San Diego’s Hotel St. George are set to take the stage at the Casbah next Tuesday.
In anticipation of the show, lead singer Matt Binder and guitarist Eric Visnyak listed a few of their influences for me:
1. Child Ballads's Cheekbone Hollow: The music has a country-era Rolling Stones vibe to it, but it’s also got a psychedelic quality to it. Stewart Lupton's lyrics serve as a window into a world where he makes collages naked on his bedroom floor and sings nostalgically about his hanging out with his cousins in his youth. Each line is delivered with a Lou Reed-meets-Jeff Tweedy quality that I not only admire but also desperately wish were my own. (Binder)
2. The Octagon's Arm Brain Heart and Liver: It’s pretty basic, post-punk stuff with nods to Pavement, Guided By Voices and Dinosaur Jr., but each song creates its own special place in the world that I really dig. I actually made a conscious effort to replicate some of their style on our latest record, but I think I failed pretty miserably at it. (Binder)
3. The Soft Pack's The Soft Pack: A couple of years ago, I went to the Kensington Club and randomly stumbled upon the Soft Pack [then called the Muslims] as they played their second show ever. In my mind, these guys were totally out of everybody else’s league. There was just something about the songs and [Matt Lamkin’s] vocal delivery that set them apart from everything else that I was hearing. (Binder)
4. Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala: This Swedish indie pop star plucks and sings amazing songs that would make even Morrissey blush. Songs themed around uncomfortable dinners, or delivering lines like, “Did you take Tram No. 7 to heaven?/Did you eat your banana from 7-Eleven?” turn Jens into a best friend pulling you aside to tell you his experiences, but with a melodic and well-orchestrated band setting the mood of the discussion. (Visnyak)
5. The Horrors' Primary Colours: With some production assistance from Portishead, the Horrors gave birth to Primary Colours last year. I must have played this record hundreds of times, and it never loses it punch. Whether it was my third listen (on a Friday night with my confused out-of-town guests staring at me while I drunkenly danced to the closing track, “Sea with a Sea,” while swinging a glass of beer in one hand and playing air synthesizer with my other hand), or the latest listen (following a long 9-to-5er with the blaring guitars on “New Ice Age” suddenly breaking my zombie work coma), the Horrors provide ample enjoyable listens. (Visnyak)
T. Loper is a writer and photographer for the San Diego music blog Owl and Bear.
