Only seconds into meeting Dead Scene Radio, I do something I never set out to do: blatantly embarrass the band.
In an honest effort for accuracy, I ask that they wear nametags (which are actually mailing labels-- all together now, “amateur”); I’m not too worried about it until our self-proclaimed “80’s hair metal freak” waitress (more on that later) calls out Aaron.
“Can I just say that I love that you’re wearing a nametag?” she says in blatant, but clearly flirtatious mockery.
Before I can jump in and explain, Aaron (bass) proudly pats it even more firmly into place, and offers an interesting factoid, launching us into the first of an unknown number of side-tracks: apparently, the upper right-hand side of one’s shirt is the “correct” place to wear a nametag, because it’s easier to see when you extend your right hand in a handshake. Unaffected by the helpful networking tip, the waitress bounces off to retrieve our first of several pitchers of Rolling Rock.
All the while, three fourths of Dead Scene Radio (Aaron, bass; Matt, guitars; and drummer Jeff]; second guitar player Jake is yet to show up) are cracking jokes, quoting everything from Zoolander ("How do you spell eu-google-y?") to Coffee and Cigarettes to The Office; each, in turn, interjects random references and sends the other two into a fit of laughter; they are the conversational equivalent of an Asian sibling acrobatic team in Cirque du Soleil, reading each other in a near-telepathic manner, appearing as appendages of one entity.
Jake shows up in time; we revert, almost immediately, to the past. The boys met in high school, and apparently, principle songwriters Matt and Jake didn't get along; the reasons for which, like so many great human mysteries, have been lost to time. Matt smiles and shrugs off discussion of the rivalry, but Jake, ever his counterpoint, offers an explanation: "You [hadn't] grown into your glasses yet, and your hair was short as shit!"
Almost immediately, it becomes apparent that though they are tight-- almost frighteningly so-- the guys really couldn't be more different. A juxtaposition of musical influences from MXPX, Our Lady Peace, and the Supertones, to the Beatles and Elvis Costello, to 1930's blues and Motown, makes for a unique final product: everything we love about rock and roll with a healthy dose of all the fun, catchiness, and charm of pop: think Weezer and latter-day They Might Be Giants, proudly clinging to the "four-letter word" that "pop" has become in a world of groups selling out of the pop styles that have nurtured generations of music geeks into sleeker, more (superficially) cerebral "indie."
But make no mistake: these guys aren't just fucking around. In fact, their level of seriousness and commitment both surprises and impresses me; these are good (and rare) qualities in a local band. With a full-length in the works, the guys are calling on their years of music training and experience-- which stems from their days in high school choir, but has since been elevated to the point that, at one point, Jeff identifies the note of a glass-clink-- to produce a what will likely be a very memorable debut album.
The album began to take shape over a year ago; the EP they have since released was, according to Matt, "what didn't fit" in with the album. In fact, Matt says, "The difference [between the EP and the album] is astronomical. You won't hear another song like 'White Flag,'" he promises, alluding to the band's more punk-rock tendencies, and although the EP was "more fun," Matt states, "To me, the album is more meaningful."
"It's a lot sexier!" Jake blurts.
"I feel sexier when I play it!" Aaron interjects, without missing a beat.
Among other things, we can also expect their full-length to contain a wider variety of sounds than their EP, which featured a more straightforward pop sound, like the novel, Beatle-rendered "Fuck The Times" (whose adorable chorus refrain is "fuck the times/ let's dance the world away").
The Beatles' influence is a nearly palpable force on the band. This fun foursome of high-school mates plays material primarily composed by Jake (who has a propensity for all things "catchy") and Matt (whose musical style is a bit more serious, and a lot more complex). Does this dynamic sound familiar? And while most of the parallels to the boys from Liverpool might seem to be only skin-deep, their influence is undeniable: with favorite albums ranging from "Please Please Me" and "the early stuff" (Aaron) to "Revolver," and "Abbey Road (aka "which one has 'Oh! Darling' on it?")" (for Jake and Matt) to "Let It Be" (Jeff), Dead Scene Radio has it down. Catchy, but oh-so-carefully drawing a line in the sand against the wolfbane/ Kryptonite/ taboo "too catchy;" the dichotomy that separates "boys in a band" from "boy-band."
But to be fair, there is a distinct boy band quality about Dead Scene Radio-- "quality" being the operative word. This was thrown into amazing relief when Jake sauntered in to the interview, a half an hour after we had begun (with a bevy of apologies met with resounding cries of "don't worry... we're having a blast!"), with a Kirk Cameron half-grin and a sheepish admission that "My hair usually looks more fly than this. Like Matt. Matt has the cuteness going on."
By the end of the interview, the band and I have shared information-- musical, personal, and nearly everything in between-- laughs, and inside jokes. Hell, we even find out (I'm still not sure how) that our waitress has two Motle Crue tattoos and that Nikki Sixx is "her idol." How, you might ask, did you happen upon this information without a "real" conversation?
Well, that's just the kind of guys they are.
Oh yeah, and one more thing to look out for from Dead Scene: "The Pet Sounds EP." Pet Sounds... sound familiar? Yes, of course; but, oh wait. "Each of us is going to write a song about one of our pets," Jeff explains. Weird, but cute, and-- all at once-- stubbornly interesting, it sounds about right for Dead Scene Radio.
Dead Scene Radio is to release a full-length album, the date of which is TBA.
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