Let’s face it: typically when a young, new band tops its list of influences with the Beatles, there’s serious cause for concern. The results almost always pale in comparison.
If asked to elaborate on the connection between the tunes the moptops produced and its own, such a band will often launch into a discussion about song structure, timeless melodies, sharpened hooks and poetic lyrics. Perhaps, feigning humility, its members will remind you how the original Fab Four essentially invented modern rock and roll by their elaborate fiddling around in the studio, layering tracks and sound effects into vibrant collages of sound. Ultimately, they’ll point to one of the later works—Abbey Road or the White Album—as their Bible.
Mercifully, this is not the case with The 413. They don’t appear to have any patience with that kind of crap.
In fact, when asked by the Advocate last week what accounted for their recent success and win as the best new band in the Valley, what their music sounded like was one of the last theories they reached for.
“We’re really fun,” said lead vocalist Jeff Braz.
“We play dancy stuff,” drummer Jake Lagerstrom added. “Dancing’s really important to us; we play better when people are dancing.”
“Yeah,” agreed guitarist Chris Almeida. “We’ve got this group of girls—our close friends, our girlfriends, and their friends—they’ve all got 413 shirts, and we call them the 413 girls. They get everyone motivated and out on the dance floor, and before you know it, it’s like a madhouse out there. Our shows are really high-energy.”
“And we try not to take ourselves too seriously,” bassist Gabe Joao said.
All the members went to high school together in Ludlow, where they still remember playing “Rocky Raccoon” in the halls between classes. After a few years out on their own, sometimes playing with other bands, they started playing together late last year. They had their first gig at the Matador in Ludlow in February, and ever since they’ve been playing to packed houses in clubs like the Waterfront in Holyoke or Max Cap in Chicopee.
In addition to all that infectious energy and attitude, their music appears to have had an effect, too.
“We play a mix of stuff. About half originals, and half covers to pay the bills,” said Braz, who co-writes their original material with Almeida, his long-time friend.
“And we don’t play in any one style,” said Almeida. “Some punk, some heavy metal. We play a lot of stuff off the radio, too. R&B and hip-hop. You know, for the kids.” For themselves, they also might play Kinks, Tom Petty or Weezer covers.
“Not new Weezer, though,” Almeida said. “Mostly from their first couple of albums. After that they kind of went… off.”
Instead of the Beatles, who fretted about string and horn arrangements with George Martin while he hovered over the mixing board, The 413 seems to relate more closely to the younger edition: the leather-clad rockers who packed the Cavern Club.
Like that band’s, The 413’s original material clearly reflects their many influences, which is probably why it blends in so well with the tunes they cover. But the 413’s songs sound unique. They’re not afraid to mix genres and ideas within a single tune.
A song with a cool, laid-back guitar melody and tight harmonies suddenly breaks into a gallop with a hip-hop bridge. Another song weaves together a breathless, airy chorus with grunting, aggressive rap. In one tune they manage to lyrically link Darth Vader, Ralph Nader and Tomb Raider into a single verse.
Braz describes their songwriting approach as “democratic.” He and Almeida present ideas to the band, and as a group, they decide what they’ll play and together hone the tunes. Asked whether there are songs that don’t make the cut, the band laughs in chorus.
“Oh, yeah,” Almeida admits. “Most of them.”
Their egalitarian approach is apparent at the gigs, too.
“We usually have four mics on stage,” Braz said. “One for me and Chris, and one for Gabe. We call the fourth mic the one for our drunkle. If someone wants to get up on the stage and belt one out with us, we’re fine with that. During our last gig at Max Cap, Pete, the sound guy, couldn’t restrain himself and just had to sit in and play bass with us. It was awesome.”
Between the 413 girls, the microphone for enthusiastic inebriates and the tightly played sets, it appears The 413 has all the rock and roll food groups covered—the one thing that might be missing is attitude. For day jobs, these affable chaps list bookkeeper, collections agent and substitute teacher among their occupations, but when Almeida’s asked what he does for a living, he comes to the rescue.
“Contract killer,” he says, deadpan, pointing out that business always slacks off in the winter when “for some reason, people get merciful.”
Hoping to redeem himself and his rock and roll persona, Lagerstrom adds that when he lived in Northampton he racked up over a thousand dollars in parking tickets.
“They even put the boot on my car,” he said.
“Whoa! Really? I never got the boot,” Almeida said, clearly impressed. “Better make a note of that and put it in your story.”
The 413 performs this weekend: Friday, Sept. 23 at Club Meadows in East Longmeadow and Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Ludlow Fish and Game Club.
