WHAT DOES THE indie world think of producer-constructed bands? In the judgmental mind of a rock purist, such an idea is likely to take the lean shape of a beautiful puppet singing songs of questionable authorship, never more than a boatload of style away from being Kelly Clarkson. But what if the men behind the curtain stepped into the spotlight? Would it still rub us the wrong way? More importantly, should it?
The leading men of Phenomenal Handclap Band make one consider these questions.With long-standing reputations in the music world as DJs and producers, Daniel Collas and Sean Marquand have now started a band of their own.They “got an investor” and finished recording their selftitled debut completely before figuring out how to play any of it live; “Let’s just worry about making the best record we can make,” reasons Collas.With that goal in mind, they brought in impressive guests like legendary guitarist Jon Spencer and TV On the Radio drummer Jaleel Bunton to play on select tracks. They also pulled from the pool of session musicians they had worked with as producers. The result was something large and ambitious, with elements of disco, soul and psychedelica glued together by consistent production. For influences, Collas cites crossover-heavy bands from the late 1960s, like “rock bands with soul overtones” or “prog bands disguising themselves as disco bands.” “That idea was big for PHB. The idea that there’s all these genres that meet in the middle and go on their way, but they sound cohesive.”
Next, rather than hire attractive robots to do their bidding, Collas and Marquand continued their quest for talented, likeminded musicians when putting together their live show. “There are people who do it with two producers onstage and a diva-esque singer,” explains Collas. “We wanted to make sure it wasn’t that.” Some of the former session musicians stayed on, and some new ones came in to form a collective of sorts. “We’re really into this commune or tribe or cult of people rather than a band,” says Collas. “The Rolling Stones or Ramones idea is kind of tired and doesn’t really suit us.” Collas enjoys seeing the songs “evolve” as he adapts them; “I like the idea of reinterpreting things for the live show.” Though he admits to feeling “rough at first” as a producer performing onstage, he says he and the band “ultimately got it together” to create something better than a mere reproduction of the record. “It’s a lot more fiery and raw live,” says Collas. “I’m proud of that record, but there are moments I think are too polished or smooth, like ‘Born Again’—live it’s a fiery gospel number!”
In terms of going from record to live show and not the other way ‘round, Collas sees this order of operations as an asset. “It gives the band more focus,” he says. “We started from a point where we already had a record and it was already getting attention...there’s less ego involved, as opposed to everyone in a band thinking they know better.There was already a direction. A central idea for everybody to get behind.”This is coming from a veteran of the New York rock scene tired of lugging equipment around and playing “sandwiched between other bands” at venues like Pianos. Now, he says, he treats every show like “an event...a destination, a DJ party scene, rather than just another club with bands.”
With a steady commitment to both recording and touring, Collas and Marquand are hardly shadowy puppet masters. Ringleaders, maybe. It seems only natural that such creative people would eventually want to keep their ideas for themselves. “We were tired of making other people’s music sound better,” Collas says with conviction. “Why don’t we just make our own record instead of finding someone to be interdependent with?” And, he reminds me, “a record lasts way longer than the show.”
> Phenomenal Handclap Band
Oct. 16, Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl. (at E. 15th St.), 212-777-6800; 9, $TBA
