Although his band features some of the area’s best rockers, The Sometimes bassist and vocalist Neal Robinson won’t go so far as to call his Northampton quintet a supergroup.
“I think it is illegal to call yourself a supergroup without any ex-members of Yes, Styx, Nirvana, Van Halen or Ted Nugent,” he says. “So no.”
Robinson is joined in The Sometimes by fellow The Brass member Kaliis Smith on guitar and keys, Issam Sasako on vox and guitar, guitarist Jeremy Smith and LOLFM founder and ex-Mobius Band drummer Noam Schatz.
The high-energy collective was formed in 2010 when Robinson met Sasako, who had moved back to the area and was looking to play some music. The duo ran into Schatz, who was interested in joining the two from his perch behind the kit.
“Kaliis and Jeremy were playing in their band The Smiths and agreed to add their might to our own,” recalls Robinson. “We played the Happy Valley Showdown, won some recording time, so we kind of had to stay together and write some more songs.”
The quintet has done just that, and is currently working on its first EP with an eye towards a release this fall or early winter.
Robinson jokes that the outfit’s songwriting process can be a little tumultuous: “One of us will bring in a song. We then hurt their feelings and combine efforts to make it awesome.”
At least they don’t berate each other during live sets. “We try to have a good time on stage and project that energy to the crowd,” he says.
The bassist is also unafraid to share a few, perhaps apocryphal, band peculiarities with Advocate readers.
“We like midget porn and bullfighting,” says Robinson. “Jeremy will only eat blue food, Kaliis is really—I mean really—into feet, Noam does not care for the Scottish, Issam says he has ‘gone tantric.’ I don’t really know what that means. And I have a collection of tiny shoes.
“We really are just the guys and girls next door. Maybe not next door to you, though.”
The Sometimes rock Northampton’s Sierra Grille Thursday, Aug.18 at 10 p.m. along with Fancy Trash and Fiesta Brava.
