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Sometimes, I get finished a good scrubbing and ordering and find myself wanting, I sit back and look at the pristine mess I've made of my apartment, thinking I should be really satisfied with myself but I can't quite enjoy it in that "I'm a responsible American" sort of way that I’m told I'm supposed to feel after performing sanitation rituals. Something isn't right. It’s all too orderly and shiny. It makes me fucking sick. It’s unnatural. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I enjoy filth, but perfection makes me nervous. So I wander around the place distressing and disturbing, creating a space where comfort trumps order, where obsessive-oompulsive people come to have a nervous breakdown. I toss my compact discs around willy-nilly. I leave the seat up. I nail the Declaration of
Independence to the wall. I put my whiskey and my cigarettes in harm’s way. There… Now, I feel better.
This affinity for comfortable chaos doesn't stop with my apartment, though. It permeates.
A few weeks back, The Cons built and demolished a sonic version of my apartment at its most comfortable and chaotic at The Knockout! They took the pristine pop songs they had created and added sweat and whiskey and smoke and told obsessive-compulsion to go fuck itself. Like my ideal living environment, it wasn't filthy. The composition and musicianship were very much evident, but their performance wasn't undermined by unnecessary perfection. In short, they fucking rocked, and I wanted to move into their music and have all my friends over, so we could all jump up and down and pump our fists and sing along to their fuzzy awesome hooks.
---David Murphy---
Songotheday.com - songotheday.com
Discography
"The Cons EP" (2006)*
1. Paradise (played on Live 105 [105.3 SF Bay Area])
2. Faultines
3. Drugs
4. Mao
5. Some People
*available on iTunes
"Be My Baby/Passengers Single" (2007)
1. Be My Baby
2. Passengers
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Bio
If you know the Kinks or if you've ever heard their song "This Time Tomorrow" you already have a pretty good idea of what the Cons are about: a little acoustic guitar, a little electric guitar, harmony, hooks, and well crafted lyrics. If you don't, well, there it is.
This is a band that draws its inspiration from the British Invasion sound of the 60's, the early American art/punk rock of the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and a wide variety of European film scores (mostly to erotic movies) from the early 70's. Instrument-wise, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Fender and Vox guitar/amp combos provide the characteristic fuzz and jangle of their electric sound. Combine that with bright, layered vocals swimming in a shimmering reverb and you have the beginnings of that classic, undeniable vibe.
When the Cons appear live, their show is an aggressive barrage of short, hooky gems, churned out by a band with genuine confidence in their material. The sense of irony in their sweet racket is heightened by their sporting matching mod-ish tailored suits. With each song lasting 2-3 minutes at the max, what Mark Twain said about the weather in Missouri can just as easily be applied to the Cons' music: If you don't like it, just wait a minute.
The Cons were formed in 2006 by founding members Keith Brasel and Andrew Gomez. Within months they recorded a preliminary 5 song EP for the Contact High Music label and put together a band which has been gigging in San Francisco as well as up and down the West coast for the past year. In 2007, The Cons were a feature artist at the NACA West Convention in Spokane. For 2008, plans include national festivals, a college tour, the release of a new single and accompanying video, and a European tour.
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