Tonstartssbandht | Interview | New Album, ‘Petunia’
Tonstartssbandht is an American psychedelic, noise rock duo consisting of brothers Andy (guitar and vocals) and Edwin (drums and vocals) White. Mexican Summer recently released their 18th release and second for the label.
On ‘Petunia’ they bring us to the earliest moments of this process, showing off a barn full of hatchlings already decked with splendid plumage. Through constant touring, the brothers’ songs both take shape and change shape, becoming something a little different every night as they explore the possibilities inherent within them.
“An abstract, blank canvas to build upon”
Last Autumn you released a fantastic record on Mexican Summer. Tell us what’s the story behind writing material for ‘Petunia’?
Andy White: The songs that became ‘Petunia’ were ideas, jams, and demos from as far back as probably 2016 when we relocated from our adopted home of NYC back to our hometown of Orlando. We had some time to stretch out and start playing at home more and those ideas we took on the road and peppered sets over the following years with early versions of those songs, often with on-the-fly lyrics or non-verbal vocals. It wasn’t until 2020 when we got down to recording “the next album” that the final arrangements fell into place and we wrote hard-set words for the music. Despite having lived with versions of these songs for almost 5 years, finalizing the arrangements felt, in some ways, like writing entirely new songs.
Perhaps it’s just the act of committing that feels fresh after batting around an idea in different forms for a long time. As for the words, I was feeling pretty bad at the time, so I wrote about feeling pretty bad, which I think a lot of people can relate to.
“Allow yourself to be free from restraint and embrace the role of the fool”
It must be pretty special to play together as brothers. Would you like to tell us how you two first got interested in music and what were some of the first records you got?
Edwin White: I can’t remember us ever not having a strong interest in music. Our dad was a working musician, and both our parents were facilitating answers to our own endless questioning about the ins and outs of American mid-century pop and rock for as long as I can remember. They both have an encyclopedic knowledge of the charts from their youth. FM Oldies radio was absolutely our bread and butter for the first decade of life, and our interest was supplemented by exploring their own combined record collection at home. The first albums I personally bought or received — first on cassette, then, by the following Christmas, on CD (although I still felt tragically late to the optical disc party compared to my peers) — were Weird Al’s ‘The Food Album’, ‘Bad Hair Day’, and No Doubt – ‘Tragic Kingdom’. Weird Al in particular was an obsession for the both of us, and undoubtedly shaped a major part of our musical foundation. If you think about it, we still rely heavily on song medleys to this day. His catalog encouraged us, as uninformed listeners, to embrace the magic inherent within a wide cross section of popular music genres, and to research all of his reference points. Perhaps the most important aspect of his influence is that we were shown how truly fun music can be when you allow yourself to be free from restraint and embrace the role of the fool.
You recorded a ton of stuff and some of the early records were released 10+ years ago. You have a staggering 18 albums under your belt.
Edwin: Something like that, yes. Maybe 18 or so releases. To be fair, some are just live recordings, EPs, 7 inches, Maxi CD singles, et cetera.
What does the name “Tonstartssbandht” refer to in the context of the band name?
Edwin: It’s a word that I made up while collaging newspaper headline clippings in the mid-2000s. The name came first, and the band formed a year or two later. So I suppose we were molded by the influence of the meaningless word from the start. An abstract, blank canvas to build upon.
How often does it get misspelled?
Edwin: Every day I assume, somewhere out there.
Can you share some further details how your latest album ‘Petunia’ was recorded?
Edwin: It was recorded at home in Orlando, Florida. We recorded the drums and guitar together live, and we recorded the overdubbed vocals in a small, temporary booth that Andy constructed out of spare equipment and moving blankets. The music was recorded onto Logic Pro.
The lockdown resulted in many musicians being able to create projects that have been on a hold. Does that apply to your latest album as well?
Edwin: 100%. We were hoping to have a chance to begin the album process in winter of late 2020. When the pandemic hit we realized now we had the time, and were able to get started in May of 2020. It was in the can by the end of summer.
Would you please speak about the instruments and effects you use…
Edwin: I play a standard drum kit. Andy uses a couple different guitars. I run my voice through a guitar delay pedal.
Currently on the road I play a 6-string and a 12-string electric tuned to D standard, and another 6-string electric tuned to some sort of open C#. These days I tend to rely on the break-up of my amplifier’s pre-gain as opposed to distortion pedals, as was my wont as a younger man. On a couple of new songs I use a hard tremolo effect coupled with a short single-repeat delay to create the arpeggiator effect that you can hear on ‘What Has Happened’, I find a fair amount of gear-heads ask about that one so I thought I’d share. I run the guitar signal into a ping-pong delay which makes the signal stereo which I run Left/Right into a 2×12 guitar amp and a 1×15 bass amp, both of them Lab Series. Like Edwin, I also run my vocals through a little delay and reverb.
You are also active in many other bands and have side-projects. Please take a moment and touch upon each of the bands and projects you’re part of.
Edwin: I’m not sure how active we are with anything else at the moment. We had a High Rise cover band called High Rise II a decade ago, when we both lived in Montreal. I have filled in as a drummer in a few local (at that time) PC Worship shows in NYC in the mid 2010s, and in Walter TV as recently as 2017 for some tours around the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. I have a semi-dormant solo project called Eola, which is mostly me singing sort of gospel DIY stuff, a mix of originals and covers.
Not super active in any other projects at the moment. Like Ed said, we had High Rise II when we lived in Montreal. I also played in Clinton Machine, Black Feelings, and Love King Michael Farsky aka Michael Group for a little while. I got a job playing guitar in Mac DeMarco’s touring band for a few years, but we parted ways in early 2020. I have released solo music under the name Andy Boay in the past. At the moment, it’s pretty much all Tonstartssbandht!
What was the last album you bought and in what format did you buy it?
Edwin: A used Beach Boys cassette on Discogs.
Andy: A used Alabama Sacred Harp Convention compilation on vinyl at a local record shop.
Have you ideas that refuse to step through the door with you? And what do you do with those sketches?
Andy: I either record them and put them away, or never even record them. Eventually you move onto other things. And sometimes, you can go back to them to take from them what you want, or remind yourself what you aren’t interested in pursuing. Either way, it’s nice to have ideas, whether they stick with you or not.
What currently occupies your life? Any future plans?
Edwin: Taxes, accounting, and skateboarding.
We have a tour in March and April of many U.S. States east of the Mississippi River.
Andy: Taking care of medical shit, writing music, and walking alot. And preparing to tour next month!
Klemen Breznikar
Live dates
Mar 4, 2022 Nasheville, TN – Third Man Records
Mar 6, 2022 Madison, WI – Der Rathskeller
Mar 7, 2022 Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
Mar 8, 2022 Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
Mar 9, 2022 Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag
More here!
Headline photo: Andy White
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