Jeremy Scott, the original/current member of Reigning Sound, leader of the Toy Trucks, recently released his solo album, ‘Bear Grease’.

‘Bear Grease’ is Jeremy Scott’s first solo album, the product of years of immersion in 20th century pop, folk and rock music, as well as a spirited effort to breathe new life into these old bones. The variety of sounds reflects two decades-plus worth of both creation and curation.

Joining up with highly intuitive multi-instrumentalist Graham Burks, Jr. (Perfect Vessels, Pezz, Loose Opinions) in the latter’s home studio, the pair went to work on a song cycle that plays out in the manner of your favorite classic album. They go from strength to strength, from easygoing folk-pop (‘Fred Neil Armstrong’) to strongly caffeinated ’65-era Byrds (‘Your Ice Cream’s Gonna Melt One Day’) to woozy shoegaze-meets-Crazy Horse (‘Just Like Your Mother #15 & 67’).

Subject matter ranges from music biz seediness (‘Patron of the Arts’) to wisdom-dispensing acne (‘Ass Pimple of Love’). They even inject new life into Philly legend Kenn Kweder’s ‘What am I Talking About’, the album’s sole non-original.

The lockdown resulted in many musicians being able to create projects that have been on a hold. I believe you found the isolation to be very creative, didn’t you?

Jeremy Scott: To a certain extent, yes, although ‘Bear Grease’ was recorded and mixed prior to the lockdown. I did manage to get ideas for several new songs, as well as finish a few that had been lying around for awhile. Now that there is a band to play the solo material, I’m attempting to flesh out those ideas in a way that will maximize everybody’s contributions.

As a big fan of Reigning Sound, it’s really exciting to hear the new album, ‘Bear Grease’.

Thanks! It’s exciting to have it out there.

“I like to keep receptors”

What is your creative process like when it comes to solo work?

It’s pretty much the same as coming up with Toy Trucks songs. I like to keep receptors open to things people say, things that come out of conversations, et cetera. It used to be that everything was a Toy Trucks song by default, but this batch of songs I felt was going to be more acoustic in nature, even if that’s not exactly how it turned out.

Was there a particular story that influenced you to record the tracks for the album? Tell us more about the lyrics…

Hmmmm … ‘World Brain’ was originally a song that was influenced by a gout attack. The first lines (“The world brain says I can’t walk today”) were literally what was going through my head at the time. Actually, the phrase “world brain” I saw years ago in a Lester Bangs piece. I guess I never throw anything away! ‘Fred Neil Armstrong’ is more or less a song about the creative process and the arts’ importance in society. Just because it’s currently devalued by many doesn’t mean it’s not important on an individual level!

<a href="https://jeremyscott71.bandcamp.com/album/bear-grease">Bear Grease by Jeremy Scott</a>

‘Patron of the Arts’ came from a story my friend Dan Montgomery told me about a run-in he had with a music industry type in the Philadelphia area many years ago, which I fleshed out into this epic sort of thing. The idea for ‘Turgid’ came from a phone conversation with a friend. We were discussing a third party whom she referred to as “turgid.” It was the first time I heard someone described that way and I thought it was hysterical. Of course, the song goes on forever and ever so one could describe THAT as Turgid! Heavy meta. (Not metal, hahaha.)

How did you first get to know Graham Burks and what led you to ask him to play on your solo album?

We played a one-off gig together with J.D. Reager (who runs the Back to the Light label) was also involved in. I was playing bass and Graham played drums. Though we had met before, it was the first time we’d played together, and we had fun doing it, so at the end we discussed maybe doing it again once the opportunity arose. Not long after that, I found myself writing the songs on the album and asked if he’d be info recording one of them to see how it went. We worked on a basic track to what became ‘Fred Neil Armstrong’, and after I left that night he asked for a mellotron and more backing vocals. When I heard that, I was pleasantly surprised and roped him into doing a whole record!

Are you planning to play some solo shows?

We did one a few weeks ago, when the album came out. We have another one in April; it would be sooner but Graham’s job takes him out of town on occasion. The rest of us (Mitchell, Noel and I) are pretty much usually around and available so I hope to book more shows as the year goes on.

You’re keeping very busy as a bassist for Reigning Sound and as the leader of the power pop revivalists Toy Trucks. What do you have in mind for the rest of 2022?

There are Reigning Sound dates in June (southeastern U.S.) and July (Europe). We were supposed to be playing in February and March but those dates were cancelled or postponed due to Omicron. Beyond that, there may be other shows in the works but there is nothing definite yet. In the meantime, my goal is to finish more songs. There’s a second Toy Trucks album that’s basically written – we’ve been playing maybe five of those songs for a while now – and I’m starting to get a picture of what the next album with Graham will be like. Really eager to get Mitchell and Noel involved, because I’m looking for more of a band feel this time out.

Would you also like to talk about the latest album by Reigning Sound, ‘A Little More Time With’?

THAT was where a lot of my energy during lockdown went. The band had played some shows right before lockdown, and not long afterward, Greg went on a writing spree. He called us in July and asked if we’d be into recording ASAP, which we all were. We basically learned a whole album’s worth of new songs and recorded them during the month of August.

<a href="https://reigningsound.bandcamp.com/album/a-little-more-time-with-reigning-sound">A Little More Time with Reigning Sound by Reigning Sound</a>

The funny thing is, we recorded our first album in August 2000 and released it in May 2001, so the recording and release of ‘A Little More Time’ were 20 years to the month later! Maybe I’m the only one who finds it interesting, I don’t know! I do think it came out well; you can definitely hear ongoing refinement in Greg’s writing and singing. Having sat down and fleshed out some of the vocal arrangements with him prior to recording, I can say he’s definitely a more methodical songwriter now, which is a function of experience.

Toy Trucks are a truly fun listen. The arrangements on your album sound just perfect! What’s the story behind working on ‘rockets bells and poetry’?

Thanks! It took awhile for that one to come out, but the recording was relatively quick and unfussy, which is what it sounds like to me. I was trying to go for a little bit of a sinister undertow a la the first Cheap Trick record, which is a personal favorite. There’s even a true crime song on each record – ‘The Ballad of TV Violence’ is about Richard Speck, while ’57 Bayview’ is based on Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. We’re not on CT’s level, of course, but who is?

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

I’ve been digging the Silver Synthetic s/t record, which sounds to me like I wish Teenage Fanclub would sound like nowadays. Also, the newish Aquarian Blood (‘Bending the Golden Hour’) is tremendous and is probably as close as anybody’s going to get to the ghost of Skip Spence these days. Unfortunately, the passing of King Louie Bankston and Dallas Good from the Sadies have sent me back to their catalogs. Tremendous music which unfortunately there won’t be more of. Both Dallas and Louie were younger than me, which trips me out, and Louie was a friend too. So as to not end this on a total bummer note, I should also mention that I really dig the new La Luz, Shannon and the Clams and Gentleman Jesse albums, too.