When they are not spending their days hanging out in Oakland, ex-Bare Wires frontman Matthew Melton, Rob Good, Ian McBrayer and Chase Oren – the guys behind pop/garage rock group Warm Soda, are either in their studio or out in the road making great music. Just months away from the official release of their debut album and their much anticipated US tour with Bass Drum Of Death, we caught up with Matthew who spoke to Chasseur about his new project, the challenges that came with it and the hilarious incident that led to the its birth.
Warm Soda is quite an unusual name for a new music project. What’s the story behind this choice?
One time when Bare Wires was on tour at SXSW, we met this group of teenage girls who said they were going to start a band called Warm Soda. They told us we could crash at their place but when we got there she said she lost her keys, so I broke in with my drivers licence…Turns out – they didn’t actually live there, and that became very apparent when the people who did live there showed up and kicked us out. They also weren’t really going to start a band either, and I thought Warm Soda sounded cool, so when Bare Wires broke up, I stole the name.
Which elements influence your sound?
We have a small analog recording studio in Oakland called “Fuzz City” where we emulate the tone and production of 1970s heavily produced pop like Nick Gilder, Phil Seymore, and Gary Glitter through the use of vintage microphones and techniques. We also listen to a lot of 80s pop music like The Go Betweens and Cleaners From Venus, and Chris Spedding.
Your last album as ‘Bare Wires’ was released a few weeks back. Was it an easy transition delving from one project to the other? What were the challenges?
It ended up being an easy transition actually. When I got back to Oakland I called up Sam Lefebvre, who had conducted a Bare Wires interview for SF Weekly a few months back, and he joined as the drummer. Before departing to go on the last Bare Wires tour, I had started recording bands at Fuzz City with Rob Good and he ended up playing guitar in the group. When we decided to go on our first US tour we enlisted the skills of Frank Ene to play bass. There’s something refreshing about starting a band from scratch. You can try to map out what you want to to be, but there comes this point where you can just stand back and let it develop on its own.
Your latest single is called ‘Reaction’. Do you perceive your music as a ‘reaction’ to any trends of the current music industry?
Perhaps, but not necessarily. Reaction is about a kid growing up in a small town and has nothing to relate to. We definitely want “reverb” to have no place in our sound. When we play live we are really specific that we don’t want any additional effects on the sounds we are generating. Pop music should be sincere and you should be able to understand the words that the singer is saying. If you go to a show and leave not being able to remember one phrase that was sung, the band is drowning in effects.
You recently toured Europe. Did you find the music scene to be any different to Oakland’s?
Europe is its own thing. There is a different appreciation for live music there that you don’t really see in the USA. Everyone in the United States is completely obsessed with their “I-Phones”. I can’t stand those things. Most are never separated from the false world of the internet and are more concerned with taking a photo to prove they were at the show than with taking anything from the music itself. Its kinda like taking photographs in a museum. They’re missing the point. I guess Europe has that problem too, but its not as bad. It just seems like people in general have slipped away from the notion of being in the present and are now more concerned with relating to what they dream these past moments should signify for the future.
The general idea is that every musician hides an inner bad boy – does this apply to you?
Music is the one thing that is keeping me good. If I were to quit making music, there is a great chance that I would end up as some variety of criminal. The secret to avoiding this has to do with staying busy. I am even pretty good on tour. I like to party but my main concerns are eating healthy and getting lots of rest. I don’t drink or take drugs. The songs themselves will always mean much more to me than a random after party.
What’s next?
We are releasing our debut album “Someone For You” on Castle Face Records and doing a US tour with Bass Drum Of Death – all Spring 2013. Currently we are in Oakland and spend the days hanging out at Fuzz City . This place is great because it feels like a clubhouse and we can get a lot of work done.