Neighbours

At what point does retro become old-fashioned? When does a heartfelt musical tribute turn into a pastiche? These questions were prompted by listening to the debut album by Pittsburgh quartet Neighbours. This record sounds like it could actually have been recorded in the mid-60s, with its suitably retro-sounding approach; all clattering drums, toppy, trebly guitars and vintage organ sounds.

Essentially, it's a blend of '60s garage, sweeter pop vibes and strong soul influences - all the right stuff then, and they do it so very well. "Fun" probably captures the sound most effectively - driving, soulful, but pleasingly fuzzy around the edges. "What Did You Say?" is a slowburn shimmer of a ballad, floating on waves of gently reverberating guitars and organ, while "No Matter The Season" has a solid stax/soul vibe, complete with horn punctuations.

No prizes for innovation then, but the songs are so good and the whole thing so lovingly done, it hardly matters.

-Neil Hussey - Shindig! Magazine, No. 34, published August 1, 2013

Pittsburgh has long been a city of good neighbors, including the local band Neighbours, which is releasing its debut album “Prime Numbers” this week on acclaimed Get Hip Recordings, the Pittsburgh-based record label with a national (and international) reach.

Their sharp, fitted suits and Anglophile spelling of the band name indicate a break from the usual sort of sounds that come out of Pittsburgh, but it's still surprising how different they are. First, there's a clear affection for classic soul music, particularly the Northern Soul stuff that stayed popular in the industrial North of Britain long after it fell out of fashion elsewhere.

Then, there's the great British bands of the 1960s, the soul-punk collisions of The Jam, and even the tender ballads lurking on the flipside of Motown hits. It's a pretty ambitious roster of influences.

Neighbours' album-release show will be at 10 p.m. July 20 at Gooski's in Polish Hill, with Satin Gum and Twinsmith rounding out the bill. Admission is $5. Details: 412-681-1658.

— Michael Machosky

- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Published July 18, 2013

By Scott Mervis / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Well, there goes the neighborhood.

The four guys called Neighbours, tapping into the city's love of classic soul and garage-rock, have moved in with a debut album that should be perfect for playing loud late at night.

Neighbours -- which consists of former WPTS DJs singer-keyboardist Michael Cunningham and singer-guitarist Ross Reilly, with bassist Joe Tarowsky (Stuck in Standby, The Guyliners, Amoeba Kneivel) and drummer Andy Mulkerin (The Sea, Like Lead) -- was launched in 2009, playing its first gig at a Who tribute show.

"I think we all met at some common ground -- The Beach Boys, Motown, '60s Who, to name a few -- and then our own individual influences also worked their way into the sound," says Mr. Tarowsky. "I know I've learned a lot from listening to music with the other guys, and that's had a big impact on my personal approach to the band."

The album, "Prime Numbers," touches upon those classic influences as well as the relatively more modern people who also were influenced by them, like Elvis Costello, The Jam and Paul Weller's Jam spinoff, The Style Council.

This would all be hard to pull off without producer Derek White, whose authenticity and flair for '60s pop craft has surfaced in his bands The Monophobics and The New Shouts.

"Derek plays an essential role in that regard," the bassist says. "He has such a wealth of knowledge about how subtle aspects of the mix can affect the sound, as well as what kind of effects to use, or even what particular guitar gets used on a song. He was also awesomely patient with us, as we were with one another. We all wanted to realize some common goals with the album -- getting the right sounds being one of them -- and I think we succeeded."

"Prime Numbers" opens with a rocked-out Animals-meets-Zombies-type track in "Tell the Truth" and then ventures across the spectrum, from the day-dreamy Bacharach-style pop of "What Did You Say?" to the Motown vibe of "No Matter the Season," the early Who surge of "No Car" and Jam-y punk blast of "All the Time."

"There's no conscious decision whatsoever to use any sort of particular influence in certain spots, or to leave things out in other spots," Mr. Cunningham says. "We have three people who write for the group, and amongst the three of us, we listen to a lot of different types of music and draw from a pretty wide range of influences. And while our Venn diagrams rarely fully intersect, I know that Joe and I listen to a lot of first-wave punk, and Ross has an interest in noise rock and some of the '90s art-rock and Britpop bands that display noise-rock tendencies."

Neighbours has a proper home at Get Hip Records, the longtime label run by garage-rock-loving Cynics guitarist Gregg Kostelich and his wife, Barbara Garcia-Bernardo.

"It's given us a great opportunity to network with other bands on the roster -- The Sights, Pow-Wows, Paul Collins Beat, to name a few -- as well as putting together shows outside of Pittsburgh," Mr. Tarowsky says. "Gregg and Barb's enthusiasm for music is infectious, and I personally love talking shop with Gregg."

In Neighbours, Get Hip has a retro-loving band that could actually appeal to an oldies fan who stumbled onto one of their sets.

"When our EP came out, Elliott Sussman, who was tending bar at Hambone's at the time, told me it went over well with the regulars there, which I took to mean a lot of oldies fans," says Mr. Mulkerin. "And I can assure you my mom likes this band a lot more than my last band."


- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Published July 18, 2013

Every Wednesday at 9:13 am, one of Pittsburgh’s finest music writers joins me (Cindy Howes) on the Morning Mix to play a couple favorite new songs and share some insight. Today we welcome Scott Mervis of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In case you missed it here’s what he played with commentary by Scott:

Neighbours, “Tell the Truth” – You gotta love a new song that sounds like it could have been on the “Nuggets” boxed set of classic garage-rock and soul. That’s part of what producer Derek White (The New Shouts) brings to the table for this Pittsburgh band that features singer-keyboardist Michael Cunningham, singer-guitarist Ross Reilly, bassist Joe Tarowsky and drummer Andy Mulkerin (heard here on the 9:13 Buzz). This is the opening track of an album that shows influences ranging from the Zombies to the Jam.

Blue of Colors, “This is A Story” – Blue of Colors is the spinoff project of Punchline singer Steve Soboslai, who stretches out from the pop-punk formula on this finely crafted set of songs about love on the rocks. - WYEP 91.3 FM Pittsburgh, Published July 17, 2013

Neighbours is one of the many bands playing at the 14th annual WYEP Summer Music Festival at Schenley Plaza on June 28. In light of their upcoming performance, Michael Cunningham stopped by the studio to discuss what it's like being a band in the Pittsburgh music scene, the start of Neighbours, the theatre roots of his singing and his eccentric live performances and much more with Cindy Howes.

Neighbours are a soul rock band from Pittsburgh. Singer/keyboardist Michael Cunningham and guitarist/vocalist Ross Reilly are both University of Pittsburgh graduates. The two first met taking music classes together. After finishing up school both Cunningham and Reilly moved out of Pittsburgh and went their seperate ways. The two started to pass out demos and writing music while living in their respected cities. The similar soulful styles of music Cunningham and Reilly were writing at the time ended up being a stepping stone to the soul rock sound that is Neighbours. "We really just kind of on the same wave length on the stuff we were writing. So eventually we both moved back up here [Pittsburgh] and started the project together." Michael has become known for excentric performance and stage presence during Neighbours' live performances. Michael's outgoing persona on stage is rooted in his experience with the theatre. "I did theatre for a lot of my life from when I was a kid up until my early twenties. So I've always been pretty comfortable on a stage in front of a group of people. So that probably translates subconciously to music as well. But I just enjoy it." Michael also explains that as Neighbours gets more performances underneath their belt they become more comfortable and loose playing live.

Michael Cunningham is not one trick pony. Michael has a great voice to pair with his eccentric live performance. Again rooting back to this days in theatre, Michael modestly explains how singing in choir has aided him and helped him find his voice. "When I was growing up singing and doing choral stuff I was never the person that had the strong solo voice. And to a large degree I still don't think I do. But I always held down the baratone part and was good at blending."

Neighbours roots run deep with the city of Pittsburgh. Although both Michael and Ross left after graduating college, they both ended up returning because of their love for the city of Pittsburgh. Both Michael Cunningham and drummer Andy Mulkerin are natives. Michael explains why he chose to leave his home away from home in Augusta, Georgia, "It's just a great city. Part of the reason Ross and I specifically chose to move back here was because there's such a supportive community and it's very merit based. If you've got something good to offer people are willing to give you an opportunity. Aside from it being relatively inexpensive to live and there not being "poltics" within the music scene, Michael highlights the sense of community within the city of Pittsburgh. "It's hard to leave here because the people here are so great."

You can purchase the 7-inch Neighbours single via Get Hip Recordings. And look out for Neighbours debut full length within the next couple of weeks which will also be released on Get Hip Recordings. - WYEP 91.3 FM Pittsburgh, Published June 6, 2013

It’s time to get acquainted with the Neighbours, and not the folks who live next door. The Neighbours I speak of are four lovely gents who hail from various musical backgrounds that have come together to form a motown-tinged rock n’ roll band. They have a vinyl release show coming up this Saturday to coincide with Record Store Day, so we decided to get the 411 on this band who is new to us here at NYO. We asked a few questions to their keyboardist/lead vocalist Michael Cunningham and Pittsburgh City Paper music editor Andy Mulkerin, who moonlights as their drummer. Both of these gents are quite eloquent when speaking about their music, so enjoy the read, and check out their show this Saturday at Gooskis alongside Iron City Sound Contest finalists The Long Time Darlings and indie front man Ben Hardt.

Kymbo Slice: Your band has a very Motown-esque feel, as mentioned in previous reviews. Your influences draw from a wide range of 60s Motown and “90s power pop” as WPTS Radio states – what are some current bands who influence you and do they have as much as an effect on your sound as older bands?

Andy Mulkerin: What’s funny is that we all have pretty disparate influences — there really aren’t many bands or artists that all four of us care particularly about. I think you could most easily compare us to new-blue-eyed soul acts like Eli “Paperboy” Reed and so on. I pick up plenty of stuff as a drummer from contemporary bands, but that’s not the sort of thing that necessarily comes across overtly. I think contemporary bands influence us more in terms of energy and ethic than “sound.” And we’re definitely influenced to an extent by our local contemporaries — bands like New Shouts, The Ceiling Stares, etc.

Michael Cunningham: I enjoy pretty much anything that Mark Ronson is involved with. I love the music of The Len Price 3, The Dap-Kings, Raphael Saadiq, Camera Obscura, and New Shouts, and I think all of these contemporary acts have a pretty similar musical worldview to ours. But, as you mentioned, in terms of my songwriting and vision for Neighbours, I’m primarily inspired by older groups like The Small Faces, The Spencer Davis Group, and The Action.

KS: And what about your British influences, which might be an obvious question, but I’m still curious to know.

MC: Other than hip-hop, traditional British guitar pop – from The Kinks to The Jam, to Blur and Supergrass – has been the music I’ve most listened to and most enjoyed throughout my life. I came of a musical age of accountability in the early- to mid-‘90s, when Britpop played a major role in the international pop music landscape. I’ve got a great deal of admiration and respect for British guitar pop music, and I do think that Neighbours exudes that influence – among many others – in its music.

AM: Obviously everyone’s way into The Beatles, but I think those other acts are the ones whose influence comes through most clearly. Mike, I’m sure, will tell you about how the rest of the band came together (before I was involved) for a Who tribute show.

KS: How did all the band members come together as Neighbours stands today?

AM: Oh, look! This question is exactly what I was just alluding to. I’ll just explain my part: I knew Ross through mutual friends in and after college (we both went to Pitt). Sometime in late 2008 he put out a query on Facebook asking if there were any drummers who’d be interested in playing in a band with him that would play stuff along the lines of The Kinks, The Zombies and so forth. So I got in touch with him, and we started meeting after that, and started practicing in 2009. (I’d previously played in one band, a post-rock band called the sea, like lead, which existed from 2004-06 — basically as far as you can get, musically, from what Neighbours does, while maintaining a basic guitars-and-drums rock setup.)

MC: Andy pretty much covered things on his end for this, but from my perspective, Ross Reilly (who place guitar, sings, and also writes for the band) and I met 10 years ago as students in the Pitt Music Department. We both moved away from Pittsburgh around 2005 but stayed in touch with one another while I was living in Georgia and he was living in Alaska, talked about music, and passed some demos back and forth via e-mail.

We both moved back to the area in 2008, and in January of 2009, Howlers Coyote Café in Bloomfield was having a Who cabaret for charity. Ross and I wanted to play this, and his brother played drums, but we needed a bass player. Ross put a call out on the Internet for someone who would be interested in participating in a one-off group, and Joe Tarowsky, who was a veteran of the local music scene and was also helping to organize the event, enthusiastically responded. We played four early Who covers to a good response, and Joe expressed an interest in playing with us on a more permanent basis. Ross brought Andy into the group that summer. We started practicing together around the fall of 2009, and things clicked almost immediately – both musically and in terms of us getting along well with one another. We’ve been playing together ever since.

KS: You’ve been around since 2010, are there any memorable gigs that stick out in your mind?

AM: I’d say one of my favorite shows was our first, at Gooski’s, The lead-up to the show was basically a total cluster, and I got really stressed out, but then tons of folks showed up and we packed the place out and had a great time. Opening for Mike Watt at Brillobox last year was a great honor. And the Friday Nite Club shows we did last year with our friends New Shouts and DJ Jordan K were amazing – a little bit out-of-the-way at the Irish Centre in Squirrel Hill, and a little bit sweaty and stressful, but so much fun. I guess that’s the DIY punk in me talking again.

MC: Playing with Mike Watt and the Missingmen was an amazing experience, and one from which I think we learned a lot about how to conduct yourself in a band. Those guys were professionals in every sense of the word, and incredibly gracious. I also very much enjoyed our gig at the Andy Warhol Museum, with Meeting of Important People and New Shouts. It was labeled a “Pittsburgh Garage Pop Revue,” and we approached it as a revue-style show in the vein of the T.A.M.I. Show film from 1964. Each band ran onstage to play a three-song set, unplugged, and then ran off to make way for the next band, rotating throughout the evening. Justin Hopper served as a purposefully obnoxious emcee for the evening, cracking bad jokes in between the sets (often at the expense of the bands) and keeping things moving along, and there were ‘60s-style go-go dancers. It was also just an honor to be able to play at the Warhol with two local bands that I really admire.

KS: What’s your relationship with Get Hip Recordings, who are releasing your 7'? How important do you find it to be for local bands to contribute to Record Store Day in this manner?

AM: Gregg and Barbara from Get Hip are great — they were acquainted with our friend Jordan, and he got them to check us out, and they were immediately big supporters of ours. It’s awesome to have a well-regarded label like that operating out of Pittsburgh, and in a lot of ways the label is less well-known here in town than elsewhere, so it’s nice to help give a local face to the label. The Cynics, Gregg’s band, are obviously the face of the label, but their rhythm section lives in Spain, so they don’t play locally a ton. That actually is also what led to us playing Get Hip’s holiday party this year, and backing up The Cynics for a short set of their tunes, which was a great time.
I was talking the other day to Mike from Mind Cure Records about this year’s Record Store Day, and he was echoing some of the feelings I’ve been having about RSD: While it’s a great idea for a great reason, it’s also gotten a little too big for its britches lately. If the whole point is just to scoop up special edition Katy Perry remixes on 12-inch pink vinyl, then not return to your local record store for another year, then at best it’s just Black Friday for record nerds.

MC: As a person who just enjoys buying music at local stores, I love Record Store Day, in that it brings special attention to local vendors and maybe brings out some people who otherwise wouldn’t patronize the stores to buy some music that they can’t otherwise buy online or at big retailers. If that creates one new regular customer for a local vendor, then to me, it’s worth it. At the same time, if local musicians don’t operate in a similar manner to the local vendors, promoting their releases specifically for Record Store Day and making sure they get into bins with said Katy Perry pink vinyl remix 12-inch, then it completely defeats the purpose of Record Store Day. Similar to the vendors, if someone coming out to buy the Katy Perry release picks up the Neighbours seven-inch and brings it home as well, and that creates one new follower for Neighbours, it’s worth it. But in order for that to happen, local artists need to release and promote music around Record Store Day and get themselves in the mix. It’s imperative, really.

KS: What’s coming up in the near future for Neighbours? Any gigs in the works?

MC: We’re currently recording new material with Derek White, who produced our self-released EP and the songs on our Get Hip seven-inch. We’re going to release some new music, hopefully by the end of the year, in a yet-to-be-determined format. In addition to our seven-inch release show at Gooski’s this Saturday with The Long Time Darlings and Ben Hardt, we’ve got a gig at Howlers Coyote Café in Bloomfield on May 18 with Balloon Ride Fantasy and Delicious Pastries, and we are playing a WYEP Third Thursday show at the WYEP Community Broadcast Center on June 21 at 7 p.m. Other than that, we are taking some time to finish up recording, work on some new material, and potentially book some more out-of-town gigs to promote the seven-inch. - NakYouOut, Published April 19, 2012

'Neighbours'

Neighbours (Neighbours Recordings)

The English spelling of "neighbours" is no accident: band members, who hail from Regent Square, Bloomfield and Bridgeville, endearingly flout their British influences throughout the five-song debut EP. The soulful stylings of The Style Council are present in "Real Talk" and "Fun," with lead singer Michael Cunningham (who also plays keyboards) eerily channeling Paul Weller. Bassist Joe Tarowsky and drummer Andy Mulkerin provide a rubbery, danceable backbeat, and guitarist Ross Reilly paints in miniature accents rather than broad strokes. One song, "Without You," is a wee bit precious, but this engaging release does what it sets out to do: leaves a listener wanting much more.

— Rege Behe


- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Published September 25, 2011

By Scott Mervis / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Meet the Neighbours

The first gig Neighbours ever played was a Who tribute at Howlers in 2009, so naturally you can hear strains of one of London's finest in the Pittsburgh band.

But, on its debut EP, the band goes beyond British Invasion power-pop to also embrace Motown soul ("Real Talk") and the retro-soul flair of Paul Weller's Style Council ("Fun").

The mashup of styles isn't surprising coming from a pair of former deejays at the University of Pittsburgh's WPTS. Singer-keyboardist Michael Cunningham and singer-guitarist Ross Reilly never talked much about being in a band when they worked at the station. After graduating in 2004, Mr. Cunningham went to Georgia and Mr. Reilly to Alaska.

"We passed demos back and forth," the keyboardist says. "We found that we had similar influences. A lot of guitar pop from the mid-'60s. I've always been really into the Who and the Small Faces and some of the mod-rock type groups. I was really into the Zombies, the Beach Boys. We just kind of passed demos back and forth around 2007, 2008, and we decided we wanted to move to the same place and start a band, and ultimately we decided the best route would be to move back to Pittsburgh 'cause we both loved it here."

They lined up an experienced rhythm section in drummer Andy Mulkerin (The Sea, Like Lead) and Joe Tarowsky (Stuck in Standby, The Guyliners, Amoeba Kneivel).

"We're all fans of old soul music and have friends who DJ soul tunes," Mr. Mulkerin says. "It's one of our influences for sure. Mike's voice is actually really well suited to that kind of stuff; it's loud and powerful and he's got a great soul shriek. Derek White, who recorded us, said 'You might be the only guy I know in town who can pull off that scream!' "

The singer says his main goal is "serving the song." Research included a trip to Detroit one weekend to do the Hitsville tour. He also likes the way classic soul has been interpreted by blue-eyed soul men Paul Weller and Steve Winwood.

"With the blue-eyed soul thing, you don't want it to sound like you're trying too hard. You want it to be natural. People like Paul Weller and Stevie Winwood -- early Stevie Winwood, like Spencer Davis Group stuff -- that's been a big influence on me because those guys who were doing soul records but doing it in their own style and giving it a bit of an aggressive tinge. Listening to those guys, it kind of came naturally."

Making the Neighbours' sound all the more seamless was producer White, whose shown his talent for '60s pop craft in the Monophobics and the New Shouts.

"I would say he was as influential, if not more so, on the sound of this record, than the four of us were," Mr. Cunningham says. "We're very thankful and fortunate to work with him because he's been a kindred spirit to us in terms of bringing the sound we wanted to achieve. A lot of stuff you hear in rock can be very compressed and very in your face, and we wanted a little more of a bigger sound, a little bit more of a natural sound."

The release show is the second installment of the Friday Nite Club at the Pittsburgh Irish Centre, 6886 Forward Ave., Squirrel Hill, with the Mount McKinleys and DJ Jordan K. Doors open at 10 p.m. Admission is $8, or $10 with the EP.

- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Published September 1, 2011

Neighbours / Neighbours

Neighbours (now with a Britishized “u”) have that Kinks/Animals/Small Faces vibe goin’ on and it works really well. The five songs on this debut EP have captured their live energy, right from the keys riff and forceful vocals that kick off the energetic “Real Talk”, to the Motown-inspired lament in “Fun”, to the soft and slow and pretty “Without You” (with some great reverb on the vocals, nice recording there, fellas), to the punchy percussion that carries “Popgirls” through to the end. They just had a CD release show on Friday (sorry you missed it!) but you’ll be able to pick up the CD at future shows. They also have a couple of “name your price” singles here and here, and you can grab the EP digitally on Amazon or iTunes. Enjoy some sample tracks here, too: - Draw Us Lines, Published September 5, 2011