Lying
in States • DOA •
The Peelers • The
Reigning Sound • The New Constitution
• Decibators
RPG
• M.O.T.O. • Lamb
of God • Federation X • Electric
Frankenstein • The Fleshies
THE NEW CONSTITUTIION
It was a cool October night with nothing to do but check out a random billing at Chicago's "hip to eat hummus" club; The Empty Bottle. The Bottle is a rock club which also believes in high standards of entertainment . . . usually. Sometimes, there simply aren't enough good bands to go around. The bill that night included three bands: New York space rockers, The Occasion, who were slated to open for Interpol later that month; Chicago to New York transplants and up-and-comers, We Regazzi, with that rolling-stonesy-bolognasey sound the kids are just eating up; and, you guessed it (from the unimaginative title of this article), The New Constitution. Here's the skinny: out of all the bands on the bill, The News seemed to have the most potential to bum. They had the "right" guitars, the "right" clothes, the "right" hair and the "right" stance. Anyone who's taken a booze-drizzled ride, high and tied, on the hipster rock ride knows meeting the fashion quota for band members can be a heads-up to pre-show gapers for bad music to come. Knowing the other bands as I did, from one place or another, to me guaranteed that show-goers had at least a shot at a good night. It seemed as though The News were going to make that night two-thirds good. That meant, The Occasion, We Regazzi and "The New... who? Who the shit were those dumb mutha..." The News stealthily took the stage, picking up their guitars while visibly shrugging off the relaxed feeling acquired from pre-show beers drunk at the bar. They started to play and proceeded to blow the place away. Besides playing well, The News seemed to be calling up every musically admirable tidbit from David Bowie to The Stones, from T-Rex to The Kinks, and The Who, while maintaining a solid sound all their own. The New Constitution use an honest approach to songwriting. Honesty is a refreshing thing when wading through a sea of homogenized and codified modern rock. They are an example of a band that wants to sound like the British Invasion without necessarily wanting to be British. Minus the benefit of a sturdy record label to support them, the band has already enjoyed an almost fully-funded stint in Sweden through a fan, and a resounding buzz around the city of Chicago. Yet, The Reglar Wiglar found them somewhat in a state of limbo backstage at a (surprisingly crowded) Wednesday night show at Chicago's Bottom Lounge.
RW: So how long have you been touring?
Downey: Ah, we toured . . . uh . . . we went . . . I don't even know.
D. Marsden: Pretty much after On 4 came out we started doing weekend jaunts and we did a summer tour, which was like three weeks which was East Coast, South and then we went to Sweden in November. And we've pretty much been writing new stuff and shit since then.
RW: Ok. Ok then, this label (Audello) is it like one guy? How did he hear about you guys?
D. Marsden: Actually, the band Mathlete that Mike and I played in, a guy in Houston released a seven-inch record by us and was friends with this guy Sam that owned Audello Records. So he recommended us to him, thought he'd be into it, you know, went to our Web site, heard our mp3s, and then he contacted us.
RW: OK, then who does all your Web work and shit like that?
D. Marsden: That's me. Yeah, yeah, I do graphic design for a living and Web stuff.
RW: OK then, Mike M., what do you do for a living?
M. Marsden: I'm a professional student.
RW: OK, what school?
M. Marsden: I go to U.I.C. (University of Illinois at Chicago).
RW: And what do you do, Mr. Downey?
Downey: I collect unemployment checks.
RW: That's cool. And you Dan?
Brown: I collect no checks. (band laughing)
RW: Then who's all living in the city right now?
M. Marsden: Myself, Mike D. and Dan M. Brown: The ones who collect checks.
RW: No need to feel bad, with the exception of a few days photo studio work I've been able to pick up, I too am collecting unemployment checks. They called me in, they said there's a problem, I only get $200 a month, but it's better than nothing. Oh well, now that everyone knows about unemployment, and then like, what the fuck, um, now the first time I saw you guys we went to a party and I think I only made it through a half of a beer and then passed out on the couch.
Brown: Oh, that was you!
RW: Yeah.
D. Marsden: Yeah, you threw up outside of my car, then I gave you a ride to the party.
RW: Yeah, yeah, then I got handed an Old Style, I finished like half of it and then I woke up at like four in the morning and then I was out of there. But how was that party that night?
Brown: It was pretty tame.
RW: It was? What about that DJ who was there?
Downey: Oh yeah, yeah, that's our friend.
M. Marsden: DJ Twin-(inaudible).
RW: Yeah, he was playing some cool stuff. I think I just felt like I was at home and the couch was there, and I was wasted.
D. Marsden: Do you remember what I played in the car that night?
RW: Yeah, Neil Young.
D. Marsden: On the Beach.
RW: So I lost track of--see I wish I knew your guys' voices so it wouldn't be such an issue, but I'm losing track of who said what.
D. Marsden: Who was that woman you brought to the show?
Downey: I've never dated anyone that age, so like, how old was she?
RW: She's forty-two. She has no kids and no baggage or anything, never been married, except she's like, kind of virtuous.
D. Marsden: She was like Cinemax, I mean, that would've been a wet dream for me.
RW: No, but trust me, after making out with her--whatever I'm not going to go into that. No, but I respect her and all and . . . oh shut up, you know all that shit. (Band laughs). Tell me about this Swedish chick. Come on give me a little anecdote, it doesn't have to be dirty. Downey go ahead.
Downey: I met a very sweet girl from Sweden who has visited me in Chicago once.
D. Marsden: And . . .
Downey: And I'm going to visit her in Berlin where she lives now.
RW: And does she have blonde hair?
Downey: She does.
RW: And what about her . . . breasts? So are you guys excited to get some press. I mean the Wiglar is nationally published from what I gather. It's been around for ten years. The Reglar Wiglar.
M. Marsden: Dot com?
RW: Yeah, no, this is a zine. That's what I like about it too. Yeah, I mean the Internet's cool, but it's fucking gay. So are you guys looking to get on a . . . uh . . . what size label? Have you pitched Touch & Go or anything, or--they're not that style, right?
M. Marsden: They wouldn't be into us.
RW: No? Who do you think would be into you most?
M. Marsden: We're actually waiting to find that out.
RW: You don't have any clue then. Do you think your genre is kind of new?
D. Marsden: When we started it, we thought it was like all new and now there's like a lot of those bands, but I really don't think we sound like a lot of stuff out there.
RW: Well like--and I know those guys are your friends--and I actually like the band that played with you the other night--
D. Marsden: The Singles.
RW: Yeah, but they're totally too much like the Beatles.
Brown: They're no Redwalls.
RW: Who are the Redwalls, like a totally Beatles type of band?
Brown: They're very good.
RW: They are? Where are they from?
Downey: From here, they're actually signed to Capitol. You'll probably hear more about them in the coming months. They're recording in July.
RW: You know, and the Singles and stuff, I hate when this shit turns into some kind of a scene. Just because it often becomes more about the scene and less about the music, but the Singles, I mean they're your friends, do you think they need to refine their taste a little bit--maybe become edgier or something. I just thought their creativity level was a little low, because it looked like I was in the Cavern Club. I mean you can't regurgitate Beatles history and sell it to me.
M. Marsden: We wish them the best of luck.
RW: No, no, now I do too, seriously, as bitter as I may sound. Like I always tell you guys at your shows, is like you're honest in your approach, which I appreciate. Don't you think that like, to be yourself is cool--as anyone will tell you from third grade on--but when you're playing music, it's cool to be yourself too. So do you think this is pretty much coming from the heart or more something you're trying to copy.
D. Marsden: You know, my brother and I--I can speak for us--we were raised on the Rolling Stones and the Kinks and the Beatles. My Dad loves those bands and played them too. We grew up with those bands.
Downey: If we copy something, it's unintentional.
RW: So you're taking an honest approach and you admire the time period, so that's good.
Downey: I think now we're at a point where we have been screwing around with other bands and shit for like years now and we've all found something that we're comfortable with. We're looking at it like, there's no band after this. Why fuck around now and try to copy other bands and screw ourselves. This is an important time for us.
RW: Do or die, kind of, right? Because you guys have paved a little way, you've gotten some buzz going.
Downey: It is do or die. We need a label who's going to support us.
RW: You need to be good businessmen and say, our stuff is worth something. You have kind of a newer thing going on so I could see how not having a label could be frustrating. Is it hard to keep your heads up sometimes?
Downey: Oh sure. You look at other bands that have been around for a shorter period of time in the city. You know, um, just getting big press that seems to come out of nowhere, and we've kind of like, been beating the pavement for awhile. We just won't get discouraged, there's nothing that's going to discourage us.
RW: So yeah, I wish you guys the best of luck, you know. You know I like you. I tell you that at all the shows. If you can impress a prick, you can impress anybody, you know what I mean?
The New Constitution can be found at: www.thenewconstitution.net
Their debut full-length is called On 4 and is available from Audello Records Ê
More Interviews
Lying
in States • DOA •
The Peelers • The
Reigning Sound • The New Constitution
• Decibators
RPG • M.O.T.O.
• Lamb of God • Federation
X • Electric Frankenstein •
The Fleshies