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BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About LOTD
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Interview:
METROPOLITAN 5/4/02
Metropolitan is a trio of talented musicians who are starting to make some noise around the DC music scene. Theyve shared the stage with acts like the Dismemberment Plan and Tristeza, and they just released a critically acclaimed full-length album, Down For You Is Up, which we cant get enough of here at LOTD. Andrea Caumont caught up with the band (John Masters, Saadat Awan, and Shyam Telikicherla) at a recent show in DC to chat with them about their music, the DC scene, and stolen guitars... LOTD:
How did you guys get involved with your label, Crank Automotive? John:
In the late 80s, my brother Marc published a fanzine that was all
about music and film but primarily indie rock and experimental rock stuff.
He began putting out seven-inches that came with the magazine and the
label just grew from there.
The fanzine is since defunct and now he focuses full time on putting out
discs from artists from all over the globe.
He has several artists on the label, including Alan Licht, Bruce Russell,
and locals Mikroknytes. LOTD:
How did you end up playing with the Long Winters at the Galaxy Hut?
Did you know them or did you just get thrown into the show together? John:
Alice from the Galaxy Hut thought the two bands would be a good match and
put them on the bill with us.
We got to meet them that night and it was a cool show. Shyam:
Yeah, they were very cool guys. LOTD:
How do you know your producer Chad Clark of Beauty Pill? John:
He was referred to us by several of our friends, because hes produced
so many great DC related records, especially his work with the Dismemberment
Plan. Chad
immediately clicked with us as soon as we met him and he really helped us find a
great sound. LOTD:
How do you split the workload in the group?
Does anyone specifically write songs while someone else books shows? Shyam:
Its a pretty collaborative effort. Saadat:
John is the lead vocalist on most songs, but on Down For You Is Up,
both Shyam and I each take a turn singing on a song so we try to share in
songwriting. Shyam:
We come from different angles a lot of times, most of the time when we
practice we just come in and whatevers fresh in our heads we just kind of
start with it really begins with a jamming process. Were
really lucky that most of the time it really comes together and we get something
we can make into cohesive songs. LOTD:
Youve had a bunch of lineup changes.
How did this current one come about? Shyam:
Actually Sadaat and I used to work together way back and we were sort of
in a band together for a little while Saadat:
And he stole my guitar and I didnt see him for aboutwhat?
Three years? Shyam:
Yeah, I stole his guitar and then three years later Saadat:
We met up at a Morrissey show and I was like Hey, wheres my
guitar? and he was like I got it. John:
At a Morrissey show? Shyam:
Basically, he confronted me at this Morrissey show and I was trying to
avoid him because I knew I still had his guitar.
But thats where we started talking again and he was telling me about
Metropolitan. At the time I was actually playing keyboards in another band and I
was looking for a band to get some guitar output in - he talked to me about the
group and I came in and hit it off and started playing bass. Saadat:
I think we actually recorded our first song together the first time we
ever jammed. Shyam:
Yeah, the first time we were practicing. Saadat:
The split seven-inch we did with Calibos was recorded with two little
microphones on the floor.
The first time we ever got together to play, it was like, Hey Shyam
can you come up with a bass line? and he did and it clicked right away. LOTD:
Are there any plans to tour or record with any of your labelmates?
Or is there a larger tour planned for this area? Saadat:
Were actually trying to get as many shows as we can right now but
September is when were trying to plan a big tour.
Were trying to do at least the East coast, if not further. John:
Whether or not it will be with another band we dont know yet. Shyam:
I think it will probably be with a variety of bands that weve gotten
to know over the course of the last year and a half or so.
Were in the process of setting all that up right now.
As far as Crank Automotive labelmates, Im not really sure how many of
them are touring. LOTD:
What bands would you like to play with in the future?
Will there be any more split EPs like the one with Calibos? Shyam:
Were always keeping our eyes open for opportunities like that.
Wed love to do more split EPs with some local bands. Saadat:
Wed love to work with the Cassettes or the Out Circuit or someone like
that. Theres
a lot of bands around here that are just amazing. John:
The split seven inch came about because Calibos are very good friends of
ours and are very similar to us.
Theyre from Arlington and were from Arlington so it worked out
really well. LOTD:
How do you think that your DC roots have influenced your music?
Do you think you fit the stereotype of the DC band?
Saadat:
Its kind of inescapable.
A lot of our reviews compare us to Fugazi, and we dont see that so
much. A lot of
people immediately compare our sound to other DC groups.
Were just trying to rock.
Rock and roll. Shyam:
I think were all not really thinking about the specific style of DC.
Were not trying to be punk or anything like that.
But the influence is definitely inescapable in a lot of ways.
Were all from this area. Saadat:
Thats why were officially from Arlington, VA. John:
Since the incarnation of the band we havent had a great time fitting
into the DC music landscape because it seems were a bit more indie rock than
harDCore. Its
not an easy scene to break into when youre sound isnt so immediately punk;
but were becoming more and more accepted by it, especially working with Chad
and being backed with distribution from Dischord.
I like a lot of local groups, but I think were different than most
music being made in DC. LOTD:
Where did the name Metropolitan come from? Saadat:
We saw it on a bus.
It was better than transit and authority. John:
It just sort of came to me a few years ago; for what reason Im not
entirely sure. Most
people want to liken it to the movie by Whit Stillman.
In his triolgy one of his movies was called Metropolitan so lots of
people think thats what I was inspired by.
Its a great movie, but thats not really the case. Shyam:
Wasnt it because you lived in the suburbs at the time? John:
Yeah, it was the irony of the word that was the main reason it came
about. Id
never lived in a city in my life, always right outside in some sort of suburban
area. Its an
ironic name for a band whose members grew up in small towns.
And Ive always liked one word names, like Pavement or Television. LOTD:
With all of its little sonic interludes, would
you label Down For You Is Up a type of concept album? Shyam:
I dont know if its so much concept, its more of a throwback to
the first album. Actually
Saadat and I joined the band after the first album was released, but we were
both big fans of the way it was put together.
In a certain sense I guess we wanted to maintain a connection between
what Metropolitan started off as and where were going now.
Part of that is just kind of that very loose sort of jam-oriented
soundscapes that we love to play because thats so much of how we create
songs. Its a
big part of the process of how we enjoy playing and writing material. Saadat:
Those little instrumentals on the record like They Meet could have
ended up being a song if wed spent more time on it. But
sometimes these little ideas just flash in our brains, they just find their way
there, so we threw a bunch of those in there. John:
Before we went in the studio we had real tight-knit songs and then we
realized we didnt have anything that was really sonic and spaceier, like
were known to do live. Those little pieces of jammy music just ended up being
a way we could cut between the normal song-song-song structure of an album. Saadat:
Exactly. We
wanted to have those little breaks between songs because thats what we do
live. We often
like to play a song, break it down into some improvisational jam, and bring it
all back again something that the first album Side Effects reflected
a great deal. The
instrumental pieces on Down For You Is Up are a connection to that ideal. Shyam:
Being improvisational with jams is something thats a big part of the
way we make music. When
we just get together to play, thats a big part of how we approach things.
So we wanted to add that to the album so people could hear our entire
process. LOTD:
It seems like you get compared to Teenage Fanclub a lot.
Do you think thats an accurate comparison? Shyam:
Im actually a pretty big Teenage Fanclub fan but as far as our sound,
I dont really see it so much.
A lot of their earlier stuff had some similar sonic things like what we
do. Their
approach is more pop-oriented, very structured.
I really like that personally but as far as what we do I think were
more straight-ahead rock. John:
I like them but Im not a huge fan.
But there always seem to be pleasantly surprising influences people hear
that pop out of nowhere after a record comes out, and Teenage Fanclub is one of
them. Right
after Side Effects was released everybody was making all these Jesus and
Mary Chain references and when I went back and listened to them I really
understood where they were coming from. Saadat:
Ive got a lot of Teenage Fanclub records and I really like them a lot
but as far as our sound I guess were subjective.
I dont know where the comparisons are coming from but I dont really
hear it so much. Shyam: I think its really cool that a lot of the reviews weve been getting mention a lot of different kinds of sounds. Its really cool that they hear all that in our songs. John:
We really liked the LOTD review. LOTD:
Yeah, we all liked the album. Saadat:
Getting positive feedback is really exciting and I never really expected
it. Down For
You Is Up is the first record that Ive ever actually put out and I
didnt expect to get such a positive response, overwhelmingly positive so far.
Its cool. LOTD:
What do you thinking about these kinds of shows, like the one you played
tonight, the art scene merging with the music scene? John:
We did this primarily because we wanted to support Fort Reno, but I do
like these shows. I
think anywhere where you can set up a show alternatively to the clubs I like
the clubs around town but I feel like anywhere you can set up a show is
great. There
was a great turnout tonight and its always positive to have some sort of
venue where you can do something on your own. Saadat:
We played a couple of shows at my apartment in Georgetown last year.
We just set it up ourselves because there arent too many places around
here. Shyam:
Its always cool too to just support the different artistic scenes
going on around town. This
is a nice way to have [exposure for] both [music and art]. LOTD:
Do you have plans for another album? Shyam:
Weve actually been playing a lot of new songs at the shows.
Were constantly writing and were definitely looking forward to
getting back in the studio.
Right now though I think were all really excited about the opportunity
to play out and tour. Saadat:
Yeah we really are itching to get out in a van and just go because its
really important to tour and were getting to that point where were really
serious about it. We
want as many people as possible to have a chance to hear our music. Shyam:
It may sound egoistic but Im a huge fan of our album.
I listen to it all the time.
Its kind of a test for me to have other people listen to it because
Im really into a lot of the songs weve got.
I think its just good, fun music. John:
Last year when we played a Fort Reno benefit, we were playing songs that
you heard tonight, except they were brand new at the time.
All of those tunes ended up on Down For You Is Up.
Now that its finally out, weve got a whole new batch of songs that
well be fine-tuning until the next record.
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