The Seattle music scene isn't what it was in the 1990s. Ask any member of Motopony, the Emerald City-based rocking, pop-ing folkish band, and they'll tell you the scene has gone from grunge and plaid shirts to a folk and even hip hop social scene. In the Cornerstone offices in New York City, the quintet discussed that and their self-titled debut album and performed the track "Seer" off their record. If you don't know the band by name, by the way, you likely know them by ear. Their smooth hypnotic single "King of Diamonds" has been played repeatedly on SiriusXM and other stations, but isn't about Neil Diamond. Listen and watch below.
"Seer" Live in NYC:
Motopony Interview:
The second band on "A-Sides" is another rocking act but with a more classic rock feel. The Duxbury, Massachusetts-based TAB the Band features brothers Tony and Adrian Perry, who are probably sick about you asking them what it's like having Aerosmith legend Joe Perry as their dad. Along with Ben Tileston and Lou Jannetty, the quartet evoke more comparisons to Cheap Trick and have been touring in support of their album "Zoo Noises." Last week, the quartet made some noises for "A-Sides" by performing a killer informal version of "She Said No ("I Love You"), which appears on that record followed by a Q&A below the vid. Mangia.
"She Said No (I Love You)"
What was the songwriting process for "She Said No (I Love You)"?
Adrian: This is one I came up with. I wanted something that had a chugging, four-on-the-floor beat. Something that felt like a train coming down the track. I had been messing around with a D-tuning on the guitar and the riff just came out. The rest of the song followed pretty quickly. The background vocal part was a big part of the song. The 'I Love Yous' are like a train whistle or something.
What's the song about?
Adrian: It's about holding on to a dream at the expense of your reality.
What does TAB stand for?
Tony: The band name is simply just Tony, Adrian, and Ben. Back when Adrian and I started writing songs and recording stuff we were calling ourselves T&A. So when Ben came in and starting jamming with us we just decided to add the B to the name. Then we added "the Band" so we don't get sued by the coke company. Haha. Plus we consider Lou "the Band" because he is the "glue."
Did you ever drink the soft drink Tab? Just asking.
Adrian: No.
Tony: Yeah I have had it a few times before. I figured I should at least try it out.
Your dad is a legend -- does it help that your music styling are quite different?
Adrian: I don't think it helps or hurts. We do what we do and people will contextualize it however they want. The style our dad plays doesn't affect what we do. What we've learned is to do what we enjoy and not worry about what anyone says. That's what our dad's done and it's worked out fine for him I think.
Tony: I don't think it really makes that much of a difference. Like Adrian said we play what we want and we play what we like. If we were not doing that then there is no point in playing in a band!
About "A-Sides with Jon Chattman"
Jon Chattman's music series features artists (established or not) from all genres performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometime humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, I'm hoping this is refreshing.