Hangin' With The Power Pop Elite

Okay, the picture to the left is really blurry, but take my word for it. That's me and Matthew Sweet. Today's post is brought to you by the letter "S", as in Syd and Susie. Let me explain.

A couple of weeks back I went to Carrboro to see Matthew Sweet and Suzanna Hoffs of the Bangles perform songs from their "Covers 2" release. I'm actually quite the Bangles fan and have always liked Matthew Sweet's work as well. A friend gave me the heads-up on the show. What I hadn't realized was that he was playing bass for "Syd and Susie", as they are calling themselves on this tour.

Dennis Taylor of John Wicks and The Records is an incredible talent, as anyone who was at the show can attest. Little did I know that Paul Chastain would also be performing with them, adding not only his expert guitar but this vocal support as well.

It was a fantastic show, one I would highly recommend. But what was noteworthy was the after show happenings. The Bangles manager, John Calucci, stopped by to say "hello" earlier in the show and make sure I had a good seat where the acoustics were best. What an absolutely great guy. After the show Dennis waved me into the back room to say "hi" to Matthew and Suzanne. I'd never met them before and, having been bitterly dissapointed in meeting some of my musical "heroes" in the past, I'd become a bit cynical. A good friend of mine, showbiz veteran and very funny comic, Lord Carrett, once said to me "Sometimes your heroes are not what you expect them to be". Truer words have never been spoken, but fortunately in this case they didn't apply.

I had the opportunity to speak with Paul Chastain first. I've always been a HUGE Velvet Crush fan (Teenage Symphonies is one of my most played CDs) and had a great conversation with him. He's friendly and approachable and shared a story with me about arriving at Mitch Easter's studio to record the record. I hope I tell this right....He asked Mitch why there was a large cable leading out to the corn field in back of the studio, to which Mitch replied "That's where we recorded Micheal's (Stipe) vocals", presumably for REM's Gardening at Night. A great guy with great stories, that's all I can say.

Dennis then brought me in to meet Matthew and Suzanna. Matthew was sitting down on a couch in a darkly lit make-shift room, complete with half-working lamps and a fridge full of Coke (or diet Coke, I'm not sure). He was approachable and talkative. We spoke about numerous things from his website to the next recording. The real interesting information came when Mitch Easter walked in. I had always admired Mitch's work but had never met him. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real. Matthew Sweet, Suzanna Hoffs, and Mitch Easter in the same room....with me! Mitch and Matthew started to speak about the next record so after eavesdropping a bit I took the opportunity to excuse myself and say "hi" to Suzanna.

A few immediate observations....my first thought was, how does such a big voice come from such a small person? Secondly, I thought "she hasn't aged a bit". It was a darkly lit room, but there was no mistaking the fact that she still looks, well, fantastic.

I commented that I thought the show was really fun. That's the best word for it, fun. There were some gaffs, what with it being the first show of the tour, but Suzanne and Matthew have a repore that always puts you on their side, like we're all friends and all in this together. And we, the audience, couldn't get enough of it. When I shared this thought she seemed genuinely surprised and modest. How refreshing!

My sincere thanks to Dennis Taylor and John Calacci, two VERY talented, wonderful people, who have a way of making everyone they deal with feel special.

In closing, here's a photo I took of Mitch Easter and Suzanna Hoffs. Again, the room was very dark, so I apologize for the bad quality of the photo...also, my cell phone takes shi**y pictures. In closing, if you can catch these two on this tour, DO SO. It's wonderful people doing a wonderful show.