Interview: The Brixton Riot on Close Counts. They Play a Release Show This Friday, 11/3, at APYC.

Poster by Matt Horutz

Can't Stop Now

One of the guys who fired Pete Best once said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." I've always loved that line. It sums things up so simply. You're just trucking along like normal, and your partner says she's going to have a baby or a reality TV star and professional loudmouth ends up as president of the United States or you suffer a devastating personal loss or you're no longer the drummer in the band.

At times like these, it's nice to have some kind of constant -- a place you can go to share and celebrate the good things or to find comfort during the tough times. For me, that's loud music. I was sweating and crying at a rock show two days after I lost my brother. For people like the guys in The Brixton Riot, it's their band. Following personal triumphs and losses, Jerry Lardieri, Matt Horutz, Steve Hass, and Mark Wright do what they've done for ten years. They get together as a band and make the kind of loud music that fuels people like me.

On their most recent release, Close Counts, The Brixton Riot deal with the loss of family members ("Surrender to the Void") and music venues ("Move On"). They even deal with the regrets of Pete Best on "Ballad of Pete Best." "Should've learned to play guitar."

There's a sense of hopefulness, though, as Lardieri sings, "They're building up walls to try and break us, but the hate that revolves in their hearts will never beat inside mine" on "Can't Stop Now" or "Nobody's happier than I to be alive" on "Maybe Tomorrow." The great, big guitars and absolutely huge drum sounds on Close Counts also serve to give even the songs with darker subject matter an emotional lift. Much of that big, open feeling probably flows from The Brixton Riot's decision to work with the legendary J. Robbins at his MagPie Cage studio in Baltimore.

You can listen to Close Counts, which is out on Mint 400 Records, right now. That's probably not a bad idea not only because it is a great record, but also because The Brixton Riot will be celebrating its release this Friday, November 3rd, at Asbury Park Yacht Club. You can study up. That show also features our very, very good friends in Dentist and The RockNRoll HiFives and is proudly presented by yours truly.

I ran some questions by the guys in anticipation of the show. Check out what they had to say about keeping the band going for so long, being cooldads, working with J. Robbins, the importance of labels in 2017, their love of Asbury Park, and more.

You just released your latest full-length, Close Counts, this month, nearly 5 years after Palace Amusements. Can you talk a little bit about what The Brixton Riot have been up to in that time?

Jerry: While the band has remained pretty constant, there's been a lot of change in our personal lives. We've each had someone close to us pass away -- Mark lost his wife; Matt lost his father-in-law; and Steve and I both lost our fathers. A few of us have changed jobs a couple times, and some of those changes have introduced new challenges working within everybody's schedule. We've also had a lot of wonderful things to celebrate, like Steve's nuptials and the birth of Matt's son.

The band always revolves around the family lives and jobs of the four of us. Finding time to get things done is always tough; but, at the same time, being in the band gives everyone something to lean on during difficult times. Even though it's taken us a long time to get to the new record, we never really had an "off period."  We were writing and playing shows and doing all the normal things that a band does. There were stretches where we didn't see each other for a few weeks, but we never stopped getting together. We put out a bunch of compilation tracks over that time: a cover of Archers of Loaf's "Might" for Dromedary Records' From 93 'till Infinity, a cover of Yo La Tengo's "Upside Down" for the FDR label's Hurricane Sandy benefit, and, most recently, A cover of "Tell Me You're Mine" for a Zero Hour Record's Knack tribute album.

The Brixton Riot by Bryan Sargent

Do you think you've changed as a band in that time? Either in your sound, your approach to recording, or anything else?

Steve: If the sound of the band has changed, it's just due to natural progression rather than a concerted effort to change. Mark is still playing his paisley Telecaster; Matt is still playing the same Ludwig kit, and I'm still playing my Fender P-bass. Close Counts has more vocal harmonies on it than our previous releases, so that is one noticeable change. I don't believe our approach to recording has changed. We know who we are and what we do well. For us, it comes down to a few things that we need to have together to record an album. We need a bunch of songs that we all like and that we have practiced, and we need the time and money to get it done.

Personally, my approach to songwriting has changed, or maybe evolved is a better word. I don't really write whole songs anymore. When I come up with a part that I like, I present it in some way to the rest of the band. To me, our best songs are the collaborations that everyone takes part in shaping.

Jerry: The songs do seem to be getting louder and faster as we get older which is kind of funny. You would think it would be the other way around. That's Matt's hardcore and punk background creeping in. We've always tried to record the band live in the studio as much as possible. We add some additional layers after, but every song starts with a good live foundation.

What keeps you guys going as a band given all of the other responsibilities of life like day jobs, family, parenthood, etc?

Mark: We run on fumes. It's for our own good, though, because it's the one thing we do for ourselves. We all feel the pressures and fatigue that everyone else does, but we love music in such a high degree that we have to make it. It also feels like we're getting better with time so that keeps us going too.

Jerry: For me, it's the enjoyment of getting in a room and playing music. It's hard finding time to rehearse and play shows and do all the things that bands normally do; but, at the same time, it can provide a lot of support and needed distraction. When bad things happen, it's nice to get together with three other people you have known for years and just make music for a few hours. We played a show three days after my father passed away; and, even though I thought about canceling, getting together with all of our friends and making a racket was exactly what I needed. It helped a lot.

What do your kids think of The Brixton Riot?

Matt: My kids like listening to the records. They love "Signal to Noise" which is the first track on Palace Amusements. My son Lucas loves the last track "Surrender to the Void" from the new record. I was listening to early mixes of Close Counts one night while we were playing with Star Wars figures. I didn't think he was paying attention to the music but the next day I heard him singing the first few lines of the song. I looked at him and said, "Were you singing 'Surrender to the Void?'" and he said, "Yeah, I like that song." It was a cool moment. From that day forward, for the next few weeks, he wanted to listen to the song at least 2-3 times before bedtime. He doesn't know that the song is about Jerry's dad passing away. He was just really drawn to the melody.

Mark: Two words: complete indifference. My son plays in 2 bands already but he's all about The Beatles, Gorillaz, and Stones. Maybe he'll be into our band someday. Who knows? Hahaha.

Jerry: My son likes us but he kind of views bands the way people follow sports teams, where you only root for one. I've taken him to see other bands and he'll say things like "I like you guys better than these guys" and I tell him it's OK to like both. I think he likes The Anderson Council better than us because he's told me "You guys are good too" after one of their shows. That's OK. Sometimes I like the Anderson Council better than us as well.

The Brixton Riot at The North Jersey Indie Rock Fest 2017

You collaborated with J. Robbins (Jawbox, Government Issue) on Close Counts. What drew you to J., and what do you think he brought to the final product?

Matt: When we were talking about where to record the new record, I told the guys that I really wanted a bigger and fuller drum sound than what we got on Palace Amusements. I wanted to go to a studio that had a nice live drum room. We discussed a few local options and started throwing around ideas. While I was on vacation with my family last August, Jerry texted me to talk about where I would like to record. I always loved the drum sound my friend Chris (Daly) got with his bands Texas is the Reason and Jets to Brazil which were both recorded by J. Robbins. I've been a fan of J.'s bands since he was in Government Issue, and thought it would be great to work with him. Jerry is also a fan of the Jets to Brazil records so it was an easy sell.

We all talked it over and everybody was cool with it. When I reached out to Chris and told him that we were considering making the record with J, he said we should definitely do it and that we would love recording with him.

Jerry reached out to J. via email, sent over some samples of our work, and set up the session. We tracked for two days at Magpie Cage in the first week of December, finished all of the vocals and guitars at Jerry's house through the winter and spring, and returned to J's studio to finish the mixing in July. J. is the best. He's extremely talented and he really cares about getting the absolute best possible sound and performance out of the band. And MagpiePie Cage has an incredible sounding live room.

Jerry: Recording at Magpie was far and away the best experience we've had making a TBR record.  J. made us feel completely at home and was a great resource during the tracking. He is the first person who made our band sound the way we all wanted on a record.

Mark: J. Robbins brought his super high level of expertise. He's a perfect mix of manic energy and total zen.

You released Close Counts on New Jersey's Mint 400 Records. They seem to take a very personal interest in all of the projects they work on. Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like working with them and how independent labels still matter in the age of Bandcamp and Soundcloud and streaming?

Jerry: We first met Neil through Mike Nestor of Underlined Passages. Mint 400 had released some of their records; and, since we knew Mike from his days running The Beechfields, we knew we would be in good hands. Like the rest of us, Neil has a family and a full time job; but, outside of those responsibilities, he's all in with Mint 400. He also understands that we have families and jobs as well and can't go out on the road for months at a time. He's comfortable making suggestions about things like song selections and sequencing but he was also great about letting us have our say when we wanted things to go a certain way.

I think the biggest advantage of partnering with a label on a release is that there's another person or group of people in your corner. There are so many moving parts to putting out and promoting a record. It can be a big job even with four guys in a band. It also doesn't hurt when  there's someone outside of the group who believes in what you're doing.  

As I listen to Close Counts, I can hear clear influences of Bob Mould (solo, Sugar, Hüsker Dü), Lemonheads, Guided By Voices, and others. Who are some of your other favorites, past and present? Are there any surprising ones that may have worked their way into The Brixton Riot's sound?

Matt: Hüsker Dü is my favorite band, so any Hüsker Dü / Bob Mould / Grant Hart influence is definitely not a surprise. I grew up on (and still listen to) old punk and hardcore -- Minor Threat, Agent Orange, Mission of Burma, The Damned, JFA, Descendents, Government Issue, The Ruts, Black Flag, 7 Seconds, Dag Nasty, The Minutemen, Rites of Spring, The Misfits, Naked Raygun, Scream, Squirrel Bait... the list goes on and on. I love The Lemonheads, but I prefer the earlier stuff. I know the other guys prefer the later Evan Dando records. Same with the Replacements. we all love them, but I prefer the earlier stuff. Jerry and I are both big Guided By Voices fans. The Stooges are also a really big influence for me. Dinosaur Jr. are another "full band" influence.

Steve: I don't think there are any surprises really. We all like the classic rock legends, some more than others. There are some seminal records from the late 70s and early 80s punk/new wave era or whatever you want to call it that have influenced all of us.

Jerry: Well you nailed the big ones: Sugar, Hüsker Dü, and The Lemonheads are probably the most universal influences in the band. We're also big Ted Leo fans. Hearts of Oak and Tyranny of Distance are two of our favorite records. Elvis Costelloand Joe Jackson are band favorites as well. I think there are a lot of 90s influences in our band that aren't necessarily in the forefront -- things like Teenage Fanclub, Archers of Loaf, Yo La Tengo, Superchunk, Velocity Girl, etc.



You called your last record Palace Amusements and you're celebrating your record release at Asbury Park Yacht Club on November 3rd. What makes the city of Asbury Park special to the band?

Steve: My father grew up in Asbury Park. My parents met there, and I used to spend the summer in Asbury Park when I was a kid; so, for me, it has personal ties. As a band, our first big show was at The Stone Pony, and some of our best shows were at Asbury Lanes.

Mark: Asbury Park will always be special to us. I lived there in the early 2000s. It has a musical heritage and vibe like no other place in New Jersey. It's impossible to not think of all that without thinking of Asbury Lanes. That was a tough loss, but the feeling is still alive every time we go down to AP to play.

Jerry: Our ties to Asbury go back to the very beginning of the band. The first time I played with Mark and Steve was in Mark's basement. We took a walk afterwards to check out the Metropolitan hotel and ended up at Palace Amusements, which was still standing at this point. They had not removed Tillie from the wall yet, so he was there as well. It's hard to believe it's the same town. It's also the scene that's in our closest collective proximity. I'm 15 minutes south and Mark is 10 minutes north.

More than anything, I think what really ties the band to Asbury Park are the people we've been fortunate enough to meet playing here. The Asbury Lanes crew always made our shows there feel special. Mark and I got to play the Asbury Underground festival a few weeks back, and it was really great being a part of that and performing with so many other AP musicians.

The release show at APYC features Asbury Park's own Dentist and family band, The RockNRoll HiFives. What made you want to ask them to help you celebrate the release of your latest album?

Jerry: Anyone who has seen The RockNRoll HiFives will know exactly why we love playing with them. They literally bring the party wherever they go. So much energy, and the songs are just great. I'm definitely not looking forward to following them on Friday.

The RockNRoll HiFives

And Dentist are the perfect encapsulation of the Asbury Park music scene for me. Their songs are outstanding and their blend of surf elements with strong melodies is really fantastic. Every time I have seen RockNRoll HiFives and Dentist, I've always loved their performances. I'm thrilled to be sharing the bill with both of them.

Dentist

I'm also really glad we can do this at Asbury Park Yacht Club. I think it's a fun room, and it was really important to us that there was no cover. We really want it to feel like a party.

Finally, what do the guys in The Brixton Riot have planned for the last couple of months of 2017?

Jerry: It's been a busy couple of months. We're getting ready to wind down for the holidays, but we've got a few more things to take care of beforehand. There are a couple more shows scheduled between now and 2018 and there's always a chance a couple more will pop up. We've also got a few  tracks we're hoping to get out between now and New Years, including another original song for Jon Solomon's 24 Hour Marathon on WPRB and a cover coming out on a Mint 400 Records compilation early in 2018, but I'm not sure if we're at liberty to say what it is just yet.

Steve: We'd also like to shoot a video or two and maybe put something out on vinyl.

Close Counts is out now on Mint 400 Records.

The Brixton Riot, Dentist, and The RockNRoll HiFives play Asbury Park Yacht Club This Friday, 11/3, at 9pm. That show is FREE.