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I met Matt Pond, purveyor of stringed baroque pop,
in a tiny oriental coffee shop called Ray’s in Philadelphia’s
Chinatown on a cold evening in January. I had arrived
first, so the young man behind the counter seated me
and showed me a menu. I chose a plain Columbian Supremo
and waited for Matt to show up. He did, but before that
his drummer, Mike Kennedy, walked in and after exchanging
glances, we slowly recognized each other from previous,
vaguely drunken introductions and realized that we were
there for the same reason.
Shortly afterwards, Matt showed up. He said he was sick
and put down a bottle of Vicks throat spray on the table
as he took off his coat and sat down. I told him I was
curious about how he’d managed to make five recordings
of magnificently sad-eyed pop sketched out in ornate
detail by a cadre of cellos, violins, vibraphones and
French horn without ever infringing on any discernible
style of music. No country. No rock. No eclectic French
pop. No folksy pining or whining. Instead, his songs
have a sort of purity to them. A kind of internal logic
that reveals itself in melody. He said he liked the
word "pure", but it was his drummer who explained how
the trick was done. “Matt uses these strange, made-up
tunings that he invents himself, and I think that’s
what makes the music have such a unique sound,” said
Kennedy. “Because they’re so different, they force you
to think about the structure of the music outside of
what’s normal and that affects what you play.”
Sipping on a cup of Oolong tea from a ceramic mug, Pond
explained how his new album the green fury (Polyvinyl)
is just another step in the band’s musical evolution.
Though at first glance much of Matt Pond PA’s music
may seem a bit dour or even down-at-the-heels, what
with its plaintive vocals and whispered melodies, after
a few spins you begin to understand what Pond means
when he describes, or rather defends, his music as "Saturday
night music". It may not be Saturday night dance party
music in the typical sense, but it does have a certain
airy quality that could make you feel like anything’s
possible, like you just have to get up and get out of
your chair and go do something, anything.
But whether the band's music makes you want to stir
things up or just stir a few cocktails and lay in bed,
either way the effect is intentional.
“I did have an idea for the sound,” said Pond as he
explained the band’s origin and pretext. “There’s two
things I like. Well, there’s a few things... I don’t
like guitar solos, I like some, but in general anyone
who likes to write guitar solos a lot is not someone
I can relate to. It’s fine for other people, but I’m
such a retarded guitar player that...and then, like,
I love French horns and strings. Just somehow incorporating
the two I thought would really add backbone to what
I wanted to do.
"And yeah, there is a sort of dour element just in having
them, but I saw a few things I wanted to do. I wanted
to do what I hadn’t done before or what I thought was
missing.”
In between jokes about his childhood and growing up
in New Hampshire, and his flat refusal to talk about
his college years at Bard, Pond went on to explain how
despite some success with his previous band, Mel’s Rockpile,
he never felt comfortable doing the rock out-thing on
stage or even with his own guitar playing. “It was like,
‘give the drunk five dollars and watch him do a funny
dance,' ” recalled Pond.
Nevertheless, despite his fears, when the band broke
up, Pond set out to find the elements he would later
need to create the sound that would eventually make
him feel confident on stage. That search yielded the
beautifully nuanced and absurdly finessed playing found
on the band’s first album Deer Apartments (Lancaster
Records).
While only two members remain from that first album,
the band’s sound has remarkably both stayed the same
and evolved at the same time. Now, after spending so
much time performing and recording with this current
incarnation of the band, Pond said he’s ready to let
go of his writing responsibilities and truly collaborate
with the band that bears his name.
“The reason I feel so comfortable with the whole thing
is because everybody is just so fucking good,” offered
Pond. “It’s pretty cool. Now when I'm up there I don’t
feel stupid anymore."
Photo by Chris Meck
Relevant Sites:
Matt
Pond PA - www.mattpondpa.com
Website
- www.polyvinylrecords.com
Allan Kemler for Crud Magazine© 2002
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| 04/02 1 Giant Leap - My Culture
04/02 Elfpower Interview - Andrew Rieger - Creatures
04/02 Frou Frou Interview - Guy Sigsworth/Imogen Heap
04/02 Gomez Interview - Ian Ball
04/02 Idlewild - Live - London Astoria
04/02 K's Choice Interview
04/02 Leaves - Live - Camden Dingwall
04/02 Longwave Interview - Exit
04/02 Lucy Mongrel Interview
04/02 Oasis - The Hindu Times
04/02 Phantom Planet - Interview
04/02 Unwritten Law - Interview
04/02 VUE - Coordinates Interview
05/02 BRMC - LIve - Kentish Town, London
05/02 Breeders - Title K
05/02 FC Kahuna - Machine Says Yes
05/02 Moco - Live - London Monarch
05/02 Need New Body - Interview
05/02 The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Live - Soundhause, Northampton
05/02 The Bellrays - Meet The Bellrays
06/02 Fleadh Festival - Finsbury Park
06/02 Frou Frou Coordinates Interview
06/02 Incubus - Interview - Mark Einziger
06/02 North Mississippi Allstars - Interview
06/02 Papa Roach - She Loves Me Not
06/02 Proud Mary - Live - Northampton, Soundhaus
06/02 Pulp - Live - Sherwood Pines, Edwinstowe
06/02 Reindeer section - You Are My Joy
06/02 Silverchair - Diorama |  | 06/02 Something Corporate - Leaving Through The Window
06/02 Soinc Youth - Interview
06/02 The Burn - The Smiling Face
06/02 The Coral - Live - Roadmender, Northampton
06/02 The LIbertines - Live - The Social, Nottingham
06/02 The Vines, Sheffield Leadmill
06/02 Trik Turner - Interview
06/02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Live, Soundhaus, Northampton
07/02 12 Stones Interview
07/02 Arolo -Interview
07/02 Buy To Let Doncaster - Anti Social Behaviour
07/02 Cassius - Interview
07/02 Farrah - Interview
07/02 Glassjaw - Interview
07/02 Neil Michael Haggerty - Interview
07/02 Hoobastank - Running Away
07/02 Leaves - Interview
07/02 LL Cool Jay Interview
07/02 Oasis - Live - Finsbury Park, London
07/02 Polyphonic Spree - Live - Camden Monarch
07/02 Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
07/02 Super Furry Animals - Interview
07/02 The Beatings - Live - Metro Club London
07/02 The Bellrays + The D4 - Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street London
January 2001
July - August 2001
September - October 2001
November - December 2001
January - March 2002
April - July 2002
August - December 2002 | |
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