Drab Stucco – Thanks for Asking!

Drab Stucco – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: I know when pitching it helps to tell someone it’s “this meets that.” So let’s try that with you. If you had to give me two bands that meet each other in your sound, what are those bands? More than two bands?

Ethan: Drab Stucco could be described as Pavement meets Teenage Fanclub. We’re literary guys, we love allusions and all that. But we’re playful, and we have a sense of humor. We care a lot about the craft and details. But we want to keep it light.

Nick: The Cure meets Fountains of Wayne?  They Might Be Giants meets Smashing Pumpkins?  REM meets GBV meets MCR?  In a way, I think all of these are true.

RRX: Different people in the band will like different songs. A drummer’s favorite song on the release will be different than the guitar player’s. What are each of your favorite songs from your most recent album?

Ethan: “Repairing” for me. The two opening drum hits introduce that cute, fun bassline and we’re grooving. Nick’s leads are really creative on this one: that second verse zigs and zags and slices. It’s sick. The guitar solo rips. It has this punch and attitude. I hum it constantly. This song represents our thing: it’s catchy, concise, and showcases the unique things we all bring to the band.

Nick: For me I think it’s “Who Really Loves You” – it’s the shortest song on the album, but has a lot of dynamic shifts and layers – the production was also a lot of fun on that one!

Jake: “Teenage Excess” is simple to play but sounds really big. The feedback in the beginning makes it feel alive. It’s a song that’s always evolving a little when we play it live, too.

Nate: “Every Season” scratches the slow, sad, and sappy itch for me. It’s also seen the biggest changes from the original demo to this final recording.

RRX: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Or so they say. Whether you’re off the wagon, on it, or never been, there’s something you got a thirst for. What are some of your basically harmless vices?

Ethan: I collect those way-too-specific, millennial coded mugs you find abandoned at any thrift store. The weirder the better. A favorite says “You’re going to be a prickin’ awesome dentist” with a bunch of cacti wearing medical masks. What a story there!

Nick: Early on as a band we started doing game nights and realized we had a common appreciation for 90’s point and click adventure games.  We played through a lot of them together – King’s Quest VI, Phantasmagoria, Harvester etc.  Our first single “Mutual Friends” and its b-side were directly inspired by our playthrough of Gabriel Knight 2 – The Beast Within.

Jake: Vice, the website.

Nate: My doctor would disagree with the term “basically harmless”, but like any Capital District native, the Stewart’s addiction is real. Oh- and seltzer. For the love of all that is bubbly, somebody please help me.

RRX: “The best laid plans of mice and men…” I don’t really know the quote, but I know this one; sh*t happens. When we least expect it, calamity befalls us. Sometimes just comic inconvenience. Please tell us a story about some comic inconvenience that happened to you whilst performing?

Ethan + Jake: This happened to us many years ago in an earlier iteration of the band, before Nick and Nate joined up. A misunderstanding between our then-lead guitarist and his college buddy who was the head of a frat led to us getting kicked out of Prime golf course in Saratoga. The frat guy thought we played 90’s covers, but our guitarist said we had “a 90’s sound.” Whoops! We played one song before our guy came over and desperately whispered “do you guys know any Rolling Stones? Any Beatles?” And so we were asked to leave, but as we were breaking down our gear, the DJ started playing his music early to appease the now agitated crowd of 150 frat guys and their partners. We literally had to fight our way through the dancefloor with all our shit as people were fully bumping and grinding all around us. The final indignity was when some random golfer guy yelled at us for “traipsing” through the kitchen, where we were told to load in. He didn’t even work there!

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

Nick: To let a secret out, we actually recorded our first single as a band at the same time as our latest album.  We ultimately decided to produce Mutual Friends first as its own separate thing, but I think those two songs represent different elements of our sound – it’s a little softer, a bit more dreampop.  There’s definitely still some of that in Going Somewhere, but at its core I think of that as more of a guitar rock album.

Ethan: When I first started writing and recording music, everybody listening to it kept saying it was “so pop punk.” It made sense, because my sole mission as a teenager was learning all of Tom DeLonge’s guitar parts from Dude Ranch. I caused my mom to have a mid-grade nervous breakdown practicing the riff to “Dammit” over and over in my bedroom. I love that music, and it’s foundational for me; it’s gonna be in the DNA no matter what. Then I got a little bit older and discovered bands like The Replacements and The Wrens who wrote hooky, scrappy, slightly unusual pop songs that had a similar punk verve to them. The Promise Ring showed me you could be a legitimate rock band, even if your voice was unusual or imperfect. The songs we write now are packed with subtle nods and homages to the stuff we admire, new and old.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow performers. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

Ethan: Shout-outs to our comrades in Inch, Haunted Cat, Anthill Annihiltor, Galene, Architrave, and Stroma. Dan Carr and the Cure for Asthma’s Big Brain Watering Hole is a really great record from this year! Feral Meryl, we miss you, write back soon. Niek at Mojo’s Cafe – such a gracious host, and have you heard the man sing?

Nick: I’m constantly amazed by the other artists in this area.  Besides literally everyone Ethan mentioned, some of my recent favorites are Pink Lady, Gay Tastee and Laughter Has Long Legs.  Who else…The Abyssmals, Pony in the Pancake – legends!  TJ at Love of Fuzz (other areas don’t know how bad they have it when it comes to great guitar shops)!  I know I’m missing a few, but also shoutout to Mikey Baish and the Jive Hive crew, and to all our mates in the Ah! Duck! Collective (IYKYK).

 

 

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