The Bandees Cook Up Something New

With a wide-ranging sound that’s been compared to everyone from the Beatles and Bowie to Traffic, X, Elvis Costello, and even the Violent Femmes, it’s clear that the Bandees are a band that refuses to lock itself into any one particular musical style. Indeed, this Florida trio has built a successful career for itself by rejecting the notion that it needs to play by certain rules and has instead walked its own road to critical acclaim. Founded in 1998 by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Dees, a long-time veteran bass player whose résumé boasts stints with talents like Todd Rundgren, Hall & Oates, and Novo Combo, a group he co-founded with Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, the award-winning Bandees keep it real by keeping it a family affair. Stephen’s wife Patricia can be found behind the mike playing everything from oboe to sax while drummer Alberto Cruz provides the backbeat that ties it all together into a unique rock and roll hybrid, one which merges indie with jazz, new wave with folk, Celtic with power pop. With five albums under their versatile belts, the Bandees have just released their sixth, a thick stew of toothsome sounds called “Sonic Kitchen.” Recently, we spoke with Stephen by phone from his home in Central Florida about the band’s new record and his own musical journey.

Tell us about your first steps on the road to your musical future. How did it all start for Stephen Dees?

Well, I come from a musical family. My dad and uncle all played country music. So there were guitars around all the time, and I liked guitars. I was always exposed to that kind of music. But I wasn’t crazy about country music per se. My mom liked early rock artists like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. Those guys. And I liked that. That was fun. I did like some country. I liked Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. I just like good songs. By anybody. I think there were more good songs that appealed to me that my mom was playing. To my dad’s disappointment!

So your dad wanted you to go country?

Oh, absolutely. He wanted me to be the next Hank Williams or something as opposed to rock and roll, which was not music to him. But my uncle… I had an uncle who was pretty awesome. He was a fiddle player named Chubby Wise. He was a bluegrass player, and I liked that just because it was a lot of fun. He was one of the first guys in Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. Kind of pretty important stuff in the country/bluegrass genre. They were so exuberant when they played. So I was always exposed to that. I really didn’t have any choice.

So how did you start actually playing music?

You know, I always loved rock and roll, and that was great. But it was the Beatles that really did it for me. They hit me so hard it was like “Well, that’s something I could do. That’s what I want to do.” They were basically giving rock and roll back to America as we had abandoned it for pop music or whatever was happening then. Which was like a kick in the teeth to say “Hey listen, you guys: There’s some great music here and you sort of forgot it and here it is.” Which is a nice extension from that sort of grey zone there between great rock and roll in the early days and then that strange period. They were just great. They had the whole package, everything going on. They were real somehow.

Did that inspire you to pick up an instrument?

Yeah. I had to have a guitar then. Most kids that were inclined to like music did. It was just great stuff. Plus, they wrote their songs. They did everything. So that was what really cool about them. Of course, they had their own little private [fan] club and that was also interesting. Because before they came along it was pretty much just solos artists and the whole band thing, they sort of kicked that off.

Tell us about some of your early bands. Did you play in high school?

Sure. Probably pretty badly! I tried probably everything that you could try in a band going through drums, bass, lead singer, all that stuff. But guitars, since they were always around, I was always picking up one. And I think that’s probably what did it.

I really wanted to be a songwriter, I think that was my main thing. I just loved good songs by anybody. And thank God during that period where the Beatles weren’t here there was great black music that I loved. They never stopped writing great songs. That was always happening. I think that’s the thing. Because I love music of all kinds, and I always have. From Louis Armstrong on, popular music just interested me. You have to go back to that point in music history to appreciate modern music, I think. It seems like it gets down to Louis Armstrong, I believe because before that people were just reading music and playing silly songs mostly, and Louis was like, “Well, no… Let’s do this. Let’s go this way.” He made performance and singing really personal and different.

So how do we get from playing in high school to the decision to become a professional musician?

A lot of trial and error. A lot of practicing. First of all, getting past the point where it’s like, “Okay, you have to do more than just look good to be in a band. Or just grow your hair or wear the right clothes. It would probably be a good idea if I just learned how to play” So I just became really hungry for knowledge. A lot of training came by watching older guys that were really good. Watching what they were doing and picking their brains and having them show me some scales, show me what to do, the chords to learn, and just really learning the craft of music and purposely joining different kinds of bands other than just straight rock or something. I would join a jazz band just so I could gain knowledge about what was going on and be taught. I was always the kid playing with older guys. Because I had some ability and they’d recognize that and knew that I was hungry. So they would say, “Okay, you need to check out Miles, you need to check out this.”

I played in a lot of bands when I was a kid. I was in a band called Sir Winston and His Court. The bass player was Will Lee from David Letterman’s band. We were just kids. We were all 15, and I was the guitar player. But we were the only white guys in the band. The drummer was Eddie Zyne, who also ended up being a great drummer. Ended up playing with me with Hall & Oates later on. But it was a great experience because we really got to learn the Top 40 in black music, which was just a great learning experience. We had horns and everything. All this stuff shaped me.

Back in the 60s, on AM radio, you could turn it on and hear the Beatles, James Brown, the Temptations, the Zombies, the Kinks, Johnny Cash. You could hear all these people on AM radio. It was just a great period for music, I think. And then again it all came down to whatever sort of hit me. What songs were good. Because I was always wanting to strive to be a songwriter. The whole experience was good because you had to be able to play in all these genres. It was the Top 40. You had to play all these [different] kinds of music, and it was great.

When I was 15 we had the soul band thing going. But then on the side, Will and Eddie and myself, we had a power trio playing Cream songs and Jimi Hendrix and stuff at the same time. It was a real fertile time. Terrific, really. And then you come out on the other side at some point, and you realize, “Well, I can actually play, can’t I? I can actually make a living out of this.”

When was it that you realized that you could actually do this as a full-time gig?

When somebody paid me!

When was that?

A bass gig opened. I was 17, and I was living in Coconut Grove, Florida. At that point I didn’t know whether I was going to be a guitar player or a bass player because I had both, and I could play a bit on both. And there was an opportunity at a club. It was a house gig, and that’s when I became a bass player. And then playing bass five nights a week… You know, after a year it was like, “Yeah, I’m a bass player now.”

How did you end up with Hall & Oates?

In Miami at the time there wasn’t much happening. I had some managers and stuff, and I was recording my own music. They were shopping me to labels, and we had some good luck with that. Some things were happening, but I realized that I really needed to get out of Miami. So I moved up to Pennsylvania and then over to New Jersey and was going into New York to try and make connections and get my own thing going. Shopping my demo around to people. Then I heard that Hall & Oates were looking for a new rhythm section to tour. I was up there with my friend Eddie, and we’re sharing a home with our respective girlfriends. So there was this opportunity. I really wanted to get my own thing going, but [I thought] it sure would be nice to make some money while were up here. We were young and stupid enough to think we could actually go into New York and get this gig. Because apparently there were a lot of people auditioning for this gig. We were really young and so we were practicing in our basement and were confident and cheery enough, I guess, and we had a lot of energy and went and got the audition. And they asked us to join. And we were like, “Wow. That was easy!”

Are there any moments that stand out for you from the Hall & Oates experience?

I would say that one! All the moments were good. Just going on the road and all that stuff was totally cool. Playing to big audiences that are cheering and all that stuff.

That had to have been quite a thrill for someone who’s a relative newbie to the game.

Oh sure, it was great. And going over to Europe was a big deal. That was just wonderful. I just had a great time. It was just a blast. Daryl and I got along well. Daryl eventually took me under his wing and helped get my first record deal and co-produced my album. So that was pretty cool. That just sort of happened. I wasn’t really expecting it. I was just sort of happy to be out making a living as a musician and one day his manager just came up to me and said, “Hey, I got you a record deal.” I remember I was going down an escalator in an airport. We were at a gig, and he told me. It was sort of surreal. “Oh, I have a record deal with RCA.” It was neat because when I was a kid looking at these Elvis records, these 45 Elvis records, and it said “RCA” on it with the dog, that’s one of my earliest memories. And it was like, “Wow, I’m actually on that label. That’s pretty neat.”

These days do you consider yourself more of a guitarist, a bass player, or something in between?

I consider myself a member of a band that basically has to pull his weight, whatever that is. Because we’re a three-piece now. I work with my wife, Patricia, and for me it’s all a team thing. When you’re working in a band, you basically just have to know your place and try to do your job whatever that is. And even though I’m the writer (the main writer) and producer and play a few instruments, I feel like my function is just one part of the band. In bands, the sum of the parts is more important than each individual. That’s just sort of my job. We all just do what we need to do. Patty plays several instruments and is very talented. She’s one of these people that has a great gift of picking up an instrument and being able to make music on it. So that makes us sort of unique because she can play oboes and flutes and stuff like that. It’s just a little different.

Tell us a little bit about your songwriting. How do songs happen for you?

I think any way they possibly can. Really. I think some people have maybe sort of an ethic of working, but I can come up with a groove. It can be on bass, guitar or piano, whatever. Sometimes it all comes together at the same time. And I know that people say that when that happens it’s usually the best one. Well, it is usually is the best one. When that happens, that’s great. But there are other ways. Sometimes, it’s more musical and then I have to put the lyrics and melody on top.

Last night, for instance, I’m right now writing songs for a young man I’m producing named Victor Wainwright. His music is totally different than the Bandees, and I really enjoy that. He’s a singer/pianist, very talented. He’s a roots player. The guy is amazing. He’s really good. He just turned 25 and he’s into early rock and roll and 50s R&B. Very much like my mom when I was a kid. She was into Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis and Ray Charles, that kind of stuff.

That stuff for me is way easy to write. I don’t know why. Maybe because I grew up with it. But I have a very easy time writing roots music. It just comes quickly and easily to me. Whereas the Bandees material is harder to write. I don’t really know why that is. Maybe it’s because roots music is maybe a little more physical and maybe pop music and the genre of pop music that I like is maybe more complex. Just trying to come up with different things to sing about that I find interesting. Because I’m not somebody that just writes love songs. I feel like you have to have something to say that’s a little different. I like different subjects, odd subjects, things that are a little more colorful, little vignette ideas. I love writing. The process. All of it’s good. I’m surrounded by different methods. All the time, I’ll have one thing going and then I’ll have a totally different thing going at the same time. I think they’re all avenues to the same end. But I guess I’m probably hardest on myself with lyrics. And even though sometimes my lyrics might seem simplistic, it takes a long time to get to that point where you think it’s right.

So would you say that’s the hardest part for you, the lyrical end of things?

Probably. Just because there’s been such a high output of songs recently. You might find yourself repeating yourself in some way. And I have a pet peeve against similes. You know, everybody always says… “like this, like that,” and the best songwriters on the planet do it constantly. I find myself steering away from that as much as I can because for me it seems like a lazy way of writing. I don’t know why. Just comparing it to something else. Why can’t you say that same thing and make a statement that’s separate from that? So maybe that’s why it’s so hard!

Because you’ve removed one of the main tools in the writer’s toolbox.

It is! I mean God bless them. Some people that I love and still love to this day, almost every song they’re “like this and like that.” I’ve been thinking about writing a song called “the Like-a Like-a Song.”

Maybe that’s one that will write itself.

Yeah, that’ll definitely write itself! No problems.

Tell us about the Bandees new record, “Sonic Kitchen.”

The idea was to make a really good album and make the best music I’ve ever made. Because if we’re going to do this, then that should be the object. Otherwise, what’s the point if you’re going to put all this time into it. And I stuck to that. Because the album took us three years to really get it done, and the reason is that I was just super hard on myself. I wrote a lot of material. Tons of material. I probably have enough for five albums. And we actually recorded the entire album, mixed it, mastered it, and then I realized that I didn’t like it. It wasn’t good enough.

Did you start completely over again at that point?

Well, we remixed the entire album again. Brought in some other people and just some people to help us out. And I started playing it around. Sometimes you know you have ideas of what’s going on, but, of course, you can’t live in a vacuum. You need feedback from your peers and people that you respect. So I started playing it around, and what I thought was confirmed by a few people. Basically the mixes weren’t right. It wasn’t the sonic landscape I was looking for. It wasn’t happening at that time. Some of the songs were wrong.

So what we did was, we basically went back and remixed the whole album. I cut four new songs. Picked two new songs that I’d written, and we actually did a cover of Chrissie Hynde’s “Kid,” by the Pretenders. Because I’ve always wanted to do a cover, but it’s so hard to figure out which one you want to do because there are so many great songs. And I thought we needed another song for Patty to sing, and we love the Pretenders. We love Chrissie Hynde. So we went, “How about that one?” And she sang it, and I went in in one day. It was the fastest recorded song on the whole album. I went in and learned it and recorded all my parts in one day. [Patty] sang hers the next day, and Albert put the drums on and boom!

So it was nice to do that because after all the labor we put in and everything, just to do a song that quick was very refreshing. Because there it is. It’s such a great song, the arrangement and everything. Part of that song is the way they arranged it. The guitar parts and what they did. We didn’t do it note for note, but all the parts that were important, I felt that that’s really part of the song, so we need to do that. But I mean I didn’t want to play the solo lick-for-lick. So I did my own solo and did a few things, but sometimes if something is really good you just don’t want to mess with it.

How is the record different from previous Bandees efforts?

This one’s better!

In what ways?

I stand accused of being guilty of being too eclectic. And it’s a sign of my times and my upbringing. Because I am a big Beatles fan. The White Album. All their albums. They can get away with anything. Because they had such a great sound, and they were such wonderful songwriters. Not just John and Paul but George as well. That to me, I just feel like that’s the way to go. You should be able to play whatever kind of music you want. So I do. But on our past albums, they’re probably so eclectic that they’re too eclectic, maybe. Not for me, but for most people. So this album is like, I’m not going to contrive an album that’s one kind of music or anything because it’s still very eclectic to a point. But let’s just pick my songs that might be a little more in a certain genre this time. Because literally people on any given day if you see the Bandees do an acoustic gig, people think we’re a Celtic band. If they hear something else by us, they think we’re a ska band. Or they think we’re a Brit-pop band or an alternative band. Literally I’ve had so many people think that we were something else.

So you tend to wear a lot of different masks.

But it’s all one big happy musical thing. I don’t get this thing where every song has to stay the same. I don’t understand that.

Are there any tracks on the album that you’re particularly proud of?

I’m proud of the whole thing. Or they wouldn’t be on it. I’m real good at editing myself. I have no problem with saying something is history. Delete. You know, I’m happy to do that. I don’t get so attached to anything that I can’t be objective. I have to wear hats when it comes to being a producer. When you produce something you can’t just be in love with yourself. I have to be totally objective. You have to be totally willing to edit yourself. I do that all the time. I’m very hard on myself. Patty has to remind sometimes that I can be too hard. You just have to keep writing. That’s my theory. The bottom line is that you’re only as good as the next song that you write. You just have to push yourself if you want to get better at what you’re doing. If you’re going to stay energized and prolific, you have to do that.

Let’s shift gears and find out a little bit about your experiences with Elixir® Strings. Where did you first discover them?

T.J. Evans is a guitar player, and I was doing some gigs with him. He has a band called Meritaje, and I was doing some gigs with him. He likes the way I play, and he said, “Check out these strings.” I already used Elixirs on my acoustic guitar. Those were my favorite strings. I think they’re the best. I just thought they were great. So he hooked me up, and I’m very happy to use them. I love them. I use them on my electric guitar, on the bass. I think they’re terrific. They’re the best strings in my opinion.

What do you like about them?

The tone. It’s always the tone. And they do last much longer. I used to have to change my strings quite a bit.

Are you hard on your strings?

Yeah. Especially when I play live. It’s hard to believe how many bass strings I would break. It’s crazy. People can’t believe it. I’ve known guys that leave their bass strings on for two years, and I’m like, “How do you get away with that? How do they last so long?” I don’t get it. I’ve actually tried to back off on my exuberance when playing and my technique because I was breaking strings literally every time I played. I play hard. If I’m playing rock I go for it.

What do the Bandees have going on for the rest of the year?

Well, we’re doing a promotion, a big radio push in August through November. And since we literally are a record company, we’re doing it all ourselves, and happy to do it, but it’s incredibly time consuming. But we’ve got an office and we really know what we’re doing. On our last album, we hired people to do stuff for us, and we realized we could save a lot of money and do this ourselves and know that it’s being done right. And that’s what this is about. It’s a hands-on thing. It’s a family thing. And knowing that it’s going to be done right.

Patty is the artist of the band. She painted the cover. She did a whole different painting for this album. It had another name and everything. And when we scrapped the mix and came back in, she stood up and said “Okay. I’m going to do a whole different album [cover].” So we’re hands-on. I mean when we got the CDs made, we did five proofs to get the colors right. So we’re really doing this right. And the only way to do something right is to do it yourself. It really is. At least you have only yourself to point the finger at.

We’re having the CD release gig next month here in Daytona. First, we’re going to do the radio promotion. Get that done. All the trades and the press. Then we’ll probably tour through the Southeast. We’re trying to concentrate on just one area as far as live performances go.

We have to do a couple of videos. We’re just trying to make sure what songs to do. The bottom line is we have to get feedback from actual human beings for that. We have a good idea now [what songs to pickbecause we’ve already done some preliminary polling with a bunch of friends of ours, really talented people. And we pretty much know what the tracks are, but the bottom line is when the record hits radio, what are they playing? We want to do some really good videos. They’re not going to be do-it-yourself videos. There are some good companies here in Orlando. We have some people that want to work with us to help us out. It’s just one of those things that when you get people who enjoy what you’re doing, like what you’re doing, it’s infectious. Everybody jumps in. Kind of like the Little Rascals. Everybody joins in and puts a show on. It’s cool. It’s good.