Listen online: https://soundcloud.com/thekhind-1
Q&A Marvin Lee The Market. I have seen the band’s name in event pages on Facebook and on fliers around the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Nate Golla of Khind Of Records mentioned the Market as a band he was working with when I interviewed him last year. They have played several shows at local venue The 3rd Wheel and played the most recent Woofstock. I listened to their song “At Home” and liked it quite a lot. I met up with Talon Jamison (vocals/guitar), Tyler Howell (drums), and Randy Munger (bass) at Blue Lantern Coffee House in downtown Lewiston for some great coffee and a little chat about themselves and their band the Market.
Marvin Lee: How did you guys get into music and why did you pick the instrument that you play? (Notice how they all start their answer with ‘well’? Pretty cute, eh?)
Jamison: Well, I have been into music since I was 3 years old. My parents put me into kindermusic, and at around junior high I picked up the guitar and have been playing it ever since.
Munger: Well, I have been playing bass since I was about 14. I have been seriously playing it for the past three years or so. What really got me into bass was when I was exposed to Primus and their “Pork Soda” album. I couldn’t believe what the bassist Les Claypool was doing with four strings. That was a huge influence on me getting into playing music.
Howell: Well, I started playing drums with my youth group back in the tail end of junior high, and from there I got hungry to play more music. I started playing with my buddy Randy and my other buddies Curtis Gump and Luke Hebert (Unconfined). I just stuck with it and have been loving the playing of music ever since.
ML: What happened to the former members of the Market and how did you hook up with Randy and Tyler?
Jamison: Throughout the Market’s history we have struggled with keeping bassists. We have lost around three bassists. Our old drummer ... left because I became too controlling in the band as far as everything went. I got him back in the band for a little while, but he left again because our friendship ended.
Howell: I was contacted by Nate Golla from Khind Of Records, and he explained the situation about how Talon’s bassist and drummer broke off and we started playing with him and we found out he already had an album recorded with the former members, but since Randy and I were better musicians, we decided to re-record the whole album. Recording the songs with this improved equipment and musicianship, that’s kind of where we’re at right now. We just need to finish the re-recording of the album.
ML: What is your song ‘At Home’ about?
Jamison: It is kind of a song about being home. It’s also a song about wanting to be home; the comforts of being at home. There are also some dirty/naughty parts in the song.
ML: What as a band are your biggest influences?
Howell: As far as just drumming goes, I have been in love with Metallica for a long time, and so Lars Ulrich is a huge influence to me. As far as my technical skill goes, I try to learn techniques and odd time signatures from Mike Portnoy from Dream Theatre. There is also a lot of funk that comes from Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Munger: I would have to say my main bass influence comes from Les Claypool of Primus and Cliff Burton, who was Metallica’s first bass player.
Jamison: I have a lot of influences. I’m not sure I can really chose … Green Day! They got me started trying to get a band. They got me started playing guitar. They got me started into writing music. They pretty much got me started singing so, yea, it’s Green Day. So people say I sound exactly like Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
ML: Do you guys have any shows/concerts lined up for summer?
Howell: The problem with that is where we regularly play, the 3rd Wheel, is tied up right now doing showcase shows, and they are taking their schedule back a bit until Hot August Nights, Sound Downtown and Alive After Five are through for the season. I did try to get us on for Alive After Five and Sound Downtown but neither of those panned out. The nearest show I can think of is a show I am working on with Michael Castle who books at The 3rd Wheel for after Hot August Nights takes place. Hopefully, Unconfined and Jack’s Smirking Revenge will be playing that show with us.
ML: Do you guys have any advice for aspiring musicians?
Howell: So as a drummer, obviously the big start is getting a drum kit, which is kind of expensive. Or you can stick to good old chest drumming, but really the best thing you can do is look up techniques online, i.e. how to hold a drum stick properly, what each part of the drum kit is meant to do. From there, I practiced songs by other bands. Learn where they do their fills and why. Play drumming rudiments and stuff like that.
Munger: All I have to say for any upcoming bass players is that in the eyes of your audience you are only as good as they say you are but in your own eyes you are really are as good as you think you are.
Jamison: Any advice I have is … basically … I can play several instruments, and for every one, I found that it’s really tough at first. Especially with guitar, because your fingers hurt really bad after only playing for five minutes when you first learn to play. If you just keep going at it, that pain will stop, and you can start getting better and better. Then you can throw your own techniques on top of that. You just keep being more experienced, and if you don’t give up on it hopefully you can become a real good musician.
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Members of the Market seem to be some good dudes. I can’t wait to hear their completed album, because I am totally digging what they are doing so far. Get ready for more tunes from the Market. Peace ’n’ hair grease, y’all. Viva le local music.
Lee is a musician and aspiring poet who resides in Lewiston. He can be contacted at marvin.lee@live.com.
