LOCAL ACT | The Explorers Club
By DJ M on May 28th, 2008
In Miscellaneous Music
CHARLESTON CITY PAPER "There's no one out there making the kind of records that I enjoy listening to — or that my parents, grandparents, and all my friends would like," says singer/guitarist Jason Brewer, the main songwriter and arranger of local pop-rock band The Explorers Club. "The thing is, The Association, The Beach Boys, and Phil Spector — they're not making records anymore. Sure, it's true that The Explorers Club catch some flak for sounding too much like The Beach Boys, but take this into consideration: This is our first record and we're not seasoned artists. I wanted to do a record that was of a certain sound."
"A lot of people do something to capture a certain sound — a sound that no one does anymore. It wasn't like doing a tribute. It's more of a continuation of something that kind of dies out."
"I played a lot of acoustic guitar, piano, and organ. I let Dave [Ellis] and Jim [Faust] do a lot of that tremolo guitar stuff and banjos and all. They're really good at it. I can illustrate the parts that I wanted, and they were able to put it across. Matt had a lot of really great ideas for the drums. We'd listen to some Beach Boys records, then we'd listen to some Elton John records, then some Beatles and Paul McCartney records ... then some Spector stuff to get some ideas."
"Matt [Goldman] knew how to get the good sounds without having to process it or to use ProTools to replace tracks or whatever. It was all real natural."
"When we did 'Forever,' it just turned out so well and people really responded positively. We put it online, and people loved it. A few record labels even contacted us. After I decided to form a group, I was like, 'Okay, let's form a Spector/Beach Boys-style band,' and I tried to incorporate all of those sounds."