Artist description What do Cream, Philip K. Dick, the Talking Heads, Kurt Vonnegut, and Wilco all have in common? They are all reflected and refracted through the warped yet crystalline lenses of New York-based Ominous Seapods. The group references all of the above while juxtaposing Americana, psychedelia, funk and accelerator-to-the-floor rock on its fifth release, The Super Man Curse, the first from the Hydrophonics/Palm imprint. The Super Man Curse fuses the spontaneity of the band’s live shows with the Pods’ penchant for wry, literate songwriting.

Music Style Rock n' Roll

Musical Influences Frank Zappa, Rolling Stones, The Who, Beatles, Byrds, Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Talking Heads, Allman Brothers

Similar Artists Ominous Seapods

Artist History Over the past ten years, the Ominous Seapods have been a mainstay on the jam/groove scene, performing more than 1,500 shows during multiple national tours. However, the band’s improvisational mastery has always been balanced by a commitment to songwriting. Guitarist and co-principal songwriter Dana Monteith affirms, “What moves everyone in the band is a great song. What kills me is when you can attach that to instrumental storytelling. Then you have something special. But a great song is where it starts.” In order to realize and refine this dual intent, the band enlisted Grammy-nominated Glenn Rosenstein (Jars of Clay, Ziggy Marley, Michelle Shocked, Bif Naked) to produce. Rosenstein pushed the band to re-examine each composition in order to create a resonant, flavorful representation of the Seapods. All of the basic tracks were recorded live by the quintet in order to best capture the group’s manic energy. “Glenn could only dial up knobs and get sounds to a point, and then it was up to us to do the performance,” notes guitarist/ songwriter Todd Pasternack. “We’d do a take and he’d say, ‘No, it doesn’t sound like a record yet. Does it sound like a record or does it just sound like a bootleg?’ It’s an intangible thing but you know it when you hear it, and he showed us how to hear it.” The Super Man Curse offers a Pods-eye tour of America, yielding a range of textures and emotions. “Too Much Fire On The Brain,” the aptly-searing opening track also incorporates some biting pedal steel. “Imaginary Money” is a wry, sarcastic musing on the entertainment business, “a world all about imaginary money, money you spend but never even touch.” The band’s humor and vigor is further manifested by the blasting sing-along-chorus of “Good To Be Alive (For a Change).” The Super Man Curse also changes pace with the sublime, acoustic-tinged balladry of “What I Saw.” In addition, the legions of fervid Seapods fans will be heartened by the inclusion of longtime concert staple, “Bong Hits & Porn,” a mutated masterpiece from the Seapods. “Thought About it” is a production piece, enhanced by mellotron, marimba and saxophone with Monteith picking up the trombone as well. (“I laugh at the fact that I dropped out of my high school band in the tenth grade as a complete joker, but I’m probably the only one in my high school who actually played their instrument on an album,” says Monteith.) Finally, the album closes with the title track, as the group salutes the listener with what Pasternack describes as “a total classic rock ending. Whenever we play it, I just get this perma-grin because I think I’m in Skynyrd or something.”The Super Man Curse presents the varied flavors of a band which embraces intensity, complexity and wit. Monteith emphasizes, “at the end of the day we were very happy because this is a colorful rendering of the Seapods.” Pasternack adds, “This is unlike anything the Seapods have ever done, but at the same time this is totally the Ominous Seapods.”

Group Members Dana Monteith- guitar and vocals, Brian Mangini- keyboards, Ted Marotta- percussion, Tom Pirozzi- bass, background vocals, Todd Pasternack- guitar and vocals, Max Verna- guitar and vocals

Instruments Guitar, Bass, Kayboards, Drums, Vocals

Albums The Super Man Curse / Matinee Idols / Jet Smooth Ride / Guide to Roadside Ecology / Econobrain

Additional Info The Late Show: Matinee Idols' live bonus CD & another live bonus CD with The Super Man Curse

Location Albany, New York - USA

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