1. When did you first know you wanted to become a musical artist? What was the first song you ever wrote?
[Sean Davenport] I was 3 when I started playing piano, and decided I was fully invested in music in high school. My parents always had great music around the house, then during the rebellious years, my friends came through with some great albums as well. Somewhere in the middle you find your identity. The first original pieces I wrote were in college for film composition courses, and the first song I ever wrote on my own was called “Fiber Glass” shortly after college.
[Michael Alan Hams] My folks ran the instrument shop in our hometown, and growing up, I guess I saw the musicians around me as family, too. They were always there, and they were magical. My friends and I started a band in the fifth grade, and continued playing into high school, but, it wasn’t until college that I really began writing my own songs.
[Andrea Monorchio] Very young, maybe 8 or 9. I felt the power of music both as a spiritual catalyst as well as its influence in society, and remained enchanted by the Beatles catalogue. I was in a band before I could actually play, and with my bandmates of the time, we wrote our first song which was a new-wave tune about escaping the stale cultural boredom of the small southern Italian town we all came from. It was a mildly rebellious song but strongly heartfelt. We all ended up leaving at some point, so it reflected a strong need of evasion.
2. Who are some of your top 5 musical influences?
[Michael Alan Hams] My uncle, Michael Ranta, was my first big influence. His work as a percussionist with Harry Partch, and Takemitsu (among others) continues to blow my mind. In college, I started listening to players like Bobby Previte and Brian Blade, as well as percussionist Evelyn Glennie, but no matter what, I always come back to Ringo.
[Andrea Monorchio] As far as genres, early pop/rock mainly, but also Jazz and Blues, definitely the roots of modern music. I have a great passion for symphonic orchestra, but also chamber music, Bossa nova, and lately I’ve gotten into Caribbean music. It’s impossible for me to point out just 5 musical influences: I don’t have that kind of strong preference for specific genres or musicians. The only exceptions being the Beatles.
[Sean Davenport] Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits, Bad Brains, The Cure, The Pixies
3. What’s in your IPOD this week?
[Andrea Monorchio] I don’t use an iPOD, I use my phone. That being said, it’s mostly music of Brooklyn bands/musicians, friends of ours: Slalomville, Onesie, Omer Leibovitz, Sottovoce, Nikkiesha McLeod, Jeff Taylor, Pre-Sexual Activities, Eyes on the Elbows, Holding Back Entirely, Sana Nagano, Odd Snakes. These are bands we play with, or just Brooklyn musicians we admire.
[Sean Davenport] On my current playlist, I’ve been listening to the new Spoon album, ‘Lucifer on the Sofa’, Boris’ new record ‘W’ and I’ve been revisiting old Beatles albums.
[Michael Alan Hams] My wife and I are big record collectors, and every town and city we go to, we find ourselves digging through crates. Some recent favorites are: Max Roach ‘Quiet as it’s Kept’, Kate and Anna McGarrigle ‘Dancer with Bruised Knees’, Lee Dorsey ‘Yes, We Can…’(with Allen Toussaint as producer), Leon Russell ‘Looking Back’, Funkadelic ‘Hardcore Jollies’, Jack Treese ‘Maitro the Truffle Man’, and the uber bizarre all vocal record he did with his friends ‘La Voix’.
4. How’s the music scene in your locale?
[Andrea Monorchio] Saturated. It’s Brooklyn we are talking about. It’s a ruthless scene, and unforgiving, but also full of incredibly talented people. It’s tuned up to the contemporaneity, therefore a scene likely to be the one to provide globally meaningful innovations and ideas.
[Michael Alan Hams] New York City is home to some of the world’s greatest musicians. And, there is a dizzying amount of action happening at all times. Buskers and open mic nights, DIY performances and bar gigs. No matter where you turn in this city, there is something going on.
[Sean Davenport] Our scene finds itself returning gradually in a great way, and I can’t wait to be back at full capacity on a regular basis.
5. What do you like most about playing live?
[Michael Alan Hams] Performing is a little like driving a car: the vehicle is way more powerful than I could ever be, and it takes time and practice before feeling comfortable on the road…but once you’re out there, you can pretty much go anywhere you want. However, even after countless road trips, accidents can still happen, so you have to stay sharp.
[Sean Davenport] The raw energy and engagement. Especially after the last two years, it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to engage in an artistic medium.
[Andrea Monorchio] Playing live is an entertainment ritual, an occasion of feedback with the listeners and the fans. To play for an audience is an empowering experience. It’s as if the energy you put into playing gets amplified through the attention of the audience. It’s undeniably a great feeling, and very easy to get addicted to.
6. Is there a song on your latest CD release here that stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
[Sean Davenport] It’s always hard to pick a favorite. All of these songs gave us a reason to keep pushing throughout the pandemic, so all of them have served as a therapeutic place for me.
[Andrea Monorchio] Well, we and most musicians on planet earth stopped releasing CDs about 10 years ago. But regardless, my favorite song keeps changing, nothing is forever in my reality…so as my life rolls forward, my preferences follow too. Right now my favorite is “INDIGENOUS GEOMETRY”
[Michael Alan Hams] Well, I had the most fun recording “INDIGENOUS GEOMETRY” and “ELECTRICITY AND THE IRONY”, but my favorite song is actually one of our slow-burners, “PARISIAN GYPSUM”. It’s like sleepwalking through quick sand while getting hit with a water balloon in slow-motion as the moon rises.
7. What’s the best concert you’ve been to?
[Michael Alan Hams] Seeing Tortoise perform ‘TNT’ in its entirety at the Prospect Park bandshell a few years ago was pretty incredible, and there was a Secret Chiefs 3 show from about 20 years ago that I still think about, but the best would have to be Arlo Guthrie’s last Thanksgiving concert at Carnegie Hall. It was the first date I went on with my wife, and we could not stop laughing and singing the whole time. He’s a riot. No two ways about it.
[Andrea Monorchio] Another question I have a hard time answering. A lot of them. Just to mention a few: PJ Harvey at Terminal 5 playing the ‘Let England Shake’ material. Bill Frisell at the Village Vanguard. Mononeon at Blue Note.
[Sean Davenport] Easiest answers would be Radiohead, The Cure, Liars, and I really enjoyed seeing Tank and the Bangas.
8. If you could meet, play a gig, co-write a song, have dinner, have a drink with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be?
[Andrea Monorchio] Johann Sebastian Bach. He was amongst the first musicians dealing with the (then) newly created “well-tempered” music system. He left us an amazing catalogue of great, fluid, meaningful and deeply spiritual music that after almost 300 years is unequaled.
[Sean Davenport] I guess at this point I would want to have dinner with David Byrne, David Bowie, Prince, and Tom Waits to discuss a potential Broadway show that we could put together. Don’t know what it would be conceptually, but the conversation alone would be worth it.
[Michael Alan Hams] Tom, if you’re reading this, let’s do lunch. Why don’t you call me? You know my number…392-7704…call anytime.
9. What are your goals for the future?
[Sean Davenport] Just to keep writing, and to get back to touring on an international scale.
[Michael Alan Hams] A professor in college once told me that being a musician basically means a lifetime of pushing a boulder up a mountainside. There’ll be plenty of plateaus, and some sizable peaks ahead, but it’s still just one step after another. Just gotta keep pushing.
[Andrea Monorchio] To keep at it. Trying to find elements of musical communication that are current and meaningful.
