LEMMONS
St Louis Aug 2010
TOK came together in a bizarre manner. Bryan was taking guitar lessons from Jimmy Tebeau in the early 90s, most notably known as the bass player for The Schwag. Then Jimmy’s son played drums and encouraged those guys to start a band. While they were talking about that, Jimmy asked Matt if he was interested in playing bass. Even though Matt agreed quickly, there was one tiny problem: he didn’t know how to play bass. So on the way home that night Matt had his parents and big brother Bryan play tapes and point out which sound the bass was, a tough challenge since he was only ten or eleven-years-old. A few weeks later his parents found him a Fender Music Master, which is a real short scale bass, and he was in the midst of his first crash course lesson. How did you guys come up with it, and how is it officially pronounced? Matt: It’s pronounced like “Tock”. The name comes from a cartoon rabbit with an Easter Island statue for a head that Bryan used to draw, and where the name for that came from I don’t know. Aside from the trouble people have pronouncing it from time to time (which we didn’t anticipate) I think it’s a serviceable name for a band. I mean, you couldn’t really hear it and know what kind of band it is attached to. Like, if we were called Skull Crush Death Mammoth or Banjo Haystack there’d be immediate connotations. With Tok though, it leaves it pretty open. Anyone can feel free to use Skull Crush Death Mammoth or Banjo Haystack for their band.
What makes all the effort worth while for each of you? Matt: That’s a really difficult question. By all rational accounts, there’s NO reason to do this. The time you put into it (writing, practicing, packing equipment, playing shows, contacting clubs) to the monetary gain is nuts. And while you’re not gaining money you’re spending it on equipment (strings, drum heads, something to record). For every great show you play, there’s a pretty lame one lurking around the corner. We’ve played shows for one person that we brought, and of course you still go out and play those shows like tons of people were there. I guess I’m just kind of wired to do it. It’s something I feel pretty good at, and people seem to enjoy it. Bryan: I don’t know, when you play at Lemmons, you get a pizza. That, and you get to use guitars on it, and drums and everything. Not the pizza, but the sound, which everyone can share like a secret mind whisper.
What’s your take on the local St. Louis music scene, or how it compares to other cities? Matt: To be honest, I don’t have a very good grasp of what other cities’ music scenes are like, but I’ve always had the impression that they are better than what’s happening in St. Louis. If St. Louis was full of terrible bands, I wouldn’t say that. I’d just say “Well, all the bands here suck, what do you expect?” but that’s not the case. There are really good bands here that people don’t seem to be paying attention to. I’ve had people tell us that we play shows too much, or conversely, that their bands can’t play a show because they only play shows once a month - that being the only way you can get people to come out. But these bands - and I guess the people that are going to see them - aren’t giving themselves enough credit. How many times would you have gone to see the Replacements or the Pixies if they were just some local band? I would have been there every week. I don’t know, I know I’m saying that from a retrospective position too. I’m guilty of not seeing the bands I like enough, but it’s a 45 minute drive for us every time we go to the city, so I use that excuse. It’s probably not a very good one. I’m really glad St. Louis is getting away from almost all of the Pay to Play shows. I think that’s a HUGE step in the right direction. Clubs should hire bands to play because they are good bands that their patrons will enjoy, not because the bands will drag ten of their friends there and spend $100.00 to “sell tickets.” I hope it’s not going on anymore anyway. We’ve never done a show like that and haven’t been approached to do one in a long time. I’d hate to see younger bands being roped in by that garbage anymore. Bryan: Oh I don’t know. I guess it would be nice if there were always a lot of people seeing all of these shows all the time, cause there’s always a lot of good bands to see now, but I think one problem is that people just don’t have the money anymore. I used to make the 40 mile drive to St. Louis 3 or 4 times a week sucking down gas in a Jeep Wrangler and see all these shows and I had a good time of it, but that is cost prohibitive now. The thing is, the only thing you really have control over is what you do on your own, so all I can do is see as many shows as I can, and play as good as I can. Outside of that, there’s really no reason to go ”tralala, people don’t support local music and the world owes me something.”
JUST BILL’S
St Louis Aug 2010
What do you believe to be the biggest misconception about being in a R&R band? Bryan: At this point, I think everyone knows there’s no money in it, and that it’s a huge sausage festival, so I don’t think there are a whole lot of misconceptions left. If there was a misconception that people in rock and roll don’t write dog cheers for their dog, they’d be wrong about that. I mean, I do. Name your top 5 local bands. Bryan: Well, let’s see, I just saw Tight Pants Syndrome and I really liked that. Plus, The Blink Eyes really know how to rope in a sound horse, and the bass player has a Mosrite. Pirate Signal is always twirlin it over the population. Also, Gasrat is twirlin’’ it over the population and they’re the only other band in town with a Tele Plus. I guess Beth Bombara is technically more of a solo act than a band, but she is a sound angel. Hey, you know what else? The Tilts, cause they’ve got The Andys. Also, Karate Bikini, because they live really deep in Mount Shasta. And the Vivian Girls.
How do you two unwind, get away from music and production? Matt: I do a bunch of stuff that is probably too lame to mention. Play video games, watch cartoons, watch horror movies and documentaries. Sometimes I make Flash cartoons (www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/391671 Bryan: I still have my jeep, and sometimes I lock it in and drive it to the top of a mountain where several wizards ask you riddles before you can pass to the next section. I think that might be because the mountain is enchanted. I also have two rusty chevy trucks that I blow money on when I have it, and I have an AR-15 that I shoot things with.
ST LOUIS SINNER