Just a couple of weeks ago we featured Surfin’ On Pizza Lightning, a kick-ass mix from our friends over at King Pizza Records. KPR is known for putting out some superfine garage, sludge, psych, and power pop and the Surfin’ mix confirmed it.
One track that stood out for me was the sugar sweet jangle of The Jeanies’ – I Think You’re The Wrong One, a track of perfectly crafted Badfingeresque guitar pop. This is the kind of stuff that should be on the radio again. It used to be, that’s where I heard Dwight Twilley’s – I’m On Fire, Bram Tchaikovsky’s – Girl of My Dreams, and The Records – Starry Eyes, back in the day.
The Jeanies are a 4-piece out of Brooklyn and they’re all about hooks, and melody, and song craft – from 70s power pop to British Invasion, to doo-wop and Brill Building pop. The first three songs of their debut are available to stream below, but luckily for us King Pizza is releasing the cassette on December 16th. I’m so glad my van still has a cassette player!
Vocalist/guitarist Joey Farber took some time to answer some questions.
People say we sound like…
We get a lot of Elvis Costello and Tom Petty comparisons. Most people have a very shallow understanding of power pop and these guys are immediate reference points. We have absolutely nothing to do with Costello, but we certainly love Petty. We’ve also gotten the Beatles comparison, which is just funny. Maybe it’s my mop top.
We are…..
Joey Farber- guitar/vox
Dylan Handelman – drums
John Principio – bass/backup vox
Jon Mann – guitar/backup vox
We are originally from…..
Me, Dylan and John are from a tiny 1 square mile town upstate and Jon is from Virginia
Tell us a bit about the scene in Brooklyn/New York
There’s so much garage rock here and barely any bands doing a pure power pop thing. The pop in this town is usually indie and synthy and the boogie is sucked out of it. We don’t mind being lone wolves – we stand out just doing what we love. I’ve found that were loud enough to fit in with most garage rock bills, and “nice” enough to win over indie kids as well. It helps that the King Pizza Records family is infinitely supportive and cool to us.
Who are some that have an influence on your sound?
Dwight Twilley Band, Phil Seymour, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 20/20, Marshall Crenshaw…we lean towards romantic, nostalgic and melodic rock and roll from the 70s-80s that owes itself to the classic 60s sides by the Byrds, Beatles, early Who, etc. Were also very fond of 60s girl groups, particularly the Ronettes.
The first time we all decided to get together and make some music…
We made some music!
Books we recommend …
I don’t read much but I’ve recently started reading this trippy recording book called Perfecting Sound Forever and it’s great.
What influences the band lyrically?
Anything simple and sincere about love and longing. It has to rhyme too. The bands we listed as musical influences double as lyrical influences. Usually I don’t try to think too hard about lyrics and write whatever first comes to mind.
Our craziest/most memorable gig ever was….
We’re still somewhat new and haven’t toured yet so the craziest and most memorable shows are yet to come. The King Pizza showcase at Baby’s All Right was memorable because we played with our best friends, got treated well, it was packed and lots of people told me we we became their new favorite band after that set. We also always have a great time hosting Glassy Eyes nights at Don Pedro. That’s when we book a bunch of good poppy bands and give ourselves the best time slot, ha!! Everyone gets wild at Pedro’s.
If you could pick any time to travel back to for music, where would you go and what year would it be….
Either 1966 or 1976.
Growing up ,at home we listened to…..
Lots of doo-wop, R&B and 60s rock.
What tunes are on heavy rotation for you?
Satisfied Mind by the Byrds, Just a Chance by Badfinger, Jetlag by 20/20, So Afraid by Artful Dodger, December by Teenage Fanclub, Woman in Love by Tom Petty, Somebody Else’s Girl by Randy Winburn. Also, a lot of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly lately.
If you could open for any band right now who would that be and why?
Dwight Twilley. He’s a huge influence on us, we cover his song ‘Looking for the Magic’ frequently. He’s just finished a new album and he has had local acts open for him before so maybe well get our chance soon..
When you have some time off, where could we find you?
At home writing, recording and smoking pot when I can afford it. There’s not much worth doing besides working on music.
The one thing we want you to remember while you’re listening to us….
Remember your lost love, your new love, and your secret crush.
What’s up for 2015?
Our first little tour. Hopefully a record on vinyl. We’re already halfway done writing the second album and the first one hasn’t officially come out yet. Expect lots of action!
