Younger Siblings

Teddy Rowe is a fresh graduate from Vestavia High School on the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. Teddy embodies the geekiness & awkwardness of the typical They Might Be Giants fan-boy but also is able to think and communicate on the level of an adult. I met Teddy Rowe in May of 2010 when he booked a show for me in Birmingham. He was 17 at the time and was a huge fan of my project, theemotron. On top of Teddy setting up the show for me, his family allowed me to stay at their mini mansion in the more upscale suburbs of Birmingham. I was shocked at how excited Teddy was to see theemotron for the first time and how much he knew about the subject. Before the set, I got to speak to Teddy’s very conservative Dad who told me a story about hitchhiking to go see Zeppelin in South Florida. After the set, he reviewed the dark and sci-fi show as “groovy” and then told Teddy not to smoke dope with us on the way home to the mini mansion after the show. I had a great time hanging out with Teddy all night drinking root beer and talking about girls, it was like he turned into my little brother & shit over night.

Months later, in October, I was planning on coming back to the area and asked Teddy if he would be interested in booking a show for theemotron and Relapse records recording artist, Mose Giganticus. He, of course, was really into the idea. A few weeks before the show, Teddy asked us if we would come eat lunch with him at school and I jokingly told him he should just get us on as paid guest speakers. A few days later, Teddy called me to tell me that he got Mose Giganticus & I a guest spot speaking to Environmental Science class of our 2008 tour to Alaska in a vegetable oil fueled bus.

In January, Teddy & his electric ukulele put a band together called Younger Siblings consisting of 3 older and more established musicians of the Birmingham DIY/house show scene. Over the next few months, Younger Siblings released a few live vids on the Internet and I fell in love with their energy, melody and 90’s sound. In June, Teddy graduated high school and I thought, what a better graduation gift than to take those boys out on the road for a “3 Day Weekend.” - Shutter 16 Magazine