Lots of college bands living in crappy apartments around Boston, but not all of those situations yield an album like Subtle Luxuries by Midriffs, the surf-punk trio of TJ Freda (vocals/guitar), Sam Aprea (drums), and Felix Sticker (bass). Released last October, the album features raw energy (see “Death Beach”) and melodic grooves (“Green on the Grass”) birthed by the three MassArt students at their residence-turned-studio in Mission Hill, dubbed “The Nest,” and though they’ve since moved on to a new house more fit for recording and playing (with interns, to boot), that same spirit remains intact. I caught up with TJ to hear about…
Recording and living at The Nest:
“It was a three-bedroom apartment, but we had the bassist (Matt) living there, two friends from home, and the drummer Sam, so about six people living in this three-bedroom place. We all had bunk beds; one person lived in a closet because he didn’t get on the lease in time. We converted it into a recording studio that we slept in. At one point, our mattresses were in the vocal booth in our pantry. We were sleeping on sleeping bags. Sam recorded every single track in his boxers after he woke up in the morning. It was fun. We got pretty rigorous at the end because people had to go back to school, so we had to finish the record before the summer ended. We knew it wouldn’t sound the same if we set up in a different house or something.”
Living together in their new home, the house show venue Thieves Grotto:
“We are the third generation to live in that house. Right now it’s five people, and next year we will have eight people on two floors. The fact that we live together makes all the chemistry work. I hear a lot of bands talk about how it sucks that they feel like their band doesn’t hang out. For us, we have to get away from each other. We spend every moment together. I don’t take it for granted. We can wake up and decide to jam or practice.”
Being self-sufficient:
“Traditionally we’ve rented a lot of gear from MassArt, but we are becoming more self-sufficient—we have a PA system for ourselves, we have a budget enough to get light fixtures. We have two interns; one is living with us next year, so he already has his foot in the door [to be in the next group to live there].”
MIDRIFFS W/ SWIMMERS, HEENEY & PALEHOUND. SUN 4.12 MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS, 472 MASS AVE., CAMBRIDGE. 617-864-3278.1PM/$12/ALL AGES. MIDRIFFS.BANDCAMP.COM
