Teeter: Ty and I had been in another band called Ley Royal Scam together. I would try to make out with him on stage all the time and he would totally deny me. Heartbreaking! Much later, after he had been in Gym Class for awhile, he called me and said he thought we should make a record together and invite some of our friends to be on it with us. I said A-OK and poof! LadybiRdS suddenly existed.
Tyler: Yup, that's pretty much how it went down. It should also be noted that Teeter is the reason I have the job in Gym Class Heroes.
Where didja record? How long didja record for?
LadybiRdS: We recorded in January 2007 at the Creep Records house in Downingtown, PA. We worked there for most of the month.
Top 5 maximum funnest things about being in the studio.
Teeter: (backwards countdown!)
5. Mixing Is The Best Time Ever - OMG. I'm totally kidding. Mixing was super frustrating for me because I would know what I wanted changed, but I wouldn't know the terms to properly communicate it. Then I would get stampy and send out unwholesome vibes to the dudes for not being able to meet the needs that I didn't know how to express needing, if that makes any sense. There were many times during the process where I am sure Tyler and Arik (producer/engineer) wanted to pull my messy braids out of my head.
4. "Jes" - Every time I would ask Arik "Hay! Are you recording right now or what?" he would always answer "Jes" - which was actually "Yes" in some sort of insane accent. There was never a time when Jes didn't make me laugh, not sure why. Still does.
3. A Real Chatterbox - I talk alot, it's proven. I'm also really silly. When I wasn't sure if we were recording or not, which was always, I would be chit chatting and burping and laughing hysterically and making funny noises right up to the start of the take. Alot of this excessive noise-making was caught on (digi) tape, unbeknownst to me, and we ended up keeping some of it on the finished record. I love that because it captures the true spirit of the ridiculousness that was going on in that basement studio.
2. Maxim Is Special - Having Max from Say Anything come to the studio to sing on the record was awesome because he played me loads of acoustic songs including but not limited to "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson and most of the tunez off of 'Is A Real Boy....' -all while I lounged in a big red armchair. It felt like my very own private rock show. He laughed a ton in that awkward way that only he does while we watched DeGrassi: The Next Generation and ate garbagey snacks from the gas station mini-mart.
1. Long Live the Kid Chorus - The kid chorus totally changed my life. It was this batch of super cute local 10 year olds. They walked in and were totally timid and shy, staring at the graffitied walls and the general mess with giant eyes. They seemed so scared! After we practiced our parts all together - they began to open up and be silly and ask questions and have fun. They did such a beautiful job and at the end they we're spazzy and sad to leave. I love them so much and I wish we could have put them on every song. The only way I will ever go on tour is if they can come with us. Sincerely.
Tyler:
5. Smoking Cigarettes- Whenever I do any kind of recording I absolutely love smoking cigarettes. It calms me and helps keep the good vibes flowing.
4.Grandma Sperber - Despite the non-stop spunkiness displayed by Captain Teeter it was amusing for me to see that she is indeed human and somewhat like a senior citizen when it comes to choosing a bedtime. Teeter was in bed and asleep promptly at 10pm every night and awake at the crack of dawn everyday to go walking.
3.Production Paradise - From a production standpoint this was a really fun record to make. I got to do all kinds of crazy keyboard stuff, tweaking plug-ins, feeding vocal tracks into a big concrete room to create natural reverb, recording crazy little kids and making outlandishly thick vocal tracks.
2.Wicked Night Out - On the night we finished recording - Teeter, myself and my girlfriend JoJo all went out to Rex's bar in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It was the only real night out of the entire recording session. The end result was a wicked trashed Teeter singing along to Archers of Loaf and then vomiting all over the sidewalk in front of the bar.
1.Finished Product - The very best thing about making a record is listening to it when you're done. Ask anyone who has ever made one.
Whats up with the album title?
Teeter: The title "Regional Community Theater" is an ode to how dramatic both Tyler and I are. Oh wait, Tyler's not dramatic at all - he's super mellow. I guess it's an ode to how dramatic I am. Can't even help it, I was born this way!
More specifically - when we were writing the vocal patterns to this song in the guest bedroom of the Creep House during pre-production - I sang one of the lines from the chorus ('How can we be the best, yet be failing all the time?') with just an impossible amount of gusto - emphasizing the word 'best' like I was the star of some small town musical. Ty started hysterically laughing and then once I composed myself I apologized for getting all "Regional Community Theater" on his ass. He said instantly that that phrase needed to be the title of our record and I completely agreed.
Whats yr fave part of the record?
Teeter: The kid chorus, natch, and the E.E. Cummings quote that I speak in the very beginning of it. And pretty much all of Ty's instrumentation cause he's a baby genius - especially the outro track, You are the Torro King, because its way sad and reminds me alot of Nuetral Milk Hotel.
Tyler: The entire Oregon Coast track, specifically the skippy drums. And Teeter's harmonies on Blood Sisters.
How didja you pick yr guest vocalists?
Teeter: The Get Up Kids are one of my fave bands ever! I used to follow them all over the map - travelling as far as Glasgow, Scotland just to watch them bring the rock. I saw them play at a Roller Rink in Dirty Jerz once, too - I was fully skating alone in circles while singing the words to every song. I started hassling Matt Pryor, their lead singer, from the very second I knew we were making a record. I love his gravelly voice more than anything.
Max was a no-brainer, too - cause he's unlike any other human on earth and I'm obsessed with his mom, Shifra, and because Spider Song has been in my head for the better part of 4 years. I really wanted Justin Pierre from MCS to sing too, but he was swamped recording his own musical epic. He wrote one of the songs on the record, though, it's called "Impairment Begins with the First Drink," along with Denver Dalley of Desparicidos.
Neil Sabatino from Fairmont had invited me sing on their record some months previous, so I wanted to return the super kind offer! Coincidentally, he sounds alot alot like Ben Gibbard, and as a general rule, we're all about ripping off The Postal Service - so it was a most solid fit.
Tyler: The Danger O's are a band that I helped get signed to Creep Records. They are incredibly talented. I think Justin is probably one of the most brilliant musicians I know so I had to get him up on a track. I also liked the Creep family vibe of doing something like that.
Is there a theme to yr record, in terms of what the songs are about?
Teeter: Some of the songs are about how tuff it is to live in Dirty NYC, some are about my undying love for Ley Royal Scam, and one if about this boy Andy Lex whose guts I loved so bad for like 5 minutes but forgot to keep loving because I am totally attention deficit. Oh! And one is about my best girlpal, SB. She's the coolest.
Whats up with you guys playing live?
Teeter: I super hate playing live and I can only hope that we never ever have to because if we do, I will surely have nothing to wear.
Tyler: WE WILL play live shows eventually but that's a long way away mainly due to my touring schedule with GCH. And Teeter's extreme performance anxiety.
What are yr goals for the band if yr not big on playing live?
Teeter: I would like us to be on the soundtrack to DeGrassi: The Next Generation. That's about it.
Tyler: Teeter stole my goal. I would like an acting part as well as a song on that show, though.
Why are the L, the R and the S in yr band name always capitalized?
Teeter: It's a silent tribute to Ley Royal Scam - the amazing band that brought Tyler and I together as besties - and gave each of us lots of super cool/insane memories. I loved Ley Royal Scam so bad, still do. I miss it every day.
Tyler: I made sure to do this every time I wrote the band name so I wouldn't get scolded.
Who made the video for "The Brown and Red Divide?"
Teeter: Jeff Powers made the video. He's extra talented. His YouTube page has lots of his work on it: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=jeffpowers* *
Whats yr favorite part of the video?
Teeter: Oh man! My favorite part comes in at 3 minutes and 5 seconds. It's this super brief close-up of my hand holding the mic cable and if you look really closely you can see scratches and scabs on my hands and fingers. That was because every morning in the studio I would wake up 2 hours before everyone else and take these super awesome, super long walks - like total emo meltdown style, where I would think of lyrics and practice singing and stop and look up into the trees and stuff. When I would come back from the walks I would always inadvertently ram my hands against the entryway while trying to open the front door. Every.single.day. Even when I tried not to. That one shot represents that whole amazing period of time for me. I miss the long walks and scratched hands!
I also really like the E.E. Cummings quote at the end. Man, I'm so all about that quote - I first started writing it in notebooks and letters and such when I was 17.
Tyler: I really like the cinematic shots of Teeter in the little Asian prayer type thing - the background with that picture of the clouds and mountains are amazing.
Are you going to record any more tunes after the release of the record?
Teeter: I really really really want to do a super popped out LadybiRdS version of this Okkervil River song called "Black." Geez, it is such a good song - sometimes I'll play it when I'm driving in the car alone and I'll suddenly find myself shouting it at the top of my lungs. This cover will happen even if no one else wants to do it! Okkervil River is one of my favorite bands of right now. Goth Americana 4ever.
I also want to write and record a new song with my cousins, Casey and Gretchen - they're sassy identical twins who are both waaaaaaay better singers than me. I mean really, let's not mince words here, they used to be in a NJ based song and dance troupe called The Sensations! White Hot.
Tyler: I hope to make another record at some point with more live instrumentation. I'm always making those wicked Nintendo beats so I'm sure eventually there will be more songs.
Oh man! Yr record package design is awesome, who made it!?
Teeter: Cooper and Michelle Sanchez sure made our record look beautiful, didn't they? They're total Atlanta, Georgia area art stars - though they'd never admit it! You can find em here: http://www.coopersanchez.com/
Why do you love this band?
Teeter: Because Tyler is able to make melodies that are the sonic manifestation of me as a person. I can close my eyes and see myself spazzing out inside them!
How did you get your band name?
Teeter: Ty and I totally struggled with what band name to choose. Initially I thought I really wanted a band name that had a mystical creature in it. And then, for a minute, we thought we were going to call ourselves PINK KICKS. I remember, I was travelling through Mexico for a month and we we're going to start recording right after I returned home and we still didn't have a band name. So I sent a mass e-mail asking our most creative besties for help naming us - and this is a partial list of the names we compiled. Some/most of them are sooo funny.
Diamonique
Air Raid
Holy Hearts
Arm and Hammer
Diamond Sea
Beef Blizzard
St. Milky Shores
Argentine
Butter Antlers
The Snaps
Pink Bamboo
Rec Room
TT & The Teenbeats
The Brookline Counsel on Aging
Ladybird Johnson
Pegasus Party
Sparkle Seascape
Pixie Tractor
Ground Up Unicorns
Lustre Yeti
Megasaurus Triangle
Magical Dragon Ruffle
My girlpal Jessica Hopper suggested the name Ladybird Johnson - and that got me thinking that the word "Ladybirds" included the three main letters from the name of our previous band, Ley Royal Scam. Ley Royal Scam had a squad of dancing life-sized foam letters that would perform with us at shows - they were mind-blowing and ridiculous and fantastic, much like Ley Royal Scam itself. It seemed like a fitting name to choose to show lots of love and respect for where we came from.
Although, in retrospect, I kindof can't believe we didn't choose 'Pixie Tractor.'