It Won’t Be Long Till Everyone Knows Curtains for You

Columbia City Theater, Seattle, WA- May 14, 2011

Back in January, I met the boys of Curtains for You and after seeing them play three times in three days, I began my countdown for their album release while playing the role of loyal merch-girl and usual groupie. Of course being somewhat close to the band makes me a biased source, but I am confident that my love for their music would be just as strong if I met them yesterday for the first time. Even after seeing their live set so many times this year, The Curtains for You album release show was surprising, perfectly showcasing the hard work that went into their new album, “After Nights Without Sleep”.

“How is this new album different from previous albums?

Matt Gervais: This time around we decided to combine the approaches we took for Heaven’s Waiting and What A Lovely Surprise to Wake Up Here. Our first record was sort of a piecemeal project that was actually recorded before Davey joined as drummer, so I played drums on that record. We layered things very methodically, trying to include as many different instruments as we knew how to play within the band; saxophone, trombone, banjo, organ, etcetera. Album number two was a straight forward, live-in-the-studio approach, very little bells and whistles. This time around we wanted to maintain that live feel, recording all of the basic tracks live at London Bridge and Nick’s Home Studio and then overdubbing as we saw fit. There’s some weird Pink Floydean synth in there, cello, slide guitar, ukelele, wood blocks, glockenspiel, euphonium, organ and a hand clap or two. We tried to achieve an overarching pathos to the album, throwing in re-occurring themes, while maintaining a certain degree of care free honest to goodness pop.”

Pianist, Peter Fedofsky, came prepared with a silver dollar, a Canadian $2 dollar coin, a picture of his dad in his pocket and a new pair of argyle socks. “The secret to a good show is a clean pair of socks”, he said very seriously. Singer and guitarist, Mikey Gervais wore his “BANG!” boxers in celebration of the show. Matt Gervais even chopped off his flowing locks to look extra sharp for his audience, as if these boys need any extra help turning on the charm.

Original song arrangements, up- beat melodies, emotional bridges, bright harmonies and comforting lyrics make this band a catchy threat, resembling feel-good sounds such as The Beatles, Buddy Holly and maybe an occasional hint of Beach Boys. As many times as I’ve heard these songs, I couldn’t help but be drawn into each infectious verse. The unexpected happened when Nick Holman and Mike Gervais chose to experiment with instruments never before added into their live shows—a saxophone and horn, adding a classic sample of Louis Prima.

“What made you want to use new sounds like horns, saxophone and strings during the album release show?

Matt Gervais: We felt compelled to challenge ourselves a little bit. We’re used to an almost punk-rock approach to live shows, where we just plow through the set as quickly and energetically as possible and try to get the crowd to come along with us. This time we wanted to represent the more orchestral side of the record. Plus, we were lucky to have the help of Danah Olivetree, who we met when we did The Round with Shenandoah Davis and Drew Grow. She is a brilliant cellist and orchestrated viola and violin parts, which were played by Elizabeth Gue and Hilary Zetlen from The Seattle Rock Orchestra. We are super lucky to have become acquainted with them through Shenandoah and Danah and we wanted to exploit them as much as possible, without being pesky.”

David Lawrence’s precise drumming was the ideal back-bone to every song, framing each number with a necessary heavy beat. Playing new and old songs, Curtains for You pleased old fans while building onto their ever-growing fan club. Brothers, Matty and Mikey , worked hard to keep their audience energized, demonstrating classic rock and roll stage-moves while a cluster of girls in the front row reenacted Beatle-mania-like behavior. I have to accuse Matt of studying live Beatles videos, as he has Paul McCartney’s side-to-side-OOH head bob down—you’d think he practices in the mirror with a comb-microphone every morning. It’s not uncommon for the band to be compared to the Beatles, so it was absolutely appropriate when Fedofsky jokingly started singing Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.

Looking around the room, there is no stronger music family than the Seattle music community. The room was packed full of friends dancing, adding new harmonies and spilling drinks.

“Has the Seattle music community had any sort of impact on this album?

Matt Gervais: Hell yeah it has. The community is kinda like Michael Jordan back in the 90′s, making everyone around it better at what they’re doing, more focused, more involved, more appreciative of the different types of creativity that fellow musicians are bringing to the table. During the recording of the album we were out at shows a couple of nights a week, seeing bands and sucking in all of that energy that seems to be building in the city. I think that has definitely woven itself into the music in a sort of intangible way. Also, because of that community we were lucky enough to have Sam Anderson from Hey Marseilles come in and record cello parts for three out of the eleven songs, which I think gives the album some of its best moments.”

An encore was necessary, considering I hadn’t heard my favorite song yet. The band played the last tracks of their set with all energy they had left. I was nervous Fedofsky would break the keyboard karate-chopping the keys. “Daisy”, a refreshing crowd pleaser, reminded me of this band’s capability of slapping their fans clear across the face with their overwhelming vigor.

Although I know how much work went into the production of the new album and show preparation, the boys of Curtains for You make it look easy. It’s rare to find a musical act that pulls off a show with effortless professionalism and has as much fun playing on stage as the rest of the crowd dancing below. This band went from having an already favorable sound to a complete revamping of their music. “I think I got a little out of control up there”, said Matt. Not at all. If this is the kind of show we can expect to see from Curtains for You, I can confidently say big things are about to happen and I’ll be proud to say I was once their merch-girl.

“What are future plans for Curtains for You?

Matt Gervais: We are going to be playing a lot locally throughout the Summer at various outdoor festivals, and are working on tour plans for the Fall. Maybe we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve as well. I hope we can get this album into as many ears as possible so that we can share the same kind of energy with them as we did with all the fine folks at the CD Release Show!”

Photos by Hilary Harris

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