Reviewsic [ri-vyoo-zik] -noun: Music worth talking about

Raucous, rowdy, and riot inducing, Chicago Punx The Please and Thank You’s deliver a perfect blend of 90’s emo, garage rock, and inevitably, punk. With a style that stems and flows from such cited influences as Braid and NOFX, The Please and Thank Yous make music meant to be moved around to, something TPATY fans have definitely taken note of over the years.
Formed in 2006, the band underwent a few line-up changes before finding solidity in their sound. Namely in the addition of guitarist Jeremy Upton, who’s presence has been a step forward for the quartet. “He is contributing songs to the band, which I’m really grateful for because they kick ass. Having another person contributing new material to the band immediately started changing our chemistry for the better.” (Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous)

More recently the band has been completing their sophomore album, Mind Yr P’s & Q’s, laying down it’s first batch of tracks in July of 08, tossing some, and coming back to finish during the Spring of 09. A massive roadblock was hit when the group’s equipment was stolen, which forced them to choose between mastering and continuing to play out. True punks that they are, they chose performing over recording. They got a little help from their friends in the form of a benefit show in November, but saw the face of bad luck once again when their van was totaled during the winter. None-the-less, the band prevailed, and in fact, just returned from a weekend tour along with Warren and the Infidel Castrones last week, which the band said was “easily the most fun we’ve ever had.”

Mostly inspired by the music they love, “sometimes intentionally ripping them off, and sometimes accidently ripping them off” The Please and Thank Yous are the first to point out their flaws along with their strengths. “I’ve consciously ripped off Wire and NOFX a lot, but I don’t think anybody would pick up on that unless I pointed it out. I think the most distinct quality of our sound though is Marcus’ drumming style. It’s totally unique and completely br00tal, yet punx as @#$%.” (Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous)

After their string of set backs, Mind Yr P’s & Q’s will finally be seeing it’s debut this Monday, February 15^th making it the perfect gift for those of you who will inevitably forget about Valentine’s day. Well suited for a release during our most romantic time of the calendar year, front man Geoff is quoted as saying “The record was a labor of love, but I also resent it for personal reasons. This album is a pretty good snapshot of us from the beginning up to this point, because some of the songs on t here were written before this album was in the works, and even before the band existed in one case. But they ended up fitting the context and adding some twists and turns.”

As a whole we found Mind Yr P’s & Q’s to be a buoyant blend of the bands aforementioned punk and early emo influences, ranging from the Dookie days of Greenday, Piebald and the ‘Green album’ era Weezer we were all in love with once.

TPATY kicks the album off with ‘Be a Tree…Che?, a song that’s bubbly in the way only punk song structure can be, showing off that uniquely “br00tal” drumming talent praised of and possessed by Marcus Nuccio. Other tracks such as ‘Summer’s Over’, ‘Fucking Honestly” and ‘Bollywood Ending’ take on a hint surfy garage rock in the same vein as bands like Hockey Night and Polaris, but still holding onto that gruff, “Yes, I’m slightly off key and don’t give a fuck” vibe that makes The Please and Thank Yous so easy to get riled up by.

‘Dear Allie’ is as close to pop as we think these four get, implementing a background choir of “Whoah-Oh’s” and a serious River’s Cuomo vibe. ‘Speaking of the Devil’ and ‘Peas n’ Cheese’ step away from the tip toeing of such a line, diving back in to the cymbal heavy, fast paced, and slightly gritty punk sound we know and love. One of our favorite things about this band is that while they can deliver their punches fast and hard, they still have a delightful demeanor about that them we can only label as ‘sunny side up’- a solid base of good ol’ punk with something ooey-gooey in the center. The band also indulges in a few sound clips throughout the album and a track that’s entirely devoid of vocals save fore the mumbles of a voicemail under their instrumentals, rightly called ‘I’m Not Calling You’.

‘Holy Hell!’ was a favorite of ours, for it’s attention grabbing first line, “I hear that hell exists & if I were you I’d take my word for it” steady verse-by-verse build into a collaborative chorus and sing-speak ending. We foresee this track being a major crowd favorite, and bet you will find The Please and Thank Yous being swallowed on stage as fans swarm to shout along during the shows to follow this album’s release.

Mind Yr P’s & Q’s wraps up with it’s title track, one purely in the vein of 90’s emo ala Mineral, Weezer, and Cap’n Jazz. Though one of the longer songs on the album, lyrically it’s short and a little bittersweet, as our front man crows, “Coffee beans, ground up through & through/recycled & reused, a morning-after screw/but the headache I have now reminds that I was never really into you/And You are hiding from me a dirty little secret that not even your mother knows/ Cuz she can’t always keep you protected/ And this is what I get, you can call it payback/but let’s just say your secret ain’t so secret anymore.”

The Please and Thank Yous will be realizing the long awaited Mind Yr P’s & Q’s this Monday, February 15^th at Ronny’s Center for the Performing Arts along side Johnny Bodacious & The Bad Attitudes, Imadethismistake, and Everything is Ruined.

The Please and Thank Yous Online:

tpaty.com
Myspace
Facebook
Last.fm

The Please and Thank Yous’ singer Geoff talked with us this week about the bands favorite places to play, upcoming plans, and who would play on their dream tour.

Telegram Sam: What are your top three musical influences?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: Over the weekend we listened to a lot of good stuff. Maybe the stuff we all agreed on the most was the Descendents, the Replacements, and Piebald. We also listened to Joie every day of the tour.

T.S: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: We played a show with The Riot Before and The Sidekicks a few summers ago and both bands were chock-full of good, fun people that would probably be a blast to tour with. We’re looking forward to touring with our friends Bust! in March, and we still need to set something up with our buds Joie De Vivre.

T.S: Give us some background on the current songs you include on your set lists

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: Lately we’ve just been playing our fastest songs as fast as we can live. Lately, people have just started moving right at the drop of the first beat. On our record we have some slower songs (in relation to the other ones at least) that work better in a more intimate setting. Our main goal is to make everyone get rowdy-including ourselves.

T.S: What are your plans for your music in the next year? Beyond that?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: We’re knee-deep in new material that we probably won’t be able to record until summer so we’re taking this time to just keep working on new stuff. We might be able to do a 7″ between now and then, depending on if we make enough money. Jeremy’s buying a van in June and we’re hoping to get four weeks of touring under our belts in the mid- to late-summer. Really though, our big picture goal is to just stick together as a band. We’ve been put through so much crap in the past six months, we agreed that all we had to do was make it past the lowest point of that period, and then everything could only get better. Now things are starting to go better than they ever have for us.

T.S: If you were to record an album of covers, what are 5 songs that’d you would just HAVE to put on it?

Goeff of The Please and Thank Yous: “I’m So Tired” - Ian MacKaye/Fugazi, “Bands With Managers” - Pedro The Lion, “Ignition (Remix)” - R. Kelly, “Political Science” - Randy Newman, “Terminal Annex” - Harvey Danger

T.S: Is there any instrument you don’t play already, but wish you did?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: I play the piano, but not in this band, and I’m trying to figure out a way to incorporate it without having it sound corny or out of place. I really wish I could play jazz, even though that’s not an instrument.

T.S: Top three favorite cities/venues to play?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: As far as cities go, our best experience has been in Minneapolis so far. We played a really fun show in the Quad Cities as well with our friends Pictures of a City, and we had a blast with all the kids there. The other night we played in our friend Joey’s bedroom while the Super Bowl was on. It was crammed. We also played in Speedos at a water park once.

T.S: If Hollywood were to make a movie of TPATY who would be cast as you, and what would the plot be?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: Marcus would play me and I’d play Marcus. They’d probably get Michael Cera to play Jake, and Robert Downey, Jr. would play Jeremy.

T.S: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: In sixth grade my friend’s brother’s band Rufus played at a tiny little bar in our hometown of Mundelein, IL. This pop punk band from Dekalb called Amazing Transparent Man played after them, and that’s when I became aware that I loved punk. I already liked Dookie, I just didn’t know it was a punk record until I saw ATM.

T.S: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process?

Geoff of The Please and Thank Yous: The two main things are that I always try to break my own patterns, and that I always get wrapped up in some concept that works on a single-song scale as well as a big-picture scale, like an album or a group of songs. Like my goal with the lyrics in “Peas n’ Cheese” was just to write a song that didn’t have an “I” in it. It became really difficult to do that consistently, so I just let it be and searched out new ideas. I don’t think I ever premeditated an idea like that again, but it also elaborates on the concept of Mind Yr P’s & Q’s. The way that song fits on there-it sort of comes out of nowhere and is over before you know it-represents the way I approach songwriting in general.

I shouldn’t speak for Jeremy, but with his contributions so far, his explanations are usually along the lines of, “I was pissed off so I kind of just wrote this.” Which is great because he writes in a much more raw and unfiltered way. In contrast, I dwell on stupid stuff for a really long time, sometimes to the point where it loses its meaning or, if I’m lucky, takes on new ones. The contrast between us creates an interesting dynamic.

Tags: Album Review, Interview, New Release, Upcoming Show

This entry was posted on February 13, 2010 at 1:09 am and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.