 "Photo: Courtesy Brandon Lenihan")
With catchy songs and good lyrics, Mussels - the Brooklyn-based, four-member band - is starting to make a name for itself.
In a recent e-mail interview, amid heavy schedules, Brandon Lenihan of Mussels provided answers to some key questions trying to get to know them before their WMUA Spring Kick-Off Concert show Sunday afternoon at the Student Union Ballroom.
Ian Nelson: After hearing all the songs on your MySpace page, I guess my first question is what sort of bands, whether it's older stuff or contemporary, influence your music and motivate you to do what you do?
Brandon Lenihan: I think we all pretty much grew up during the "Golden Age" of indie rock with bands like Pavement, Polvo, Unrest, Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Fugazi, Sebadoh, Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, etc., leaving lasting impressions on all of us. Beyond that though, bigger acts like Weezer, Guns N' Roses, Yes, Thin Lizzy and others certainly seeped into our brains as well over the years.
IN: I see you're from Brooklyn. Are you guys all from Brooklyn originally? How and when did you meet?
BL: Yeah, we all live in Brooklyn now. John [Niccoli] and I moved down here in '99 from Albany, N.Y., to start a band called tincantelephone. We started Mussels in late 2004 with Brody Boyer (drums) and Dan Briggs (bass) whom we basically met through the Craigslist music pages. Brody's from Georgia and Dan's from the [Washington] D.C., area, but both of them have been living in Brooklyn for a while now.
IN: Why start making music together?
BL: Do kids really grow up thinking that playing in a rock band doesn't look fun? I don't know why more people don't do it.
IN: What's the Brooklyn music scene like nowadays?
BL: The Brooklyn music scene is all over the place. It would be pretty hard to say it has a definitive sound right now.
IN: What bands are doing things similar to you guys and who do you look up to?
BL: We regularly play with a bunch of bands we really respect - Appomattox (who we played five dates with on our recent tour and who also just released an amazing debut LP called "AO"), Goes Cube (who shake the walls of our practice space and will punish you live), The Mugs, Hopewell and The Aeroplane Pageant to name a few.
IN: How often do you play shows and who have you played with?
BL: In the past, Mussels has shared the stage with Wolf Parade, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Detachment Kit, The Teeth, Dark Meat, The Forms, Cinemechanica and Old Time Relijun. We usually play a couple times a month in the city.
IN: What's it like creatively to be in such an urban area like New York City?
BL: I don't think we're conscious of it, but I'm sure we push a little harder because we live in NYC. There are so many creative people in the city that many really talented artists go unnoticed. I think we're pretty happy where we slot in right now. I guess in the end you just need to be happy with what you're doing (which should be the case wherever you are) or you could get beaten down by the amount of competition.
IN: Do you have any recent recordings available?
BL: So far Mussels has one EP [extended play] and one full-length under our belt. The "Night Lights" EP came out in 2005 and the "Little Voices" LP [record] came out in May of 2007.
IN: Why choose to come to UMass? Is it part of a current tour or in support of a record or just a random gig?
BL: In March we put together a two-week tour down to SXSW [a set of film and music festivals and conferences every spring in Austin, Texas.] We stopped by WOXY [an alternative, independent, and freeform rock 'n' roll radio station in Cincinnati on our way home for a lunge session. All in all, the tour was a blast. Why UMass? Well WMUA was kind enough to invite us out, but we want to spend a lot more time playing outside of NYC this year, so we're thrilled to play UMass. Plus, I used to drive out to Northampton a lot to see shows so it'll be fun to be back in the area.
IN: There's the mindset that the Internet allows one to steal music for free and not help out the artists at all, though there's also the school of thought that without the Internet, young band such as yourselves couldn't get your music out to the masses and expose people to what you're doing. What are your thoughts on the Internet's effect on the music industry?
BL: I'm sure individually we're all over the place on this issue, but I think ideally you just want as many people to hear your music as possible. It's nice to profit from it financially, but the more fans you have the better chance you have to get paid in the long run.
IN: What do you do differently than other bands you consider your peers? What makes you stand out?
BL: No bad songs. We don't have any bad songs. All of our songs are good. I think that's the main difference (haha). I don't know, that's a hard question.
Mussels will be performing early Sunday afternoon at the Student Union Ballroom, free of charge. The show, also featuring Baker, These United States, Deer Tick and DJ Andy Ward, kicks off at 1 p.m. inside the Student Union with Hadoken performing outside at 12:30 p.m.
Ian Nelson can be reached at inelson@student.umass.edu.
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