Interview: Math and Physics Club

Math and physics club (hereinafter, MAPC) are an Indie pop band based in Seattle (though the members live in different cities in the USA), they released two beautiful EPs in 2005 for Matinée recordings and they already caught our attention. Two years later, in 2007, they released their first album, with such wonderful songs as “Darling , please come home”, “la la Lisa” or “April showers” (since then, one of my favourite songs ever). After that, they remained a bit aside from the music scene, the band members were reduced from five to three, until 2010, when they released their first 7” “Jimmy had a polaroid” that later would be included into “I shouldn’t look as good as I do”, their second album. It was one of the best albums from 2010 (in fact, it was number 9 in the top ten of albums 2010 for this blog). MAPC songs are indiepop songs, apparently easy, direct, without tricks, as the best pop songs should be. They make music just because they love music, and we are lucky because we can enjoy those songs, because a record doesn’t need to be overproduced to be able to move you. Charles Bert, voice and rythim guitar in the band, has been kind enough to answer some questions for this blog, and here is the result.

Can you tell us something about how did you form the band? Why did you choose that name?

CB: James and I have been friends since we were kids, and we’ve either been in a band together or talked about being in a band together for nearly as long. We came up with the band name before we actually had any bandmates. It was inspired by a line in the movie The Breakfast Club, which we watched a lot in high school.

Which bands inspired you in the past to decide to start your own band?

CB: We were lucky to grow up in a place with a great music scene. We got to see bands like Beat Happening, The Posies, Young Fresh Fellows, and Dharma Bums on a regular basis. And Olympia is sort of the unofficial DIY capital of the world, so that definitely rubs off on you.

In this blog we love Matinée Recordings and we are big fans of a lot of the bands there, how did you get in touch with them? Which are your favourite bands from Matinée?

CB: Aside from having a great roster of bands, I was a big fan of Matinee's overall aesthetic. You could tell someone really cared about the artwork as well as the music. They were one of the first labels we mailed our demo to. As it turned out, Mark Monnone from The Lucksmiths was staying with Jimmy Tassos at the time and they were listening to demos together. Lucky for us they both liked it, and Jimmy contacted us soon after with an offer to release it as an EP. I truly am a fan of all the current bands on the label. I thought the new records last year from Northern Portrait, Bubblegum Lemonade, and Electric Pop Group were all brilliant

 MAPC in 2006

You released your first album in 2006 and you have been silent since then until 2010, can you tell us what have you been to in the meantime? Was it because the band was reduced from 5 people to just 3? Will we have to wait another three years for a new album?

CB: I became a father of twins in 2007, and James’ first child was born shortly before that, so we’ve mostly been changing diapers instead of playing music. Then Saundrah moved to Denmark and started her own family, and Kevin got busy with his writing career and family too. We did get Kevin to play drums on our recent album though, and he’ll also be playing a few shows with us this year (and Saundrah too!). Given how long it took us to produce the last one, it may be our last proper album.

You say that the last album maybe be your last proper album, that a shame, so from now on can we only expect for new EPs by MATPC or you may reconsider it in the future?

CB: I don't want to rule anything out, but James, Ethan, and I all live in different cities now, so it's difficult to coordinate practicing and recording together. An EP or a single here and there feels more possible. In fact, I'm hoping we'll be able to release a new single sometime this summer.

From the name of the band, Math and physics club, since some of the lyrics about teenage and innocent love, everything seems to refer to school or high school days, do you feel nostalgic about those years?

CB: I think a lot of people romanticize youth, especially as we get older. I like to write about it because it’s something we’ve all been through, so it’s easy for people to see themselves in the stories.

“We are so DIY” seems like some kind of manifesto, or guidelines for being an indie pop band and be happy with it, do you have any advice to new indie pop bands who want to start in the music scene?

CB: I think James and I hid out in our basement too long being afraid to just put ourselves out there, you know? But the indiepop community is really supportive. It’s easy to get involved by helping put together shows for pop bands travelling through your town. The best advice I can give is simply to be nice. This is a labor of love for most of us, and everyone likes to work with people who are easy to deal with.  

In your first EP you had a song called “When we get famous”, optimistic about the possibilities of the band. In the new album you have “We are so DIY” in which you say “we’ll never carry up the charts”, but that song sounds optimistic as well, have you changed your expectations for the band?

CB: I don’t think so. Our only real goals from the start were to release a 7” and play a few shows that we didn’t have to beg our friends and families to attend just so we’d have an audience! We’re still pretty amazed and thankful that people listen to us and come to our shows. Like doing this interview for a blog in Spain! How cool is that?

“I shouldn’t look as good as I do” contains 10 songs in 25 minutes. Do you believe that the perfect pop song should last less than 3 minutes? Or it is just chance that all the songs you write are quite short?

CB: I think the best pop songs are under three minutes. After that it’s usually just over-using the chorus or adding unnecessary verses or, god forbid, a bridge! I think if you’ve said all you want to say, lyrically and melodically, in a minute and a half then that’s more powerful than trying to stretch it into something it’s not. 

 MAPC in 2010

Tell us something about the lyrics of “Everybody loves a show tune”, was anyone in the band into musical theatre or willing to do so, or is it just fiction?

CB: I’ve never done musical theater, but I’ve always been fascinated by theater culture. The jokes are so predictable, but everyone in the theater still laughs out loud. Is it really that funny? Don’t get me wrong, though, I do love showtunes! For this song, I had the first line in my head for a long time but I never really thought it would become anything. Then one day the rest of it just came pouring out. I rarely write lyrics with a linear story like that, so it was fun.

Two of the favourite songs from 2010 for this blog have been “Jimmy had a Polaroid” by MAPC and “Polaroid song” by Allo darlin’, it seems that 2010 has been the year for polaroid in indie pop. What can you tell us about Jimmy had a Polaroid? Why did you choose it to be your first 7”?

CB: That Allo Darlin’ album is so good, isn’t it? The title lyric for Jimmy Had a Polaroid popped into my head soon after the melody. Jimmy Tassos is the head of our record label and he loves photography, so I knew he’d at least like the title! As for releasing it as our first 7”, we’ve actually been trying to convince Jimmy to start releasing vinyl again ever since we signed to Matinee, but people weren’t really buying it. Lucky for us the 7” has made a comeback! The song is also the opening track on our album and we just thought it seemed like a natural single.  

You recorded a cover of a Beach Boys song in one or your EPs, I’ve seen a video of a live gig playing “Sally Cinnamon”, which other covers do you like to play?

CB: We’ve also recorded a cover of “Superboy & Supergirl” by Tullycraft for a tribute album last year, and Beat Happening’s “Angel Gone” for a split-single on former Barcelona label Tragadiscos. We’ve played “Shaking Through” by REM live a few times, and “A is for Alphabet” by the Razorcuts, which is one of my favorite covers to play.

Which has been, in your opinion, the highest achievement you made as a band? Or the achievement that made you prouder.

CB: I think releasing our first EP is still at the top of my list. Up to that point not many people outside of James’ basement had really heard us, and suddenly we were labelmates with one of my favorite bands, The Lucksmiths. It was such a cool feeling to get that first box of CDs and open them up.

Talking about the Lucksmiths, they are (or were) one of our favourite bands as well. Which are your favourite songs and albums by the Lucksmiths? You've played lived with them several times, any anecdote you would want to share with us?

CB: "Guess How Much I Love You?" was the first song I ever heard by them. A friend put it on a mixtape, and I remember listening to it while driving home from Seattle one night and hitting repeat over and over till I knew all the words. "Golden Age of Aviation" and "Under the Rotunda" are also highlights for me, but it's a long list. I think we played about a half dozen shows with them, and they were some of the most fun we've had as a band. The first time was in Los Angeles and they got stuck in traffic on the way to the venue, but they had some of the gear in their car. We ended up having to start the show before they arrived and I remember Kevin playing drums with no cymbals and Ethan sitting on the stage because he didn't have a guitar strap. The Lucksmiths walked in mid-set with the gear. It was our first show outside of Seattle, so we were already really nervous. Not exactly how we wanted the night to go, but of course all was forgotten when they started to play their set. One of my favorite live bands ever.

 MAPC and The Lucksmiths together in 2007

Which bands from nowadays do you listen?

CB: Allo Darlin’ is one of my favorites of the moment, and we were lucky enough to get to play a show with them when they visited Seattle last year. Such nice people too! I thought Stornoway’s song “Zorbing” from last year was brilliant, and “Fifteen” by Standard Fare. I’m always excited to hear what our Matinee labelmates are doing as well.

Which song, from any other artist of all time, do you wish you had written?

CB: That’s such a hard question. There are loads of songs I wish I had the talent to have written. A couple that come to mind, particularly for their lyrics, are “Our Town” by Iris Dement and “Nightswimming” by REM. They’re both beautiful.

Any chance to see play here in Spain in a not-so-far future?

CB: I would love to play in Spain, but we’re not able to tour very much with our busy family lives. We’re planning to play a few shows in the UK this summer, but sadly that’s probably as close as we’ll get.

There is a strong debate in Spain about music and internet, nowadays. For some people it seems that internet is killing the whole musical scene because of the illegal download, but some people think that it is only harming really big bands and big record companies and that for the small bands and small record companies internet offers more good things (more people knowing the band, going to gigs and even buying their records directly from them or their record company, if they like it when they download it), than bad things (people downloading the album for free, and not buying it) what are your views about it? Do you think it is harmful for MAPC and Matinée Recordings?

CB: I’ve always felt like it’s a good thing for bands. I think a lot of people who illegally download music wouldn’t necessarily buy it even if they couldn’t get it for free. It’s also expensive to buy lots of records, so most people can’t afford to buy everything they want to hear. We’re not going to get rich either way, so I’d rather have more people listening to our music than less.

Anything else you would like to tell to your fans to end this interview?

Thanks so much for listening to our music! It means a lot to us, especially with so much great music out there to choose from. 

xo Charles