Artist description The Red Telephone is an atmospheric guitar band from Boston. Their firstself-produced, self-released CD, Aviation, is attracting much critical attentionfor it's shimmering guitar soundscapes and dreamily melodic songcraft.

Music Style Alternative Rock/ Pop

Musical Influences Big Star, Radiohead, Wilco, The Verve, The Beatles, The Byrds

Similar Artists Radiohead, Wilco, Big Star, The Verve

Artist History THE RED TELEPHONE : SKY ROCK FOR THE NEW CENTURYby Dan Epstein*******************************************************The saga of the Red Telephone is a familiar one: Cool band signs to major label;cool band debuts with an unrepresentative record; cool band gets lost in thecorporate shuffle; cool band parts ways with label. While the majority of suchstories usually end with “cool band breaks up,” the Red Telephone’s travailshave only inspired them to continue making challenging, atmospheric rock musicon their own terms. Aviation, the Boston quartet’s new five-song EP, is theproof; released on their own Raise Giant Frogs label, the record captures thepower and subtlety missing from the band’s self-titled 1998release for Warner Bros. As guitarist Sean Toohey explains, “We have enoughgreat songs to release a full-length album, but we just wanted to put somethingout quickly, to show that we’re still around and that we’re better than we everwere. I think this EP shows what we can do when we’re actually driving theboat.”Recorded at “The Phone Booth,” drummer Mark Britton’s twelve-track home studio,and mixed by longtime compadre Glen Robinson, Aviation’s songs crackle with theelectricity of the Red Telephone’s legendary live shows, yet possess a texturaldepth that belies the simplicity of their recording process. “The whole EP islive, except for the vocals and a couple of percussion tracks,” says Mark. “Itwas all done in one room the size of your average one-car garage.” “Sometimeslimitations bring out the best in you,” adds guitarist Matt Hutton, who singslead and writes the songs. “When you have all these options, you can just getlost in them, you know? The irony ofthe whole Warner situation was that they liked our demos, which we’d been doinglike this all along, but we were never able to capture in the big studios whatwe’d done in our demos. We ended up realizing that we’d probably be better offjust doing it ourselves. ”In truth, the whole DIY concept comes pretty naturally to these guys. Friendssince their days at the University of Vermont, Matt and Sean first formed a bandcalled Envy, which put out its own CD on Raise Giant Frogs back in 1995. “I sentout copies to press and radio, and we got a really good response,” Mattremembers. “We noticed that the response was especially good in Boston, so wethought, ‘What are we doing up in Vermont?’” In November of ‘95, Matt and Seanmoved to Boston; Sean’s cousin Mark agreed to play drums for them, then broughtPat MacDonald, his roommate, in to play bass. Within no time flat, the RedTelephone was ringing like a fire alarm —semi-finalists at WBCN’s annual “Rockand Roll Rumble,” the band released a one-off single with Time Bomb Recordingsbefore signing with Warner Bros., all after being together for less than a year.“And then,” Matt laughs, “We went into major label hell!”Though certainly disillusioned by their experience with Warners, the members ofthe Red Telephone are far from bitter about it. “When we got signed,” Mattremembers, ‘We thought, ‘We’re gonna be the next REM!’ But a lot of people atthe label just thought of us as another one of those run-of-the-mill,post-Nirvana alternative rock bands. And I think part of the problem was that wewere still going through the process of saying, ‘Are we a power pop band? Are wea roots band? Are we post-punk?’ We were still trying to figure that out.”“Oh yeah,” Mark agrees. “We had no idea what we were doing. Plus, one minutewe’re sitting in the office of the Vice President of Warner Bros., the nextminute we’re left hanging on the road, with no one returning our phone calls; ittakes you through an emotional and financial rollercoaster that’s justunbelievable. So to come through all that and be where we are now, it just givesus a total sense of freedom.” “You either play music because you want to movepeople, or you play music because you want to move units,” adds Pat. “About thetime we knew that things were going down the shitter with Warner,we all perked up and went, ‘Wait a minute — this doesn’t matter!’ Going throughall that stuff helped us realize who we really are, and I think this EP willgive people a good taste of what the Red Telephone really is.”Though the Red Telephone has often been described as “psychedelic” —after all,the band’s name was taken from a song on Forever Changes, Love’s classicpsychedelic LP — Matt feels that the term can be misleading. “When we’ve usedthe term ‘psychedelic’ in the past, people have confused us with a sort of‘retro-sixties’ kind of thing. But if you could somehow blend American pop bandslike Wilco and Big Star with British dream-rock bands like Radiohead, the Verve,My Bloody Valentine and Ride, you’ll have a better idea of what we’re going for.I would say that the psychedelic thing just sort ofslips in, somehow; no one calls U2 ‘psychedelic,’ but there’s definitelysomething kind of trippy about a lot of their stuff.”A gifted lyricist, Matt packs his songs with imagery that is as immediate as itis surreal. “Growing up, when I was first writing songs, I was very into REM andthe Church; they really showed me that you don’t have to be saying something ina song that would make perfect sense in conversation, that you can just sort ofpaint pictures with words. The melody almost always comes to me first, and thewords are just a way of making sense of the melody; if themelody is good, I’ll work really hard to make sure that the lyrics do justice tothe melody. I definitely like any kind of pop music that can take you awaysomewhere.”Though Matt writes the songs, he stresses that the Red Telephone is very much acreative partnership. “Everybody writes their own parts and puts in theirthoughts on the arrangements,” he says. “Matt brings in the basic song andmelody, and we write our parts around that,” Mark explains. “Sean is basicallythe ‘color man’ on guitar; there is no lead guitar, but Sean is definitely morecolorful, while Matt is more the strummy songwriter. And then Pat and I justwork off each other really well.” “I’d say that I play ‘mood guitar’,” saysSean. “I always try to aid the mood of the song; but then, Matt writes suchgreat songs that it’s easy for me to build on them. This is also the first bandthat I’ve been in where everybody plays in their own place, and nobody plays ontop of anybody else. Everybody really listens to each other.”Indeed, it’s the magical musical chemistry that’s sustained the Red Telephonethrough the rougher moments of the past four years. “Even if we weren’t puttingout records or playing live,” says Sean, “We’d still be getting together to playmusic, just because the four of us like to play together so much.” “We allbelieve in the music,” seconds Mark. “Part of the reason we’ve stuck together,”adds Matt, “Is we’ve always felt that, sooner or later, our time would come.”

Group Members Matt Hutton - vocals, guitar Sean Toohey - guitar, vocals Pat MacDonald - bass, vocals Mark Britton - drums

Instruments Two guitars, bass, drums, vocals

Albums Aviation, The Red Telephone

Press Reviews ...from Big Takeover #46, 5/00: Aviation EP (raise giant frogs/fort point) What a surprise! This Boston quartet's self-titled Warner Brothers debut album two years ago was so underwhelming, they got dropped and few noticed. (I heard it once and thought little of it. Now I'd like to hear it again.) Here's a case, like romance sometimes, where being dumped turns out to be the thing that makes you get your act together for a better next time; Aviation is like some other band, the good witch from the north, not the one crushed under the house. Left on their own, recording on a 12-track machine at home, The Red Telephone are suddenly living up to the lofty standard they set for themselves when they took their name from the Love song (off the immortal 1966 classic, Forever Changes). And rarely has a band done a better job describing itself, than when rising star leader Matt Hutton says of his band's newer direction, "If you could somehow blend American pop bands like Wilco and Big Star with British dream rock bands like Radiohead, the Verve, My Bloody Valentine, and Ride...you'll have a better idea of what we're going for [than the terms psychedelic, atmospheric, or ethereal]." These too are formidable comparisons, but Aviation is as big, bold, proud, and nearly as involving as their models, with an especially big splash of Radiohead's less caustic side and a twinge of the more sweeping U2. The bass booms a hole in your ear while the guitars ply their dense thicket of cascading sound, the drums pile on, and Hutton's vocals take flight. Were this an LP, it would have made our Top 40; but even at just five songs, they can hold you spellbound, without the heavy-handed syrup of the OK Travis and the decent Embrace. Yes! More! - Jack Rabid, editor *** ...from The Boston Globe, 4/14/00: ROCK SCENE by Jonathan Perry Red Telephone Calls Locally It's small wonder that Red Telephone singer-songwriter Matt Hutton lists his loves as "travel, or movement" on his band's website (www.redtelephone.com). The Boston outfit's superb new self-released EP is awash with references to motion, flight, and destinations unknown, right down to its title, "Aviation," and cover art of an airplane and lighted runway. But the theme also reflects the band's difficult journey from major label signees to four friends trying to figure out what went wrong. "The idea of `aviation' is that we're going to have to steer this ourselves now and get this band off the ground and into the air," says Hutton of the split with Warner Bros. after the 1998 debut CD managed to sound nothing like the band. "The problem was that there were too many attitudes around us about what we should be." The hazy cloud of guitar feedback that opens the EP's blissfully melodic first track, "Jet Pilot High," prove that Red Telephone knew what it should be all along. With its savvy hooks and billowing guitarscapes, Red Telephone recalls such disparate bands as Semisonic and Rain Parade. "We've always made demos that sound like the songs on `Aviation' and that's often been our best stuff," Hutton says of the home studio-recorded material. "But we were sending them to an A&R guy at the label who kept saying this doesn't do anything for me.' " Instead of accentuating the atmospheric dream-pop that was a fitting trademark for a band that had nicked its name from a song on Love's psychedelic classic, "Forever Changes," Red Telephone turned out a hard-rocking disc that was exceptionally well-crafted - and utterly forgettable. With little in the way of promotion or tour support, the band played to scant crowds. The low point came in a Cincinnati club that doubled as a laundromat. Still, Hutton says Red Telephone - which includes guitarist Sean Toohey, drummer Mark Britton (the two are cousins), and bassist Pat MacDonald - never considered calling it quits. They're busy recording material for a full-length album due out in fall. *** ...from MP3.Boston Spotlight Review, 3/22/00: by Jeff Burke Boston.com Staff The Red Telephone fit nicely into the Boston music scene. Taking inspiration from and drawing comparisons to bands like The Heretix and the Gigolo Aunts, the Red Telephone have lived the atypical major label horror story. The band found itself signed to a Warner Brothers record deal, an ideal situation, that turned into a living nightmare. The Telephone found itself stuck in a contract to make records, without getting any promotional support and then being forced to answer the labels inquires for why sales weren't as good as expected. It's a vicious circle and one that often leads to a band's demise. In time, the contract expired and now the Red Telephone can once again make interesting and catchy pop songs. The Red Telephone craft fairly simple and straightforward pop songs which they then layer with a series of interesting sonic noise which makes the songs come alive and leap past simple pop. The track featured on MP3@boston.com is a prime example. "Jet Pilot High" starts of with a high pitched cycle of feedback which makes you think of Sonic Youth or Bardo Pond. The band counts as its members Matt Hutton on vocals and guitar, Sean Toohey on 2nd guitar and backup vocals, Pat MacDonald on bass and backup vocals and Mark Britton on drums. Hutton has a perfect pop voice, good range and emotion that doesn't sink into whining or over affectation. Toohey works very well with Hutton in layering the guitar work and often Hutton's rhythm is played underneath Toohey's sonic noise. MacDonald's bass work is very good as he manages to move the songs without falling into pat or standard bass lines. Drummer Mark Britton is also very talented, and his ability to fill in the quiet spaces is a definite plus for the band. The Red Telephone has been around for a couple of years and their tightness as a live act is readily apparent. The Telephone's live act is entertaining and engaging, which isn't always the case with pop bands. The Red Telephone have survived the ordeal of being with a major label and have arisen from their dark time in seemingly better form than before. The Telephone's song-craft is stronger than ever and their sonic edge is coming through more and more. It appears as if this band is writing songs that they really want to do again, and that's something every music fan should be thankful for. *** ...from The Noise, 2/9/00: THE RED TELEPHONE Raise Giant Frogs Records Aviation 5 Song CD Ah, good ol’ Yankee ingenuity. The Northern climes have instilled in their populace the ways and means of survival. Let’s say, for example, that a major label drops a Boston band after releasing an unrepresentative album (shocking premise, I know). What next? Well, if that band is The Red Telephone, they release their own damn album. Surviving Warner Brothers and “The Boston Syndrome” has strengthened and revitalized the band. A lesser group from El-Lay might’ve given up for a career of burger flipping, but TRT learned from the experience and regrouped. Aviation is a fuckin’ great album, brimming with vitality and liberation. It’s hard to describe without using “ethereal”, “atmospheric”, and other cliches bandied about far too often in journalistic circles, but these tracks really do soar to dizzying heights. Singer/ guitarist Matt Hutton has a knack for sculpting melodies as inspired as his lyrics. The symbiosis of the two is essential to the harmonic structures, which support the whole. Hutton isn’t afraid to throw in a screwball chord progression to frame those melodies, either. The dual guitar interplay with Sean Toohey is beautiful. Both are minimalists, although Toohey does a great job of (tastefully) shading Hutton’s chordal work. Bassist Pat MacDonald propels the band with a Jack Bruce-on-tranquilizers approach, while Mark Britton adds percussive coloration. Britton also served as tracking engineer, with the disc being recorded at his own 12 track studio. TRT are obviously a band that thrives when operating on their own terms, fulfilling their own vision. It’s easy to loose focus when presented with major label budgets, studios, and expectations, but sometimes minimalism just works better. That’s the way they like it, and guess who’s calling the shots? Like a taciturn yankee, The Red Telephone have stuck to their DIY guns, and survived to record their own masterpiece. Sorry, Warners. --Brian Westbye

Location Boston, MA - USA

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