Yeah, Long Island never gets its due. But unlike Staten Island, almost all of the coolest people out of NY (Rick Ruben, hello?) were lucky enough to be raised in what I’ve coined “The People’s Suburb.” Coming out of Long Beach is an interesting band called These People. The band is comprised of producer and songwriter TJ Penzone, who fronts These People. The band formally formed after his former outfit Men, Women & Children disbanded and is on a roll creatively.
Their song “Levels” is angular; it also sounds oceanic, the cool tones of the guitars are abruptly smashed like waves, while it sort of collapses on itself, returning to a tribal verse with a pretty cool bass riff. The song’s break opens up into a sort of moody Sgt. Pepper opera, determined to push the throttle. If you’re a fan of the layered guitar work and know local bands, you’ll recognize James Usher from the popular band (now defunct) called Edison Glass.
All in all, I’m happy to hear what’s next from These People. I got to hail-mary some questions over to the guys before the end of the year and freeze, and the guys were kind enough to lend their thoughts and open up more about their process.
1) How did such a talented group of people come together?
“Well, this specific band is my solo project and my main vehicle for creating songs in this style. Everything starts with an idea and or basic chord structure. The only people on the recordings are myself, my brother Rick, who co-produces and co-writes with me, and my buddy James Usher adding sonic textures. My brother is a multi-instrumentalist & visual artist who does all the artwork for the band, and In this project, he’s my filter. I get to take my time with the foundations before they go through what will become the final transformation.”
2) Describe how these songs fit within the band dynamic
“Really, the live version of the band is a recreation of the recordings. I’ve been very fortunate to have incredibly talented people step in and help me bring the recorded music to a live format, but obviously, anyone playing live brings something a little different out with their personality, and I enjoy that.”
3) What was the recording experience like?
“Fun/tedious. I channel my OCD into this. So there are moments of great enjoyment and moments of frustration. But in the end, when the mix for this release was finalized and sent off to master, I was fully happy with every element.”
4) Long Island is home to so many bands, some well known, and many that are often looked over, does being outside the noise of the city offer another point of view musically, etc.?
“Whatever environment you’re in when writing, of course, will have an impact on the sound. When I first moved to Long Beach, NY, I found that I was hearing the influence of my surroundings very heavily in the music I was writing. So yeah, I think being outside of the city offers another point of view. When I was growing up, there was a big scene, shows every weekend, and a bunch of bands influencing each other for sure, and even then, you could always hear a separation from the city.”
5) “Levels” is pretty heady, how did the song come to be? What’s the inspiration?
“George Harrison’s “I’d Have You Anytime” inspired the first 2 chords. I was just learning that song for fun one day. I enjoy analyzing songs I love and taking them apart, but then it went to a whole new place with its own identity as I started to write and add chords and changes. After I had the basic chord structure and main bass line riff, Rick flipped it even more with his drum/bass parts and other additions. Also, My friend Walter Schreifels (Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits) also added some really cool vocal harmonies, which elevated the song.”
6) What’s next?
“About to shoot another video, play more shows, do some more radio interviews and performances that are coming up…Then I have a whole new release almost ready. I just have to once over the mixes, but everything else is done, and that will come out sometime in the new year.”
To stream more from These People, take a gander at their Spotify page here.