January 2007 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

Too many times I and other rock journalists have resorted to a simple equation(Queen+Radiohead=Muse) as an ultimately inadequate way to explain the multitudeof musical and extra-musical influences that shape the way musicians look at the world andtherefore write music. It could be the movie they just saw or maybe the way the sun cutthrough their windshield that made them want to sit down with a guitar or keyboard, notjust the stereo. So, as penance for my lazy transgressions as a writer, I’ve decided to givelocal rock group the Good Guys the first and final say in who and what their influences are.And also just because they’re too damn weird for me to do them justice.Jeremy Johnson (Vocals/Keyboard/Etc.) 1. Russ Meyer Who can deny the campyantics of a Russ Meyer movie? His pre-emptive World War II doc-style-MTV-quick cutmanner of editing and unbelievable narrations have given us as a people a way to put moreinto less. When you listen to a Good Guys song, for the most part you’ll find all of myfavorite things crammed into tiny spaces in songs. But I think it makes sense because of theway everything edits together. Thanks, Russ! 2. Hunter S. Thompson So, it’s become cliché tolist the great doctor as influential...but fuck it! Does that make his works any less powerfulthan they are? I want people to feel the same kick in the face when they listen to us play liveor on an album that the Father of Gonzo doled out to so many in the face of politics, religion,and war. I have always admired his fight; I hope that I can carry his fire. 3. Peggy Lee MissPeggy Lee was the queen. No one could touch her. I have gained more insight into music andhow to sing more effectively from this incredible woman than anyone else. The compassionthat emits from every recording (And I do have all of them!) of hers, from the early BennyGoodman stuff upward, is gushing at the seams.Greg Beaman (Bass) 1. Paul McCartney When I’m playing bass, I try to approximatethe style of Paul McCartney’s bass playing on the Sgt. Pepper’s album. Precision is the key toMcCartney’s playing on all the Beatles albums, even when his sonic experiments give thesongs a radically different tone. 2. Paul Chambers Another influence is Paul Chamber’s playingon Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue album. Super simple, elegant, and a perfect fit to every song onthe album. 3. Mark Rothko I’m fascinated with trying to transform different media into music.Mark Rothko’s minimalist paintings have inspired my musical energies in the past.Tom McLaughlin (Guitar) 1. Fellini/Rota The relationship between the films of FedericoFellini and the scores of Nino Rota very quickly redefined the beauty that I see in art andin life in general. It’s nothing short of magical; the highest hopes for a cinematic or musicalendeavor. On its own merit, the music of Nino Rota, as well as other film composers andtheir use of theme and variation in its lush and complementary nature, have had great effecton what I aspire to make musically. 2. Charles Mingus Where to start? Beyond being a greatbass player and achieving his own voice as a player, he really stands out as an arranger/composer. Though he expressed so much through his songs and playing, what was equallymentionable was his capacity for recognizing his place in the ensemble, not always having tostand out; but to play appropriately, and with expression, even when done simply. This a truevirtue that has stuck with me. 2. Dillinger Escape Plan And though I am tempted to mentionmuch of the music that really rocks me, I will just say that the album “Calculating Infinity” byDillinger Escape Plan when I first heard it 5 years ago had to one of the most brutal thingsI ever experienced. Then I saw them live. To see them perform music of such impact alwaysmade me completely exhilarated, as I was drawn to how relentless the experience was.Anyone who was in that room was in on the same intense situation, regardless of whetheror not they were playing. That same feeling of raw energy is what I love about playing [our]music.The Good Guys’ Orange EP is available now, and you can find out more about the band by going toeither www.myspace.com/goodguys or www.good-guys.org.06_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative