I love love love Thee Makeout Party. They’ve combined the Kasenetz-Katz sound with the Velvet Underground jangle and made something both engaging and incredibly sweet. And they’re really great guys, without a shred of pretention (except maybe from Daniel, and even then only in conversation), who play pop music for punk people. It warms my heart to see people slam-dancing and crowd surfing to a band that can slip a Cattanooga Cats song into their set, and play it straight.
I met Lee before the rest of the guys–I remember seeing him at a show at Juvee years ago, for the Phantom Surfers I believe. He looked like a Lords of Dogtown kid (and this was way before the documentary) and he shredded the half-pipe like Tony Alva, but he was really soft-spoken and nice. Then later, one of my ex-girlfriends was dating one of the Willowz, and I found out two of those guys were in this band called Thee Makeout Party, and I found out that Lee was in it, too, and before I knew it, suddenly I’m playing on a stage in an alley in Pomona and Thee Makeout Party was on the bill. I’ve been in love with their tunes since go, and had the luck to play on bills with them a time or three since.
They fill a void in music so deep that it’s like a salve–everyone responds to their tunes, even if I suspect most of their fans aren’t the crazed record geeks they are (or I am). It’s beautiful and brittle yet teen-tough and crazed. If there was a way I could finagle myself into the band, I would, but I think a Farfisa would be redundant in a group that sounds this classic yet new.
Kudos to L.A. Record for acknowledging their talents! My old housemate Daedalus was in the following week, but that’s a blog for another day.
i never said any of those things in the squeeze thingie!! my face is red right now from reading it! she kept saying what’s your message and i kept telling her we didn’t have one we just do this and it’s better than not doing this and blah blah blah ( i was nervous). i told her we weren’t trying to be sexy and snotty or whiny etc and she ran with it.
but yes, i’m an asshole. there’s a reason lee does all the talking. thanks fer the kind words.
xoxo