Up Close with The ‘Mericans
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Few bands typify the Providence music scene like The ‘Mericans. They’ve been making music in the city since the early ‘90s, and earlier this summer this experimental Americana rock band released its third full-length album, “So Late It Hurts." This week they're appearing twice: on Thursday, August 4th at the Narrows in Fall RIver, and on Sunday, August 14, at the Summit Music Festival in Providence's Lippitt Park.
Their sound is moody and gleaming, a little psychedelic, and a little sonic. Providence Daily Dose described them as “spacey root rockers,” while Jonathan Perry wrote in the Boston Globe that the band is “darkly majestic, slowcore-tinged,” and their new album was “a thing of beauty and reckoning.” The Phoenix also praised the album; Chris Conti wrote that it has “a little gloom chased down with a shot of hope and redemption, presented with a well-worn smile.”
Singer and guitarist Chris Daltry, along with Pete Lima, Paul Williamson, and Michael Moore make up the band. GoLocalProv spoke to Daltry (CD) and Moore (MM), as they got ready for the Thursday concert.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGLP: You have been in the Providence music scene for quite a while. Tell me a bit about what it’s like to grow as a band here.
MM: It's been great. There are always some supportive artists around and now that there are more places to play it’s even better. There have been definite ebbs and flows to the local scene and we’re riding a great wave right now.
CD: This is an interesting question, because I didn’t actually grow up here… but in reality, I really have grown into the musician I am since moving here in 1993 with my old band Purple Ivy Shadows. Our touring brought us to Providence for shows back then, and when we decided to leave New York City for a more affordable place to live and work, we chose Providence.
GLP: What prompted your decision to move here?
CD: Our decision to move here was based on the amazing music scene here at the time—bands like Velvet Crush, Honeybunch and Small Factory seemed to have it all figured out, but soon after moving here, the bands that drew us here all broke up. This left us to create our own scene. Between newer local bands we liked, and us inviting bands we liked from out of town, we did what we could to make something happen here, and made Providence our home for good.
GLP: Where were your favorite places to play?
CD: Along with the music scene here in general, the Providence club scene has gone through so many changes over the years. We’re lucky things always seem to work out here, but it has been difficult seeing so many great venues come and go in Providence. Since moving here, I’d have to say the Safari Lounge was one of my favorite places to play anywhere—ever. There was such a special vibe there, even if you could see through the giant holes in the floor in the bathrooms.
GLP: Where are your favorite places to play now?
MM: Any place you let us. There have been many supportive venues over the years. It’s good to have the Met back, and the Narrows has been great to us.
CD: Things come and go, though. These days, The Met is my favorite—our recent record release show there was really great. Besides playing in bars and clubs, we’ve played great outdoor festivals, out on Block Island, in front of a chicken coop at the annual City Farm plant sale, parties and house concerts, Lupo's, backyards, cafes, theaters and school picnics—this sort of variety keeps it all really interesting for me.
GLP: Do you have relationships with other local bands? Do you guys help each other or critique each other?
CD: Being in a band means nothing if there isn't a scene to be part of. Right now, bands like Deer Tick and the Low Anthem are doing all of us here so much good just by remaining part of the Providence music scene. Their success has made people around here pay more attention to local bands—and the fact that they’ve continued to have other bands in the scene play shows with them has helped make people aware of just how amazing the scene is here right now.
MM: With so many talented musicians around it's hard not to be completely impressed with some of their work. The list is as long as their work is strong: The Low Anthem, Tig & Bean, Deer Tick, Daniel Chase, Ana Malozzi, Last Good Tooth, Prayers for Atheists...
GLP: Tell me about what the recording process was like for So Late It Hurts—it was a bit of a long time coming?
MM: It took a long time for several reasons. We recorded it completely ourselves. We were constantly rewriting until every nook of each song was explored.
CD: Our recording process is also sometimes also our writing process. This can mean it all takes longer than you might think it should to finish, but it's the way that I like to work. If we don't fully explore what the songs are in the recording process, they would likely come up short. The recording of our latest record “So Late It Hurts” took a good while to finish, but in the end I am more proud of it than anything else I’ve ever recorded. Time allowed us to make it into something I enjoy listening to myself, which is great—why make a record you're not happy with?
GLP: You’ve said that the songs are meant to work together as a cohesive whole?
CD: I grew up in the '70s and '80s when vinyl LP records were what we listened to, and back then an album was an album—not a song. I love the experience of the whole thing. The songs are meant to lend meaning to one another, to shift from different moods and feelings—to take you on a bit of a journey, even if you come up with your own meanings of it all.
GLP: And now you’re currently recording a new album?
CD: Right now we're doing all we can to get our new record heard, but since this one took so long to finish, we are hoping to get something else recorded and released fairly quickly. We are toying with recording an album of cover songs we've been playing for a while, to make available for free when we're done.
GLP: Tell me about your upcoming concert at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River.
CD: I like to think of it as the Austin City Limits of New England. The booking there is incredible, mostly luring folk, blues and rock legends—and last year they asked us to put together a night that would showcase the Providence music scene. That went really well, so they've asked us to do it again, and I'm really excited about this year's show. Because the Narrows is such a great setting and might just have the best sound around, this is sure to be a memorable night.
The show, on Thursday August 4th, will feature the ‘Mericans, joined by Allysen Callery and Tig & Bean. Advance tickets can be purchased online here.
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