Written by Laura Curry
Listen to This, That, and The Others for a psychedelic reminder of summer and all of its laid-back vibes. Their music weaves together the genres of surf, blues and folk into a groovy lava lamp that’s fueled by blazing instrumentals and glowing rhythms. Pop-Break had the chance to interview the band about their easygoing vibe, what inspires them and their goals for the rest of the year.
Who is This, That, and The Others? (Names of the band members & the instruments you play): Taylor Jones (Rhythm Guitar), Connor Surmonte (Bass Guitar), Crosby Surmonte (Drums), Kenny Vest (Lead Guitar)
What year did you guys come together as a band: Summer of 2014.
Are you primarily based out of Asbury Park: Primarily out of Asbury Park and Ocean Township.
What’s the story behind your band name: Our band name is pretty rad because we’re made up of four people and we play a little bit of everything.
Who has your sound been likened to: We’ve been told once or twice that we sound Velvet Underground-ish. Most of the time we get a, “I don’t know what that was, but I liked it.”
How would you describe your music in terms of sound and genre: It’s difficult to pin down exactly what our sound is. There are definitely some folk, blues and surf undertones in a lot of our music. Basically this is our own blended take on all the different music we’ve listened to throughout our lives.
What inspires you to create music: To simply put it, music is fun! We really just want to go out and try to make something unique.
Have you performed in bands before This, That, and The Others? If so, what are the names of those bands and did they have any influence on the sound of This, That, and The Others: This is our first official band. Before this we had just been bouncing around playing together and with our other friends. We were always playing different kinds of music depending on who was there at the time, which in turn has influenced our style of spanning all kinds of genres.
Have you had any recent releases: Right now we just have live recordings floating around. We are working on our first release, which we hope to have out by late May/ early June. Our original plan was to put something out last summer, but Taylor broke both of his ankles. He is up and kicking now so we are all ready to get the train rolling again!
Are there themes explored in your music that you tend to come back to:It usually always comes down to having a good time, partying, girls, and the groovy feelings of summer time.
What’s been your proudest accomplishment overall as a band: It feels great to finally have all of our own recording equipment. We are all very excited to have the flexibility to record what we want, how we want, whenever we want.
It seems as though you are very oriented toward creating an atmosphere and giving the audience an experience during your live shows. So, what are you trying to convey to listeners during your performances: We just try to put out a laid-back, fun vibe while keeping our audience on their toes. It’s always more enjoyable when we keep it easy-going and stay on the level of our audience.
What’s the best part about being in This, That and The Others: All in all, we have a great time making music together. Each one of us is always bringing something new to the table so there is never a dull moment. Just all the shenanigans, laughter, and unconditional love for music are what keep us going.
When you think about all the bands in the Asbury Park scene right now — what makes This, That and The Others stand out: Since we aren’t really going for any particular genre or sound you never know what you’re going to get. We may start off with a blazing surf instrumental followed by a more folk sounding song. Next thing you know you’re spacing out to a psychedelic tune only to be blasted back into some pounding rhythms.
If someone has never heard your music before, what song would you recommend they check out in order to fully grasp what This, That and The Others is all about, and why:
“Summer Daze” or “Come on Everybody” on our bandcamp page are probably good go-to songs to give you an idea of what we are like. Although, until we put out some official recordings, you really have to go to one of our live shows to get the full effect.
What are your plans for the rest of 2016: For one, we definitely have a lot of recording planned for this year. We are hoping to play as many shows as we can this summer, and maybe even a little tour. We also want to start throwing our own shows/ parties. Stay tuned because we have a lot more in store in the time to come, oh yeah!
This, That and The Others performs for free tonight at Happy Mondays at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park along with Hand of Weed, and Toke from Cape Fear, NC.
