Page 183 - ThePhoenix1997-98

FEATURES FEATURES Thursday, May 7, 1998 - Page 11 Campus Conce Special Report Clockwise from top left: Brownie Mary frontswoman. Kelsey Barber Four guys named moe. performs during the opening act; Chuck Garvey of moe. concentrates Rich Simmons talks with Al Schnier, Rob Derhak, Chuck Garvey, and on the music; moe. s lead singer Al Vinny the drummer. Schnier plays some chords during their soundcheck; moe. hang out I met with moe. in the basement of PELC, Me: Well you guys answered another one not in the studio (Rob). Me: How do you keep from going backstage while being interviewed by in a locker room that had been converted into of my questions: You just got done record- doing that? nuts area, where the band was a sort of backstage the Phoenix; the mostly off-campus waiting to perform for the year's Campus ing a new album? moe.: Yon don't, you just accept being moe.: Yeah, we just finished crowd enjoys the sounds of moe.; a Concert. We sat down around a table, and last week (AI). recording it nuts as part of your life. (Rob) By constantly moe. roady takes a break backstage; while Rob Derhak's dog explored the show- Me: What's it called? upgrading and modifying what we do, just Jonasay perform their seventh live ers, we talked about who moe. was, and how : Uh, we don't know yet (AI). Hey, to keep a little more sane I guess (AI). You show. they had gotten to be that way. do stuff like bring your dog with you (Rob). ME: Where did you guys go 10 college? You also do stuff every now and then like New band Jonasay "just wanna rock" rest of us went to SUNY Buffalo. Al moved extra money on a hotel room just so every- it," 'and throw down moe.: r went to SUNY Oneonta "@$#* saying, some (AI). The up there after he had finished school in body gets a bed, or just blow some band Emily Stamathis met with this up and coming band before their set. Oneonta (Rob). money on a VCR (AI). Or lap dances and ME: How did you guys meet? cigars (Rob). If the members of Jonasay get their wish, tastes and influences of each band member. WMC students will be able to say thai they "Everybody brings their own sound to the tions such as 103.1 out of Annapolis and also moe.: Rob and Chuck met in the dorms Me: Where do you guys live when you're Now Hear This, a show on 99.1 WHFS de- had the pleasure of seeing "the next Spinal band," said Sheehy. From Leach's love of voted to new and progressive musical acts. on campus, and my girlfriend was a friend not on tour, are you all still in Albany? Tap" up close on the PELC stage when they country music and the Police to Sheehy's Bad Ferrell stillworks at WHFS; all the band of theirs, and Vinny played in virtually ev- moe.: No, we've been based out of New were only seven live shows into their career. Company influences, they all seem to agree members are balancing day jobs with their ery band in Buffalo (AI). I think I tried 10 York, but everybody else has scattered to Hailing from suburban Maryland, that their-music is about compatibility. scam in on a gig once with you guys, or different areas (Rob). were all They careers. Jonasay - consisting of vocalist and "Our main goal is to be a legitimate suc- burgeoning musical up until eight months ago something (Vinny). Yeah, Vinny wanted to Me: Do you think you guys are ever go- studio musicians songwriter Justin Sheehy, guitarist Mark cess before we're legitimate has beens be- when Jonasay officially fanned, and hold be in the band for a long time, but just ing to able to get rid of the "Plush" stigma? afford to be in it (Rob). moe.: I think we already couldn't have, or at least Williams, bassist Rik Ferrell and drummer cause of our age," joked Sheehy. jobs in the music industry: Williams is a Slow start for ME: So how long have you guys been to the point where it doesn't bug us anymore. Mike Leach - is a band that's rich with a fun Perhaps Williams summed it up best: "I guitar buyer and seller and Leach used.to be together? People, mostly uninformed journalists, have musical background, big goals and what just wanna rock." a producer and tour manager for acts such moe.: Like about eight years (Rob). lumped everybody together musically, Sheehy likes to call "tight, rootsy pop,' fused But based on Jonasay's upcoming pros- as Dylan Fence and Juliana Hatfield. It was clear from the low turnout during the the gypsy moth. Vinny's been with us about a year and a half whether it be the Dead, Phish, or moe. We with a folk sound. pects, they may already be headed for suc- Jonasay may only have been a band for opening acts ofWMC's 1998 Campus Concert The next three songs were performed much now (AI). Time is starting to fly by (Vinny). don't feel threatened by Phish anymore, and He chose to sum up the band's sound as cess. According to Ferrell, the band's future eight months, but Sheehy and Leach have that the main attraction of the night was defi- more intensely, solidly backed by extensive jam- Me: Who writes the songs for moe.? catchy and straightforward, with little pre- looks promising. known each other for 29 years. "We were nitely the jam band moe. The overwhelmingly mingo Yeah, if you make it two years, you're the moe.: Me. (Rob) Songs for us come to- I don't think they ever felt threatened by us has stayed winner a drummer (AI). (the longest tense and no over-the-top playing by anyone They are "not at liberty to say" who ex- friends in my basement when all we had was off-campus crowd that filled PELC on Friday Before the obligatory encore, moe. closed with the band). I'm gonna win! (Vinny). gether in a few different ways, sometimes Me: What are your in particular. actly is expressing interest in the band, but a Farrah Fawcett poster and Bill Cosby night consisted of hardcore devotees that make with Rebulba, a critically acclaimed song from Me: What are your influences? I could it's one person writing all the parts, Me (Rob summer? The music on Jonasay's self-titled debut hinted that they include labels and also IMP, Records," recalls Sheehy. He's been writing up the core of moe.'s fan base. moe.'s 1996 CD, No Doy. The band's encore was again), with everyone being someone's moe.: We're album, released last week on the Sam Record a local songs for eight years. For a band that is known for its incendiary 32 Things, also from No Doy. The song riled up take some guesses ... a plebe, and sometimes the songs come out of Leftover Salmon, going to be touring with Inci- Cheese moe.: Food, TV, money, yeah money's The String label, is a conglomeration of the diverse the crowd for one last Dionysian moment be- He said he's known Williams for four live performances, moe. started off their big one, other music, the Simpsons, women, jams. Really it's everywhere in between (AI). dent, and Strangefolk. It should be a phe- years, and they only met Ferrell six months evening's seton a sluggish note. From the open- fore moe. left the stage. muzak (Rob + AI). You know I used to sell Me: How long do you guys stay out on nomenaltour. (AI) ago when he answered their advertisement ing number, Head, through various tunes until Overall, the band's less than stellar first half that stuff (Vinny). What, muzak? (Rob). the road during the year? Me: Well thanks a lot guys, and good luck for a bass player. Ferrell said that being the Spaz. the band's playing was uncharacteristi- paled in comparison to other live shows, but the Yeah, when r worked for 3M (Vinny). moe.: Most of it (AI). Whenever we're tonight. newest member is exciting because the songs cally tame. moe.'s playing style is usually much high-energy performances of the second half of ME: Do you guys play live in the studio, are new to him. The others agree that his more musically tight than the sub-pear offerings the set saved the concert from mediocrity. or do you record tracks separately? presence brings another whole aspect to the of the first portion of their set. It's quite possible that the performance had a moe.: We've done it all sorts of ways .It's band, both musically and meaningfully. Then suddenly, as if the band could feel that lot to do with the fact that they were playing to a a process of figuring out whatever works best "People are surprised they haven't been they were on the verge of letting a show slip small crowd in PELC after a few highly-recog- for a particular song (AI). You always start together that long; the sound is really tight," away from them, they ripped into the song Let- nized years on the national level. out, or most bands do, thinking that you have said band manager Justin Jones. ter Home which ended the show's slow starting Another detraction was the high volume at to make a live recorded album. Then by the Although Jonasay are thrilled to have streak. which the sound crew blasted the set through time you get through the drum tracks, you their new album recorded, they all stress that After that song their was a brief jam session, PELC. At some points in the performance, the start tweaking and trying to fix things, and performing live is the best part of being in a in which the band's perennial crowd-pleaser headache-inducing bass wash was so strong that then the producer takes over, and you're not band. They've played 10 numerous different Meat was teased, but never took shape. Instead single bass notes could not be delineated and the recording live any more (Rob). It's a little kinds of crowds, and can't recall any "di- the band went into another favorite, Timmy two guitarists were all but drowned out. bit weird also when you get into stuff like sasters" as of yet. Tucker. Timmy Tucker segued directly into that, you start to lose your perspective after Sheehy said the band enjoys the sponta- Moth, a ballad touching on themes of war and by Emily Stamathis and Rich Simmons a while. You've been playing the same part neity of live shows, since recording is a no- ten times over, and you have no idea what pressure situation and has none of the im- sounds good anymore. We tried to avoid that, mediate gratification that concerts do. They and this album is definitely more live sound- also find it genuinely fun, which they claim ing than the previous one (AI). is most important about being in a band, even more than the fame. They chose their tour opening up for the band The Tubes as their favorite touring ex- perience so far. Their worst experience was playing at Parker's, a restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland, to "people at their tables eating salad," Sheehy said. Upcoming dates in Maryland include a show at Hunter's of Ellicot City on May 29 at 10 pm, and lillian's of Annapolis on June 6al9pm. At a Jonasay show, the band promises their audience real interaction, both between the members themselves and with the audi- ence. Most importantly, Jonasay fans can look forward to seeing a band that's estab- lishing its footing with each new gig and giving a truly sincere performance.