After a few miles of sniveling and weeping, my captor stopped the car on the side of the road and untied me, let me urinate - to no avail I tried writing HELP with my piss. Then I sat in the front seat and examined the rope burn on my wrist. "I hope I'm getting a case of beer out of this man," I said, "And pizza! That hurt!"
The big bear snorted, “You’re gonna give us an incendiary review right? We’ve seen your blog, Rock Philosopher - we know you can do it and we know where you live!”
“Sir... Mr Rummel, I haven’t even heard your band yet!” My eyes scanned the streets for a good Samaritan. Maybe I could jump out and get into someone else's car like in the movies. If there door is locked I could just smash their window open and let myself in. But then I'd need a hammer... and this is Texas... what if they are carrying a gun?
“It would be a real shame if the rock philosopher DIDN'T MAKE IT BACK to Jersey alive… without seeing the site where Oswald got whacked.”
Did he say WHACKED? Someone's getting whacked? The muscles in the nether regions began to pucker and restrict creating an airtight seal that was impenetrable. I fidgeted with the phone in my pocket sending a discreet text message to my friend back in Denton: IVE BEN ABDUCKED. GONG TO BLAND RACTICE. IF I DOT RETUN ASS ME IM DEA. SORE ABOT DRINK ALL THE PBJ AN TITS. TEL MY FAMLY I LOV THEM. There were numerous spelling mistakes in my text which bothered me as Bayonne Spelling Bee Champion of 1988 and an English award winner. Even as I considered that it might be my last text message ever, the thought of dying with spelling mistakes was just too much for my obsessive self.
I was in my safe place surrounded by a shield of light and unicorns and Hello Kitty when Dave answered a call: “Yep, I’ve got him, bringing him to the Bat Cave.” Then he turned the stereo on and we listened to THEE OH SEES. I could almost relax and forget the rope burn on my wrists and the laundry. Maybe dying here would be much preferable to death in the south Jersey Pine Barrens.
The sun was going down and I could make out the tall high rises of downtown Dallas. My mind began to drift once: sign post up ahead... WELCOME TO DALLAS (you can checkin anytime you like but you can never leave.) When we entered the city world renown for BBQ and the JFK assassination, fear began to subside.
The car pulled up to a ramshackle looking corner building. I was taken inside a dimly lit cavernous room with drums, guitars, cabinets. The air was heavy with incense. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I became aware of wraiths emerging out of the shadows.
“Where’s your laptop Rock Philosopher?” inquired one wielding a guitar and a cigarette dangling from the mouth.
“You can use mine if you forgot,” said another with a pair of drum sticks.
“We’ve got a case of beer for you!” said Big Dave.
This was a lot better than being a hostage for the Taliban in Afghanistan.
A laptop appeared in my hands. An arm fell upon my back, a hand tapped at my shoulder.
“Sit down Rock Philosopher,” said the man who went by the name Matthew of Matthew J and the Science.....
Before you read the interview the band was kind enough to complete with their own time and at their own volition, here's a bit of commentary on the strengths of the band.
If Mathew J and the Science only aspire to be an obscure, garage rock gem that someone will mention at a party umpteen years from now for other geeks to go "Hey I know those guys!" then they have already succeeded. They will garner no attention for their social media, their image or being photogenic. I have a feeling I am going to relish meeting these guys for years to come if only because I like finding bands and then proceeding to hail them as gods. Still, they are no gods or wraiths or kidnappers as I may have led you to believe.
The band
First, the rhythm section kicks ass. As an occasional drummer (you bought the Boaz Zippor CD box set right? That's me on there 90% of the time watered down in the mix.) Marco the drummer makes a 4 piece drum set sound as mesmerizing as... a 5 or even a 6 piece drum set. How he executes those floor tom fills so coolly and swiftly without looking like he's missing the rack tom is beyond me. This is indie rock minimalism at its best. Kudos.
Dave the bassist, my original captor, seems quite comfortable on the instrument laying the foundation for the guitars to interact with the drums. Bass is the most misunderstood instrument and for most of my life I thought they simply doubled over the guitar line. OK, that's just wrong and an astute bassist like Rummel can add textures and depth guitar and drums cannot accomplish alone. Some nice fluid lines - it's hard to find a good bassist who's available and cool.
The guitars. I was cuddled up right next to lead guitarist Tracey's amp which kinda felt like a nice 3 hour spooning session with an axe that screams, belts and wails at the top of her lungs more often than your grandma at Bingo.
Matthew J carries the persona of a mad scientist with a complete vision. He knows what he wants and he's not afraid to ask for it. It's definitely his band.
I loved what I heard but still have yet to see the band perform live. They were the only music I really caught while there except for a blues fest and a punk show at Killers Tacos in Denton. OK, so here's that interview with the band.
I’M ALL IN
The world over people know Austin, TX - how does the DFW music scene compare?
People in Dallas think that Austin is all hat and no cattle. It’s just hype. There are great bands in Dallas, but we’re more about hyping the band and not the city we’re from. Sure Austin has SXSW but does anyone really benefit from playing there?
Is there a “sound” specific to DFW?
Oh we’re all over the place. Why be pigeon holed into a genre or sound? There’s great music from the hip hop of 7thirty to slug rock like True Widow. I mean Leon Bridges is great and he’s on Columbia but he’s not the sound of Dallas. The last city I can think of that had a specific sound is Seattle. What’s there now? A grunge museum? The flannel store? Hey let’s go downtown and throw fish. Dallas or what we call the Metroplex is too big for that.
Specific question for Matthew, do you hear the song in your head? How do you relate musical ideas to the rest of the band?
The song in my head lately has been Send In The Clowns. It’s a great Halloween tune. But for band songs sometimes songs come out of nowhere and pop in my head. I mean it can happen anywhere. When I come in with a new tune or idea we jam on it at rehearsals and it evolves from there. I teach the chords and changes to Tracey and Dave. Then we’ll play on those riffs for a bit, formulating the changes. I’ll just sing mumbled shit at first then write lyrics later.
To the band, what attracted you to the music of Matthew?
Dave- I’ve known Matt since the Double Wide days when he was booking there and I was DJing. We’ve always talked music but never played together. I saw a Street Arabs gig at Three Links and Matt just destroyed that room. He and Aaron were a force! When he axed me if I wanted to play I had to do it. It’s been great!
Marco- I’m in IBU and there was a break in our touring. Matt has Aqua Lab Studios and he just asked me if I wanted to be involved in a “new thing”. I asked if I had to bring drums to practice and he said I’ve got a set here. Nuff said.
Tracey- I think I was the first one, right? Matt’s great and I knew he would have gigs lined up. He writes some cool chord changes that I dig. Look, when we all got together for the first time it just clicked. We got our buzz on and just played and we all had smiles when we were done. It’s been that way ever since.
What bands do you love playing with in DFW?
We’ve had killer gigs with Teenage Sexxx, Thyroids, Talkie Walkie, Radio Activity, Slow Moving Snakes, Bad Sports, Fur Cabin, The Boozers, The Egg Shells, Nosferat II, MexMode, Avtovato, Drawer Devils, IBU, Silver Skulls, Dead Mockingbirds, The Aquaholics, Joshua Ray Roberts, Acid Carousel, Smokey Mirrors, Atom and Ev, Justin Longorio, Mercury Rocket, Creepeth, and Marianna’s Web. We even opened for Redd Kross! Now that’s some high cotton.
As individuals who are your biggest influences?
Dave-for me we’re talking 2 influences, Nina Simone and Frankie Vallie. Stop, check please, I’m done. That’s it.
Matt- Oh we’re talking music then because I was thinking about this doc I saw along time ago in Arkansas on crop dusting, but now that has a whole new meaning to me.
Marco- I’m influenced by what Tim and Eric have done with their career. I follow that.
Tracey- Well early on I’d have to say Hot Rod mag and Russ Meyers. But musically I’ll stick with the classics.
If you guys were gonna do a world tour, where would you want to perform?
Matt- Well since I’d book it I’d love to go to the far west. I mean Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand. It’s cheap and I love the food. Yeah weed start there then work our way east. Mongolia, Nepal, India. Then down to Israel and Tel Aviv. They got a great scene there. Up to Sicily and Italy and thru Europe. I think that would be cool right? See ya suckas in 6 months.
If you were gonna play only one song for someone by your band, what would it be?
That song would be Cemetary Lawns
Can you record yourselves playing that song and upload the live video?
Our good friend at Iced Relics recorded us for his youtube channel. Wes is a prolific taper man. Check it here.
THANK YOU MATTHEW J AND THE SCIENCE! If you want to learn more about this band connect with them on Facebook, here. They play the Dallas-Fort Worth area frequently.
If you love this post, love Matthew J and the Science, love the Rock Philosopher blog, love independent music made by good people following their passions, do like and share this post, send me an email, post a comment or even make a PayPal donation. Nothing is too small or too big. Your words of encouragement are a BIG deal to me. I need that. I need to know the community appreciates what I do... to know someone is listening or reading inspires me to work harder and do more for the community of musicians and artists that I love.