Long Island is a hard place to break it into music, with the decline of venues and very low support from the locals, it is a blessing it is not that far from New York City. For Long Island via New York rockers, The Twees they are taking the garage sound that has made New York rock and roll famous and mixing it with the surf-pop of the indie bands of today. They are a fun band to listen to and a band that is gaining much buzz around the city, keep an eye out for them as something big will happen. Playing with bands like The Royal Chains and other newcomers Life Size Maps, The Twees are a band to watch! I had the opportunity to speak with the band, as singer Jason Abrishami and I spoke about the band's history, the rest of the band would chime in; drummer Dan Edwards, guitarist Jon Zuckerman and bassist David Kaplan would all toss in an extra piece to the Twees puzzle. Get to know The Twees below:Jason: We still live on and love Long Island but you are right in saying we don’t really fit into the music scene long island is so well known for. We prefer to play shows in NYC because of the variety of music you can find. The bigger long island venues are tough to play also because they really hassle you to sell tickets and more or less pay to play where as the city is a very inviting place for all genres of music.
How did you end up with the name The Twees?
Jason - A few years ago my friend came back from Europe and he kept on using some slang words that he picked up while he was staying in London. Being curious as I am, I googled 'slang words in London.' After looking through a webpage of slang words, I stumbled upon 'Twee.' I really liked the word, so I used it as a band name, haha.
Your sound is very much The Strokes and surf punk, when forming a band, how did you decide who you wanted to emulate?
Jason - Well, I recently got into the whole Indie-Rock genre the past two years, so I've been getting a lot of my influences from a ton of bands. The Strokes are definitely a top 10 band for me. Julian Casablanca's is such a great composer.
Who are your other influences?
Jason - Bloc Party, The Velvet Underground, Foals, Television, The Rakes, Bombay Bicycle Club, We Are Scientists, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Your sound is very much The Strokes and surf punk, when forming a band, how did you decide who you wanted to emulate?
Jason - Well, I recently got into the whole Indie-Rock genre the past two years, so I've been getting a lot of my influences from a ton of bands. The Strokes are definitely a top 10 band for me. Julian Casablanca's is such a great composer.
Who are your other influences?
Jason - Bloc Party, The Velvet Underground, Foals, Television, The Rakes, Bombay Bicycle Club, We Are Scientists, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
David – Classic Rock, Funk, Jazz, Experimental and R&B are my styles of choice. My favorite artists include Stevie Wonder, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Saves The Day, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and The Gorillaz
How would you describe your band for those that have never heard you?
Jason: Fun filled music that will make you get up off your seat, and start dancing like it's 1999
You have had some great write ups in Deli Magazine, AV Club and my close friends in Turn up the Sound. How do you respond to such high praise?
Jason: It's pretty awesome that they've written up some good articles about our band! The Deli Magazine actually named us 'Band of The Month' a few months ago & they gave us free recording.
How do you stick out of the mold of other New York City bands?
Jason: We like to have fun but take our music seriously. You can hear this because our music is upbeat and danceable but our lyrics aren’t just put there as filler lyrics. We put time in to making sure we are using the right words at the right times. The sound has a bit of vintage crunch which definitely gives us more of a rock edge. It doesn’t really get too hard or heavy so a parent wouldn’t mind it either when their kids asks to put the CD on in the car. It’s accessible to anyone.
How would you describe your band for those that have never heard you?
Jason: Fun filled music that will make you get up off your seat, and start dancing like it's 1999
You have had some great write ups in Deli Magazine, AV Club and my close friends in Turn up the Sound. How do you respond to such high praise?
Jason: It's pretty awesome that they've written up some good articles about our band! The Deli Magazine actually named us 'Band of The Month' a few months ago & they gave us free recording.
How do you stick out of the mold of other New York City bands?
Jason: We like to have fun but take our music seriously. You can hear this because our music is upbeat and danceable but our lyrics aren’t just put there as filler lyrics. We put time in to making sure we are using the right words at the right times. The sound has a bit of vintage crunch which definitely gives us more of a rock edge. It doesn’t really get too hard or heavy so a parent wouldn’t mind it either when their kids asks to put the CD on in the car. It’s accessible to anyone.
You are currently working on the follow up to your debut EP. How is this coming along?
Jason: It's coming along pretty well. We have so much new material, so we're dying to go into the studio again and release a bunch of new tracks.
Jason: It's coming along pretty well. We have so much new material, so we're dying to go into the studio again and release a bunch of new tracks.
What can fans expect from the new material?
Jason: We’re just as curious to find out. A majority of the band is new members as of the last few months so we are still getting to know each other as people and musician. As we grow into each other the music will take direction. Jon has played a large role in structuring the song shapes with Jason in addition to contributing his own original material. The song Hepburn Shades came about from a guitar line Jason was riffing on and I (David) was really digging it. We together wrote the song out musically but had no lyrics at the time. I came across a poem I had written around that time and re structured the words with a melody to fit the layout of the song.
If there was anyone alive or dead you could play with, who would it be and why?
Jason - Most likely Lou Reed. The guy is my hero.
David- I would love to be in a band with Jimi Hendrix, Billy Preston, John Theodore and Michael Jackson
Jon- Alien Ant Farm
Dan- Will Smith
Jason: We’re just as curious to find out. A majority of the band is new members as of the last few months so we are still getting to know each other as people and musician. As we grow into each other the music will take direction. Jon has played a large role in structuring the song shapes with Jason in addition to contributing his own original material. The song Hepburn Shades came about from a guitar line Jason was riffing on and I (David) was really digging it. We together wrote the song out musically but had no lyrics at the time. I came across a poem I had written around that time and re structured the words with a melody to fit the layout of the song.
If there was anyone alive or dead you could play with, who would it be and why?
Jason - Most likely Lou Reed. The guy is my hero.
David- I would love to be in a band with Jimi Hendrix, Billy Preston, John Theodore and Michael Jackson
Jon- Alien Ant Farm
Dan- Will Smith