I’m going to spill the beans right off the top: I fell for the old trick bio.
It happens. I am usually adept at spotting tomfoolery, but in this case the music was poker-faced punk rock, they all had the same last name (what kind of last name is Material anyway I should’ve asked myself?) and I didn’t due my due diligence. Lesson learned I guess.
But the truth is the guys in Marriage Material aren’t really brothers!!
I only point this out because it will make the first two questions of the interview make sense, and because, well it’s kind of embarrassing. But c’est la vie….
What Marriage Material are FOR SURE is an ass kicking punk rock band. Based in Los Angeles and featuring members of Summer Vacation, Spokenest, Pinned in Place, and God Equals Genocide, they ball up their fists like Hüsker Dü, they punch like Hot Snakes and they’ll knock you out like Rocket From the Crypt.
This is heavyweight contender punk rock!
Their new EP “Making the Worry Worth It, Part I” is out from our friends at Dirt Cult Records – you can order HERE!
But first let’s learn a bit about the “brothers”.
Bass/Vocals: Andrew Material
Drums/Vocals: Sean Material
Guitar/Vocals: Daryl Material
I’ve read that in order for someone to be marriage material, they need to be able to open up and share what is going on emotionally for them. You guys are brothers so how does that work? Is brotherhood a kind of marriage?
Daryl: Maybe the humor doesn’t translate if you’re not looking directly at us, but we’re not actually brothers and our last names aren’t actually Material. Sean is Mexican, I clearly harness Semitic good looks, and Andrew’s parents won’t tell him what his background is, but I don’t think it’s Jewish or Mexican. But as someone who has a brother and has been married, I would say that those are two very different relationships.
Sean: Daryl is of course kidding. We may not be biological brothers, but we’re adoptive brothers. He gets embarrassed sometimes to admit that we were all raised in a one bedroom, roach-infested apartment.
Andrew: I can’t think of any funny jokes.
Your father taught you how to play, what was his background in music? What did he teach each of you, and did you fight over the guitar?
Daryl: An interesting thing about our band is Sean is actually a much better guitar player than me, and I’m a much better drummer than he is. And most surprisingly enough Andrew has the most angelic voice you will ever hear. It may be foolish to play in this configuration, but it’s what we’ve decided upon.
Sean: Little known fact: before playing in Marriage Material, Andrew was actually set to join world famous acapella group Straight No Chaser. He ultimately declined because he didn’t want to perform in a tuxedo.
Andrew: It’s true.
You are all in or have been in a number of other bands, what’s the DIY punk scene like in California?
Daryl: It’s big. It’s real big. Lots of bands. Lots of people. Some good, some bad. It can’t be summed up by one person’s perspective.
Sean: To sum it up in one person’s perspective, the California DIY punk scene is the best in the nation. Hands down. No contest.
What was the genesis of Marriage Material?
Daryl: Sean wanted to play drums, Andrew wanted to be in a band for the first time since 8th grade, and I wasn’t really doing shit at the time so they enlisted me to do everything else that they didn’t want to do.
Sean: I have always wanted to embarrass myself live.
Walk us through the story behind “Soggy Sock Town”…
Daryl: I wrote those lyrics over ten years ago. I’m from Southern California, lived here my whole life with the exception of the year and a half I lived in Santa Cruz. Let’s just say I wasn’t accustomed to rain, college, hippies, or being far away from my friends.
Sean: I remember when Daryl lived in Santa Cruz. He’d send me and Andrew these bummed out letters from college.
Give us your 10 song playlist for the tour van.
Daryl: We don’t have a tour van, nor have gone on tour yet. But I mean, does it get better than “Life is a Highway” or “Convoy”?
Sean: I don’t listen to music. I just watch ASMR videos on YouTube all day.
What’s up for 2018?
Daryl: West Coast tour in late May, then hopefully recording some new songs this summer for Making the Worry Worth It, Part II. In the meantime we’re just really happy with having this first 7” out. Endless love and appreciation to Chris at Dirt Cult for giving a shit about this band.
Sean: I’m going to legally change my last name to Material.
Andrew: I’m working on a side project album with Vince called Cruising for a Kiss.
Daryl: Yep, it’s going to be another BIG year for us.
