CREEM ONLINE: The Secret Machines — Psychedelia, Gee-Whiz!

The Secret Machines
Psychedelia, Gee-Whiz!

The Secret Machines are...
not merely floating in space as all of the associations to Pink Floyd would have you think. Rather, they are kicking in teeth and tripping people out...Rock 'n' Roll multi-tasking. Isn’t it sad that any band with some sense of sonic flourish is compared to Floyd anyways? If there are keyboards, harmony, outlandish lyrics, and laser lights, there you have it, the new Pink Floyd. Thing is, The Secret Machines have a pro-active drive to their psychedelic foundation that yes, gives the stoner head-buzz-aholic something to smile about, but would force euphoria on the most devout straight-edger. The drums, the drums, the drums (you can't say it enough) are what hit the senses initially in Machines songs, and if one were to hit check the history books, they would be hard-pressed to find any evidence suggesting Floyd had a drummer like John Bonham.

The Secret Machines are...
not a “jam band”, but love to make a lengthy song.” Now Here Is Nowhere”, the band's spacious and enthralling debut (2004), is one solid reason that magazines like CREEM exist. A Band like this is something to drool over, and should not remain “Secret” on any planet where rock helps initiate sexual encounters and molds the young rebellious mind. The guitars float and scream, the keyboards soothe, and the cymbals splash, sometimes to clocking in at nine minutes a song. A nice debut to say the least, but it requires more attention than the mainstream can possibly dole out. Anti-accessible sentiments aside, their abbreviated single “Nowhere Again” saw the light of MTV and radio. Where a “jam band” would take a nine-minute song is not the same territory as the Machines however. There is a literal vibe throughout the bands universe. They are taking you somewhere specific, rather than wandering through cliché and incense filled laziness.

These days TSM are out and about perfecting their craft with newfound road comrades Kings of Leon. It can’t hurt the band's cred to be sharing bills with the Kings (newly crowned Southern Rock royalty), but any new popularity won’t come by association, as the band is testing killer new songs. Keeping with a strong independent work ethic the band is also booking studio space in between gigs to put finishing touches on a new album slated for a release later this year.

This work ethic is exemplified down to the stencil letters on their gear reading “TSM NYC”. Though a Dallas, TX based outfit in its formative years, they have re-located to New York to play where things happen. This is a band who know where they want to be, and earn freedom to explore based on the quality of their efforts. Before a recent gig in Chicago, TSM let CREEM in on their sound, their forthcoming album, and gave some advice in tour bus etiquette. TSM are brothers Brandon Curtis (Bass/Keyboards/Vocals), Ben Curtis (Guitar/Vocals), and Josh Garza (Drums)...

CREEM: You are currently finishing your new album on this tour?
BRANDON: We are 95 percent done, and finishing 5 percent of it this weekend (In Chicago). It’s a little more polished than the previous album. We are really trying to prove that our first record wasn’t a fluke.

CREEM: You are OK with touring and recording at the same time?
BRANDON: We prefer to keep busy. We book the studio time along the tour ourselves. We recorded tracks in Nashville, Toronto and Wisconsin.

BEN: We get nervous when we get days off. What else are we going to do, sit and watch TV and play XBOX?!

CREEM: When you record in between shows, doesn’t that disrupt the creative process in the studio?
BRANDON: When we are playing shows it is about playing the best possible sounds during that time. When we record we pick up right where we left off.

BEN: We are so immersed in what we are doing at this point, finishing and polishing; we aren’t really having problems separating what we are doing.

CREEM: Where does the Secret Machines sound come from?
BRANDON: The drums are physically the biggest instrument that you can carry, but when we record, we capture Josh’s sound; we didn’t set out for a big kick drum sound.

JOSH: That’s what we bring to the table. You really hear our personalities come through the music. That becomes a major problem in rock music, some bands get so over-produced that they lose their identities.

BEN: That contrast that exists between us makes the Secret Machines sound.

CREEM: Are there other genres that you would like to try?
BEN: We don’t play to specific genres, but at the same time, we probably couldn’t make a reggae record.

JOSH: Were not like Ween, they play everything they like. We tend to turn everything into a Secret Machines song.

CREEM: Kind of like the EP?
[Side note: The Road Leads Where It’s Led is TSM new EP of uber-psyched-out covers of Dylan, Van Morrison and Motown. The cover versions are almost un-identifiable compared to the originals.]

JOSH: Yeah, when you hear TSM, you don’t usually think Dylan, or Van Morrison.

CREEM: You really transformed those songs, does that come from playing the songs live?
BEN: It just happened. We started playing these songs and really got into a trance.

CREEM: Especially the song “Money (That’s What I Want)”. It is so eerie and creepy the way you present it, kind of brings this physical sickness about ever wanting money...
BRANDON: It started out as a song to play on Valentines Day. We started our tour in February, and it just seemed to fit. It was winter. It was cold.

CREEM: But Motown’s version sounds so happy!?
Josh: Yeah, that’s what makes it even creepier. If you listen to the original you’re like “yeah, that’s Motown!” But you don’t really know what it’s about until you pay attention...

BEN: We brought the creepiness out of the lyrics, like shining a light on them.

CREEM: I guess it’s good for you to illicit a response like “aggggrrrrrr-eck!”
BRANDON: Mission accomplished really.

CREEM: How is life treating you on a major label?
BEN: I don’t think many people have it like we do.

JOSH: We get to say what we do, what songs go on the records, what artwork will go on the cover....

CREEM: So there must be some pressures...
BRANDON: There is pressure, but its pressure we put on ourselves. If we put out something that sucks, I’m sure we would hear about it. Fortunately for us someone likes us.

BEN: The reality is... I don’t think there is anything that anyone can tell us that we don’t already know. We work hard in the studio and tour our asses off...

BRANDON: And we're trying to make a record that people will actually like (Laughs).

CREEM: How did you end up touring with the Kings of Leon?
BRANDON: Whatever soap opera that has led up until this point is irrelevant. The variety that you see between our two bands is amazing. I don’t know if there are any two bands that are like us. It’s the type of weird pairing that doesn’t happen a lot.

CREEM: So you made some friends?
BEN: It could have gone either way for us really, because we are a psychedelic band, and their more straight ahead rock. It makes for a really nice evening to be able to play, get some drinks, and check out a really good rock band.

JOSH: People can over-analyze tours. People would maybe put Kings of Leon with a band like Jet, and underestimate the fact that they might really enjoy seeing two completely different bands. Like the Shout Out Louds (Early opener group for both bands on the tour.), some press has totally glossed over our bands, and really liked the shout Out Louds, which is cool.

BEN: Yeah, they're good. We had their record circulating around, and the next thing we knew it, we were touring with them.

BRANDON: Smarter people would see the coincidence there. We should really start to pay attention to those things! (whole band laughs).

What comes next is one of those moments where the awkwardness of an interview turns wholly into a hang-out situation, as two men of maintenance persuasion cross through our interview with odd looking tools to work on a toilet. No one recognizes the type of tools the men are using, and the men seemingly spoke not enough English to explain. Brandon then pipes up about how someone “took a shit on the tour bus the other day and still hasn’t confessed to it... which is really un-cool if you didn’t know”. This turns into a mini lesson on how faux pas it is for this to happen. “No solid waste on the tour bus!” Josh adds. This at some point snowballs into the perils of how much it sucks to urinate on ones self and the odd feeling of your eyes rolling back into your head when it does happen (Giving in, indeed, is the worst part!) Who said what at this point becomes really inconsequential, as it turned the room into laughter, but at the same time, this was explored with as much focus as when we were speaking about recording schedules and lyrical themes. When the interview eventually returned to the realm of music, it just didn’t seem as fun to talk about. Just understand that they really believe in their own sound, their new record, playing long psyched-out songs, and the show they played that night is still hanging above Chicago in the hazy atmosphere. Someone should really fess up to what they did on that tour bus though, acknowledging the problem is the first step.