Interview conducted by Switch, mucic reporter for Sound Check

 

Matt ... alright, this is gonna be fun! here goes....  I'm Matt, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. I'll be your question answerer for the day

 

 

Switch ...  Tell me a little about the naming of the band. Was the name strictly to
follow certain market trends and then evolved?

 

Matt ...  Never really considered the marketing trends and consumer tactics, but now that I think of it, we should start hitting up businesses on 5th avenue...any 5th avenue for some sort of advertisement fee!  We could probably make more money doing that, than selling records.  A lot of people get confused about the band name and think we must be from New York, but, in reality we're just a bunch of thieves.

 

Back in the late 50's, early 60's there was a group of kids pioneering the sport of surfing at a beach near 5th avenue in Indialantic, Florida,  which is kind of a central location to where we all live.  They called themselves the 5th avenue onlys. I heard that name when I was a kid and growing up surfing, I always admired the forefathers of the sport.....plus it just sounds cool.  So, since they aren't around anymore,  we decided to five-finger discount the name.

 

Switch ...  How long have have you been together as a group? 

 

Matt ...  Aaron, Ryan, and I have been together about 3 years now and Eric joined on after our original guitarist jumped ship about 8 months ago.

 

Switch ...  Do you have nicknames for each other?

 

Matt ...  Aaron wants a good nick name very badly, so I'm always trying them out but so far nothing seems to stick. You can't really force one, can you?...I mean you kind of have to just wait for something completely identifying to happen and then someone will spontaneously shout something out. It's the tourettes method of nicknaming...which is appropriate, because I actually have tourettes. so...we wait, hoping someday soon Aaron will do something ridiculous like spew milk from his nose, so we can call him nosey or milkman or...chewbaca!

 

Switch ...  What other bands were you guys with?

 

Matt ...  Most of the bands to be found in our area are realy hardcore and that seems to be what a lot of the crowds are into, which is a little frustrating since we are not. However, there are a few of us with some melody in music, so we tend to kind of stick together. Smilin' Mcgee out of orlando and Moon Shine Blue out of Palmbay are friends and we play together quite often. All of us have played in various bands over the years...Eric even did some studio work with Natalie Merchant and Mariah Carey, but none of us have ever done anything like this before...when you get the right group together and it gels you can just feel it. For example, last night at rehearsal I introduced a new song...We're so automatic about it now, that it takes about 5 seconds for my guys to understand, what I'm trying to do.

 

Switch ... Who writes your originals?

 

Matt ...  About 95% of our stuff is written by me. There are a few songs, where Aaron has come up with a really great bass line or a chord progression. He'll bring it to me and we'll work on it together. Every song we play is a real story or feeling, that either myself or someone I know has experienced. Trouble is a prime example.  I was at this huge club in Chicago and this unbeleivable girl grabs me out of no where to dance with her. It was like she was laying claim on me in front of everyone and like I said she was amazing so I did what I was told. I have a huge weakness for beautiful girls. I know every straight guy could say the same thing, but it's really bad for me. If a hot girl flashes me a sexy look,  like she means it....oohh...yes mistress!

 

Switch ... Tell me a little about where you record and the methods you use.

 

Matt ... We record using the patented Brian Kunitz method. A couple years ago we were playing in orlando and we met Kyle Cook, the guitarist from matchbox 20...really nice guy. Anyway, we've been recording at his studio 'Swamptone' for a little over a year now. Brian is his (and ours) engineer. He has a particular way of recording you, which involves hours of tracking with a cow bell clanging in your ears and take, after take, after take...but when it's all done,  you have an amazing piece of work that you have created.  Sometimes that really amazes me....I mean one day there isn't anything there and then all of the sudden poof... there's this song... a documented emotion.

 

The cd is almost done.  Still tweeking a couple of songs and then it needs to be completely mixed to ready it for mastering, but we decided to go ahead and put out a few songs so people could get a taste of what is coming. So, actually any of the songs you hear on our sites right now are just rough unmastered mixes. 

 

Switch ... I'm interested in your musical influences and who you admire as a lyricist.

 

Matt ... We all have a lot of influences and we share certain ones. Everyone also has their own. Since I'm answering these questions I'm going to give you mine.  Here are my top 5 favorite song writers, in no particular order-

Jackson Browne .... Bob Marley ...  Ben Harper ... Bruce Springsteen ... John Lennon.  Everyone one of these guys not only touches you with their words on a personal level, but they also have the power to flex their creative muscles, to help shape peoples lives and influence whole generations to change the world for the better.

 

Switch ... Can you do sound effects with your guitar? What kind? dog barking? ..
chicken pecking? can you make it talk? Have you ever heard anyone that can
do this besides the Stones ("Little Red Rooster") George Throughgood (can't
think of the name of the song) or any others?

 

 Matt... Are you kidding?! this is the silliest question..ha ha!  We put various effects on the instruments if the song dictates,  but no as of yet we have not used any dog barking or duck quacking though...however, I always thought it would be cool to get one of those talking box effects like peter frampton uses.

 

Switch ... Do you see music strictly as entertainment or do you think there are other uses? 

 

Matt... A great philosopher once said...ok it was me actually...I once said "music is the lubrication of life"- Matt Bretz ...  It's true.  Music is the ambiotic fluid, that bonds everything together.  Quantum physics tells us, that everything  made thing is made of the exact same energy and that we are are connected because of this. Kind of like the force. When you play music, you are actually creating harmonious sound waves, that have a direct effects on the energy around it...which means it effects everything!  Because of this,  I strongly believe in the importance of music and I also believe the possibilities of what it can be used for is limitless.

 

Switch ...  Any thoughts on women? (and you thought this was easy. LOL)

 

Matt ... Women are amazing!   I think I speak for the entire band when I say, women are the most amazingly, complex, frustratingly addictive creatures on the planet.  I am so addicted to everything about them.  The soft, feminine features, the silky hair, the knowing smiles, the curve of the lower back, the two dimples just above my favorite body part ever...the ass! Ass man all the way!  A sexy ass has limitless power over me and I will do anything to get close to it....woo hoo! Bring on the ass!

 

So, now that I've made myself look like a complete perv,  let me explain that it isn't just the physical features of a woman, that I so admire.  The mental and emotional feats a women can pull off,  also leave me stunned.  Most ancient religions held the female up high and worshipped her strength and abiltiy to create life.  Somehow this got lost in mainstream society...I'm trying to single handedly bring it back!

 

Switch ...Tell me something funny that the band experienced. Doesn't matter if it was during a gig or in the studio or just hanging out together.

 

Matt.... The band started with Aaron and I and then we auditioned for the other players.  We had auditioned about 4 or 5 drummers at one point and no one really fit, until one night we played with this guy named Ryan...not our Ryan,  a different Ryan...let's call him Ryan#1.  So, we listen to this guy and it works, but we still had one more guy scheduled to listen to.  I didn't want to be impolite, so we didn't cancel.  Well the the afternoon before the  audition, I get a call while I'm in the shower.  Mmy girlfriend at the time answered it.

 

When I got out of the shower,  she just says "Ryan called".  I assumed it was Ryan#1 and left a voice mail that went something like this "Hey Ryan ... I assume you are probably calling to see what we've decided.  We have to listen to someone else out of politeness tonight, but unless this guy pulls something out of his ass, we're going to offer you the gig".

 

I thought I was talking to Ryan#1... I wasn't, it was Ryan#2's voice mail.  The guy who we we're going to audition that night.  I felt like such a jerk, however, with that info in mind Ryan#2 brought his A game and blew us away...the rest is history.

 

5th Avenue Only's Music