Ear Candy

Since its conception, Ear Candy has continued to evolve, CD reviews, band interviews and an occasional soapbox rant have filled my column. Although the content has broadened, the message has always been the same... great modern music that I consider essential to any avid music lovers' collection.

I know, essential is a pretty strong word. Webster's Dictionary defines essential as "Absolutely necessary; indispensable". With those words in mind...read on.

Hailing from Santa Barbara, the Tearaways have been wowing audiences across California for nearly a decade. With four albums to their credit and several songs appearing on compilation discs, the Tearaways have steadily built a library of music considered by many, to be essential. There's that word again...essential.

In 1999 The Tearaways were featured in MusicHound's "Rock-The Essential Album Guide". Their third album The Ground's The Limit (97') graced the pages within. Considered to be a masterpiece, The Ground's The Limit achieved immortality as one of the top three power-pop albums of the 90's. Their latest release, In Your Ear (99'), is sure to follow.

In an interview with Greg Brallier (guitars/lead vocals) of the Tearaways, Greg gave OFF! the low-down on the bands continuing climb to the top. Crunching numbers and detailing the business aspect of being signed to a major indie label and the elusive air-play that every band works for.

If you are wondering what the Tearaways sound like, you won't have to look far...Real Rock 99.3 has been spinning "Angelyne" - call them to request it. The first track off In Your Ear, "Angelyne" will win you over with its soaring vocals and contagious guitar riffs. Essentially speaking an essential song on an essential album...

OFF! - Your new album "In Your Ear" was released in '99 by Pinch Hit Records. How has it done?

Brallier - Pinch Hit has done a great job of promoting and selling both "The Ground's the Limit" and "In Your Ear". "See The Sound", our self-released first CD, did very well in the Pop-Underground and in mail order distribution. "De La Vina", our second self-released CD, did not do as well as "See The Sound" mostly because it had a decidedly more Rock edge and Pop Fans weren't sure what to make of it. The Pinch Hit releases ("In Your Ear" and "The Ground's the Limit") have both done much better than our self-releases due to a good marketing campaign and to better distribution. To answer your question regarding "In Your Ear" more specifically I grabbed this info from our monthly Pinch Hit Statement:

1. Added into rotation at over 250 College Radio Stations.

2. Heavy rotation at 36 Commercial radio stations across the country.

3. Domestic Sales upward of 10,000 Units.

4. International Distribution in UK Scandinavia and GAS. (This information was reported in January 2000 and is gaining even more momentum.)

OFF! - Being signed by an indie label has its ups and downs. Do you find the radio stations reluctant to play your singles because you don't have the "big" name backing?

Brallier - Yes and No. College radio is the exception here. Both "The Ground's the Limit" and "In Your Ear" have been added to over 250 College radio stations, but Commercial radio is a different story. Although we've been added to a myriad of Commercial Radio Stations, as I said before, we've been able to impact only 36 with heavy rotation, which I believe might be different with Major Label Push.

OFF! - I have to tell you, I think "In Your Ear" is great. The single "She's Dope" has received some air-play, but that single is just one of many off the album that I think are pure Ear Candy. Do you write all the songs or is it a shared process by the band?

Brallier - Thanks! The song writing is done by Fin Seth and myself. Generally, we get together with song ideas and hammer-out very rough drafts on acoustic guitars. Then we gather up the band and start the arranging process. This can take from 10 minutes to 10 months, depending on the song. "Jessica Something", from the Rhino compilation disc, took only 20 minutes to write and 10 minutes to arrange, whereas "Graveyard Garden" from "In Your Ear" took months to write and arrange.

OFF! - When did the band actually form?

Brallier - Fin and I formed The Tearaways in 1990.

OFF! - So you've been together for awhile. How about the line-up, has it stayed the same over the years?

Brallier - Originally we were a four piece with Fin on Bass, Jesse Benenati on Drums, Perry Benenati on Keyboards and me doing all of the Guitar work. In 1992 we added local Santa Barbara Guitarist David Heckhouse to help round out the sound. We have had the same members since we've added David.

OFF! - Your third album, 'The Ground's the Limit' was released in 1997, but it was actually a re-release of an earlier Tearaways record, "See The Sound", from 1993. Except for the three bonus tracks, it was the same record?

Brallier - Yes. After Rhino Records included "Jessica Something" on their Poptopia -Power Pop Classics of the 90's compilation disc, we were contacted by Pinch Hit and asked if we would like to release it on their label. They obtained the "See the Sound" disc after hearing Jessica on Poptopia. We then decided to add some of our earlier unreleased work that was done with Producers Earle Manky(20/20) and Tom Werman(Cheap Trick) so that current Fans would have some new Tearaways tracks to listen to.

OFF! - Was "The Ground's the Limit" your first release on Pinch Hit Records?

Brallier - Yep.

OFF! - The first Tearaways CD I heard "The Ground's the Limit", totally blew me away! Was the re-release on Pinch Hit, an attempt to get what is obviously a great piece of music to a larger audience?

Brallier - Thanks and yes. We all believed that "See the Sound" contained some of our best work and Pinch Hit felt that with broader distribution and proper marketing we could reach more people.

OFF! - Do you think it worked?

Brallier - "The Ground's the Limit" out-sold "See the Sound" by a factor of ten. We reached listeners that we could never have hoped to reach, both Domestically and Internationally. In fact, there is a huge International Pop audience. Our record did very well in Finland and Spain. Spain's Bam Balam Records even included "In Time" (from "The Ground's the Limit") on there 97' Pop Compilation CD. Domestically, it was not only a staple of College Radio stations and sold well but it helped us to land Movie sound tracks ("I Think Do") and got us included on other great compilation CD's (International Pop Overthrow Volumes I and II, Pop Matters and 17 Slices). I think that we exceeded our goal with the Pinch Hit release.

OFF! - "Jessica Something", one of the songs on "The Ground's the Limit", ended up on "Poptopia! Power Pop Classics of the '90s". How did that come about?

Brallier - Gary Peterson, A&R Manager at Rhino Records (and an avid Power Pop fan), came across "See the Sound" via one of our Mail Order distributors. He was one of the first Industry people that really "got it". Gary contacted us about including Jessica on the compilation disc - we were blown away. We could not believe that an unsigned group could be mentioned in the same breath as some of the 90's premiere Pop Acts. It was a huge break for us. It brought us some critical acclaim and made us much more visible in the Pop Underground. I ran into Gary at the Tearaways performance for the Poptopia Festival in '97 and could not stop thanking him for what was the biggest break so far in the Tearaways career. If you're reading this Gary...thanks again!

OFF! - "Poptopia! '90s" boasted a pretty talented group of artists - Matthew Sweet, The Lemonheads, Velvet Crush and Jellyfish to name a few. It must be a great feeling knowing that your music is considered to be some of the very best of the '90s?

Brallier - No doubt about it, I own records by all of those artists and have tons of respect for all of them.

OFF! - Speaking of the very best, the Tearaways were also featured in "MusicHound's, The Essential Album Guide". They gave "The Ground's the Limit" four bones (excellent!). Were you surprised that your music is considered "essential"?

Brallier - Very surprised! I had no idea that we were included in that publication until I received it as a Christmas gift. I remember opening the present and thumbing through a few pages and then shelving it as a reference book, not realizing that it contained any mention of our group. I was then contacted a week later by the giver of the gift and asked if I had seen the Tear-aways review that it included. I immediately flipped to the T's and there it was...one of the best reviews we had ever received. I could not have written a better one.

OFF! - You definitely have your own sound. I sometimes hear Tom Petty, The Hollies and even Soul Asylum in your songs but it's never overpowering, just a distant reminder. Who do you consider as the band's influences and why?

Brallier - Pop and Rock Bands have always moved and influenced us. Old and new, these are the groups we love. I'm sure that each member has listened to every Beatles and Stones record a trillion times. In college we were spinning Plimsouls and Paul Collins Beat albums. In fact, the "Pop Matters" Compilation CD that we were included on was on Paul Collins' Wagon Wheel Records. I spoke with him a bunch during the contract negotiations and more than once told him how much his music affected me. More recently, Jellyfish and Matthew Sweet CD's fill my CD-shelves. The great harmonies and melodies mixed with the slamming guitars and drums are the "why". These groups all created music that gave me the chills and forced me to become a musician. I had no choice, really.

OFF! - So many bands are here today, gone tomorrow. Over the years the Tearaways have hung tuff, what's the secret?

Brallier - I know this will sound corny but The Tearaways have always made music because we LOVE to. We have become a family that cares about its members and tries to set egos aside. There will always be ups- and-downs in terms of the business aspect of a band, but with music as the constant there is really nothing that can knock you down. Critical acclaim and awards are nice for really one reason, it gives the band a chance to thank the listeners and friends who helped them get there and the listeners a chance to say "see, I told you this is good Music". Making music, whether it is for a worldwide audience or just for yourself, is a gift that we try not to take for granted. As long as it still remains fun for us, I can't imagine any reason to stop.

OFF! - With the new millennium upon us, what do you think the future holds for The Tearaways?

Brallier - We are currently writing songs for the next CD and hope to start recording it this year. We have also struck up several non-exclusive online music deals that we hope will bring us into the download music revolution. As music compression algorithms improve and bandwidth from ISP's increase (Cable Modems, DSL and Fiber), the music industry will need to change how it sells its products. We are hoping to be a part of this change by making our music available to listeners who are currently using these new technologies. Our music is available at several of the online music outlets (MP3.com, emusic and more) as well as on our own website. To learn more about The Tearaways visit them at www.tearaways.com.