Volta, but the song is certainly inspired by the work of the group.

“That was one of the last songs we had written out of the batch of 18 or 20, and I had come into the studio one day, and I just did this drumbeat,” he says. “I said to the guys to play something to it, because it was kind of a cool little beat that feels like it’s in a weird time signature, but it’s in 4/4.

“We started jamming to it, and it was tentatively called ‘The Mars Volta,’ because I just stole the drumbeat from that dude,” he admits with a laugh. “I mean, like, lick for lick.”

Imitation is the biggest form of flattery, after all, but Breva’s latest effort probably won’t remind you of the aforementioned prog rockers. The American Landscape certainly contains elements of progressive rock music and perhaps splashes of psychedelia, but the band’s sound is imbued with the sort of energy found in the alternative rock of the early to mid-‘90s. Lyrically, the album is just as hard to define, but Dutra doesn’t mind it that way. From the album’s title and its cover (a political cartoon drawn by Rex Babin of the Sacramento Bee) it could be speculated that the lyrics would have a hard-line slant, but Dutra says that’s not necessarily the case.

“I don’t think all of [the songs] are political,” he says. “I would say that maybe two or three of them are politically driven, but maybe there’s more than that. I’m not too into the politics part, so I can hear a song–unless it’s like Rage Against the Machine or something, where they’re driving it down your throat–it’s not like that to me. I guess I perceive things differently, and I think that’s how Andy [Mills, vocalist] prefers it to be.”

Dutra says The American Landscape will be available in February, but could be pushed back to March. He says the band may release the album digitally at first and then try to shop it around to labels. In any case, Breva seems to have found its place in Sacramento’s rock ranks.

Breva’s The American Landscape will be available early 2011. In the meantime, see the band play Jan. 27 at The Press Club. Show starts at 8 p.m.

Hanover Saints release a new album, look to cement their legacy in their hometown
Words by Butch Ivory

For nearly 20 years, Brian Hanover has been devouring the sights, sounds and chaos of Sacramento punk rock. The Hanover Saints have spent the most crucial chunk of that time writing, recording and improving their place in its history.

In the following interview, with a renewed sense of purpose and a brand new release in the can, Brian Hanover discusses and argues about what drives him and the band to once again climb back into the blood-stained ring of Sacramento’s underground.

After several lineup changes and a solid new record, Murdertown, The Hanover Saints seemed to vanish. Why the comeback? Why now?
I never really wanted to put it on hold. But at the time we went on hiatus I was going through a lot mentally, business- and family-wise, and just wanted to see things from a non-band perspective. I always hoped to one day get back, when it was right for me… I think at some point I was missing something inside myself that I needed to tap into and stepping away seemed to be the most honest thing to do. I started playing solo and fell in love with not having to rely on other people to make music, but it allowed me to challenge everything I was about.

How has your solo experience affected the Hanover Saints?
I needed to shake my core, and playing live by myself channeled a lot of those feelings, beliefs, and not compromising. So three years went by and Wy [Harrell], our drummer, played on some solo stuff and we always talked about it. He has stayed loyal through it all, and when asked to play a show last June, I called the three guys up. So much time had passed, and we missed being around each other and wanted to play. It was just time. The music business side has changed so much that we knew we had to do this all ourselves, and it was the truest place for us so we moved forward. The solo thing has really helped me be more focused when writing and allowed me to take more risks… I just write and what comes out just comes out. Hanover Saints material was coming out in my writing at home, and it came at a perfect time to start playing together again. Maybe not financially, but that never has been a deciding factor, but it has its challenges with releasing music these days. Anything goes in that area now. We are really enjoying the freedom of music and how creative it can be, which is making Hanover Saints a healthier situation for all of us.

Lyrically, you seem to focus more on the personal than the political. Is this a conscious decision? Or is it a reflection of the type of songwriters you most identify with?
On this EP, I left it more open-ended. We had a solid fellow produce us at a certain point, and we had a meeting to talk about the record. He said, “When I listen to your past songs, I don’t feel like I know you, but I do know you, and I know your personal story. I challenge you to dig deep.” I think at that moment it clicked for me. I hid a lot from my past because of the pain and just wanted to bury it and forget it happened. Those things have a way of resurfacing, and it helped me to become a more honest, well-rounded songwriter instead of a topical one. There are some political leanings on “Nailed to the Letter” that have to do with right-wing conservative politicians, which is so cliché. But coming from someone who believes in the Lord and can’t relate to one word they say, it puts me back into the “I don’t belong anywhere” category… I am not down with blind hatred and when a movement becomes more important than human beings.

For many of us who have followed The Hanover Saints for several years, we have witnessed an evolution of sorts, from a “Christian punk” band to a band that has members who are Christian but play to the masses and not just to the converted, so to speak. Please explain what led you personally and the band to this decision?
It’s never been a conscious decision per se. I think it’s easy for anyone to label what they are passionate about, whether it’s straight edge, or Rasta, or whatever it may be. I just felt like our actions and music spoke for themselves. I have never denied my faith and have had record offers pulled from the table because of what I believe, but I didn’t grow up in the church, and honestly still don’t fit in most so-called churches. I honestly believe with every ounce of my being that the American church is so tied up in the political power agenda that it misses everything Jesus said. But to get back on point, I hate labels. With my life and my struggles, and believe me I am a troubled human being, I need peace in my life otherwise I flip out. But I have never wanted to alienate a person who doesn’t “believe”… All I ever wanted to do is just write real songs and maybe I am longwinded, but I’m super passionate about songwriting, and it’s a gift that I don’t take for granted. I am hoping one day I can sing better though [laughs].

It is a gift, but at some point wasn’t there a decision to be made about playing with certain bands and on certain bills that made you aware of the labels that people on all sides of the coin want to place on you?
All I ever wanted to do is play music, as far back as I can remember, and when I discovered punk in late 1984/early 1985 and picked up a guitar, I never worried about what people thought. Not till I got into my mid-20s when Hanover Saints started did I see these labels define a scene. I have always played wherever to whomever, and if these certain people want to label me, so be it. I heard people’s rhetoric from stage and then I would be hanging out with them later and helping them or they would be helping us, so sometimes the whole idea of it just seems to blur the lines, and it comes from both sides. But, being misconstrued from both sides has never stopped me. I am a really caring person inside, and the thought of someone not liking us for playing with this band or that band could eat you up inside by trying to figure it out. Music is supposed to be creative, freeing, uplifting and life-changing, and if someone is worried about what I do and where I play and who I hang out with, they are missing the best part about music. I just finally recently found a huge amount of peace knowing I am never going to fit in and it’s OK.

How has being a father changed your music, your attitude, and your desire to continue to make punk rock?
Being a father has made me a better person. More patient, more forgiving, but also making music since my son was born has made me way more focused just on the fact that he comes first and all else comes later. He is a great kid. He loves me playing music and we play tunes together. It’s a part of our family. I have to be wiser about money, but we all love punk in this house. He loves everything from Madball to Kepi Ghoulie, from Youth of Today to The Clash. He likes what he likes. I remember one day a CD ejected from the car, and it turned to classic rock. It was Skynyrd, and he said, “Dad put on some real rock ‘n’ roll, this sucks.” So I said “Give me a second, I am trying to put another CD in,” but he has no time for what he doesn’t like. But he loves all the music I play. He is my biggest fan and punk will be around forever in this household.

Regarding the future, you have a new EP, Bitter Pills, coming out this month on Revolution Ink records.
We have our first release since our record Murdertown. I am releasing it on my label, Revolution Ink Records, digitally and on CD, and a local label Pleasant Screams Cassettes is doing a limited run on cassette. Hopefully we’ll have it on vinyl early next year. Money has been super tight, and we don’t play a lot, so basically we had $500 to record our EP and I am pressing it. The rest of our money has gone to rehearsal space rent. So we are excited to get back and playing live and writing even more songs.

The new songs seem to reflect a more soulful singing style. The songs still have the aggression of Murdertown but seem to have a more Iggy and the Stooges vibe in spots. What do you credit with your growth as a singer and as a songwriter?
I always feel uncomfortable singing, but I have always had this pent-up aggression within me. I just wanted to capture that with more soulful melody, but that’s always just hanging on the edge where at any moment it can just fall apart. During this session, which was five hours of vocals, I literally was grabbing the wall and just shaking and taking myself out. I found this spot where I trusted myself with being on the edge of it falling apart. But I think since the hiatus I have written about 40 songs in various styles, like Motown, straight folk almost Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie style, to Creedence sounding tunes. What I was realizing was how much of a music lover I am, and how much different stuff I listen to from Joy Division, 4 skins, Swervedriver, to Joan Baez, The Damned, to the Australian band The Saints, so I just felt free to be free and that I had nothing to lose.

If it sucks, it sucks, but I love these songs. It is just a new chapter for me. I always go into Hanover Saints recordings as the band’s biggest fan. I ask myself would I listen to this and what do I want from us?

Can we expect The Hanover Saints to disappear again after this record or are you guys back for a while?
I hope we are around for a while, but I like not ever knowing. I want it as raw and close to the edge as possible. I am hoping for more time. I don’t think it’s done!

 
 

Matt and Evan Ferro hone their sibling chemistry as Roman Funerals
Words by Bobby Gulshan

When the guys from Roman Funerals arrived at the Bistro, the first question I asked them was how much time they had. If they wanted to just crank out this interview, I was prepared to do that. Alternately, we could order a few rounds, get some food and see where it led. They agreed to the latter, and the Scottish ale began to flow. Luckily, I remembered what the hell I was doing there in the first place and managed to get some of it on tape.

We started talking about a line from the band’s bio. Matt Ferro offered the following: “How do I know that 99 percent of musicians are scumbags? Dude, I have been playing and touring for a long time. I know they are scumbags. Hell, I am a scumbag.” It may seem like a callous generalization, but as our conversation continued, it became clear to me that neither Matt Ferro, nor his brother Evan, would indulge in any hostile posturing. “There are a few good eggs out there,” Matt continued. “But there is just something about music. Think of the expected rewards, like sex and drugs and money, it’s going to attract certain kinds of people.”

I am not sure if the Ferro brothers were ever those “certain kinds of people.” It seems hard to believe they could have been. Having spent nearly a decade in the seminal Sacramento band Bright Light Fever, the approach to their new project is built on a foundation of experience and maturation. This includes years of touring and exposure to the music industry, culminating in a brief dalliance with major label status. “We had our toes in with Island Records, and we got a taste of all that,” Matt said. And for all the “scumbaggery” out there, Matt stated unequivocally that his brother Evan is not a scumbag, and hence from the ashes of Bright Light Fever emerged Roman Funerals.

The Ferro brothers have been playing together since 2005 and have developed a close working relationship that Evan describes as “second nature.” In music, chemistry is everything, and to hear these guys tell it, being brothers almost gives them an unfair advantage. It comes through on the soon to be released EP, Six of Us. The sound of the record is generally stripped down and tight, with an underlying foundation of acoustic guitars and warm, two-part harmonies. It’s difficult to locate the music of Roman Funerals on the style spectrum, but there are hints of certain influences. “The way we put this record together was a little foreign for us. We wanted to make it feel a little uncomfortable,” said Matt, reflecting on the process of writing the EP. As a result, there are stylistic turns that may or may not be obvious, like my insistence that the track “Lineage” sounds like it could have been performed by an ‘80s New Romantic band. However, it’s clear that on some of the other tracks, the folk-y, almost country-like guitar parts drive the tunes. And as Evan explained, “it’s heavily influenced by The Byrds, and their record Sweetheart of the Rodeo.”

The best thing about interviewing bands is that on occasion, you will get to talk to someone who is as much of a music nerd as you. The Brothers Ferro are those kinds of guys, the ones who will drink and debate about “top fives” like characters from a Nick Hornsby novel. At a certain point in the interview, after beers and a couple slices of gourmet pizza, the conversation turned to black metal and black metal documentaries, and how Gaahl from Gorgoroth came out of the closet. If I wasn’t careful, I would forget all about the interview and start articulating my argument in favor of Dragonforce. Luckily, I remembered my notes.

I told the guys I spent the earlier part of the day listening to the EP. “Did it bum you out? I mean, it’s kind of a gloomy day,” offered Matt. It’s clear that Six of Us isn’t a summer party soundtrack. Despite the Ferros’ reverence for the jangly, country rock of the Byrds, the Roman Funerals EP is decidedly moodier. The record was produced by Robert Cheek of By Sunlight, a former Sacramento band now based in Seattle. The EP also features the services of the Alternative String Band, a prominent local string quartet. “Playing with the string quartet made us feel like legit musicians,” Evan said, as if their status was in question somehow. The EP, available on Nov. 16, features six songs that are brilliantly played and captured. Cheek’s production preserves the stripped down, folk-y feel and avoids excessive overproduction. Matt said that other members of By Sunlight, who also play in Roman Funerals, contributed to the production and performances on the record; a collective effort put forward to make manifest the musical vision of the Brothers Ferro.

Increasingly, digital technology and social media outlets mean that bands can do a lot of things that used to be the province of a dedicated cadre of professionals. I wondered what Matt and Evan thought about how technology has changed the way bands approach their craft, especially since these guys basically cut their teeth in a period that immediately preceded the Web 2.0 explosion.

“It’s a double-edged sword. You can immediately record and put something on the Internet, and it’s totally shit. But it allows you to do stuff like record the demos and stuff you’ve written without a lot of cost or complications,” Matt said. Furthermore, control over the business aspects of being in a band provide artists with complete control, and decrease the chance of being screwed over by opportunistic “scumbags.” And anyways, if you know some Web designers and graphic artists, you can always get by with a little help from your friends. However, there is another wrinkle in the social media phenomenon that troubles and intrigues, according to Evan. “You can’t just let the music speak for itself anymore, you have to explain yourself,” he said. “The mystery is gone; people can find out everything about you.” It’s the age of the voyeur and the exhibitionist. “Maybe we are at a point culturally where that is part of the game,” Matt said.

As the pizza disappeared and the glasses were drained, I started to wind down the interview. I promised to mention certain things in the final piece, like their waitress friend Courtney, and to keep certain other things out for the sakes of their parents. However, the conversation could have gone on. Matt and Evan are not only talented songwriters and musicians. They are bright, articulate and insightful guys. They may well end up filling that void in the local music scene, a scene in need of a focal point and a couple of really bright lights.