Mr. Fancy Pants

Interview with Mr. Fancy Pants

February 18, 2016

Describe your band, telling a little about it.

Rock and Roll from the Ohio Valley. Basically just 3 dudes in their 30s playing music instead of playing golf. 

What are your names? / Who plays what?

Sean Decker - Guitar, Vocals

Ryan Sears - Bass, Vocals

Matt Klempa - Drums

Have members played with any other bands?

Sean- I played with several local punk/indie bands of yesteryear:  Five Minute Conspiracy, Horns to the Matador, Killed at Camp, Li'l Trucker, The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, The Minus Tide, Ultra Big Time.  More recently I played a couple of times with the local 80s tribute band The M-80s.  I have also played many solo acoustic sets around the area.  

Ryan - played with The Mundames, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Sean and I were also in FeverDog together  (A band that started as a goof, but turned into an experience.)

Matt - MFP is actually my first official foray into the local music scene.

Do you write your own music or perform covers?  Has it always been this way?  We perform mostly originals with a couple of covers thrown in for fun. With the exception of the M80s, we collectively have performed exclusively with groups that perform original music. 

What year did the band form? 

Sean - The band formed sometime before 2010 with me and a different drummer and bass player. This line up really just got together in 2015. 

Where is bands home?

Sean - Matt and I live in Wheeling, but we rehearse at Ryan's house in Martins Ferry

What's your style of genre?

Indie/Alternative/Punk/Neo-New Wave etc. (whatever) Rock and Roll!

What inspires your music?  Science Fiction and 80s New Wave, 90s Indie/Punk/"Grunge"

How often do you rehearse?  Whenever we can.

What gear do you guys use?

Sean - I play a modified MIM Fender Telecaster with A Seymour Duncan Hot Stack in the bridge and Vintage Stack in the neck.  I have always played through a 1968 Fender Super Reverb amp with a bunch of effects pedals.  However, I am essentially retiring it and will not be taking it out to shows anymore (trying to preserve its value).  I just bought a brand new Vox VT100x combo amp.  It's way different, but it's cool. 

Ryan - Ibanez bass.  SWR cab with a Peavey Head. Billy Sheehan Bass OD. 

Matt - For gigs I use a Gretsch Catalina Rock with a 24 inch bass drum, 14 inch mounted tom and a 16 inch floor tom. I also use a snare drum from an old Ludwig Rocker set. My cymbals are all different makes, but I tend to stick to the hi-hat, ride, and two crash combination.

Do you utilize a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that?  No, we don't use a booking agency.  We've never even tried.  We've always played in DIY bands.  Also, we're not trying to tour the country, so a booking agent seems a little much for our situation. 

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that?  Label? Uhhh. If anyone wants to sign us and put out our music, they'll probably have to contact us. We're really just out to have some fun and be creative.

What are your songs about?  Humans and the crazy shit they do. 

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics?

Sean has done the lion's share of the writing. The whole impetus for the band was to fully realize some tunes I had.  The more we play together, the more we write together. 

Do you start with the music or the lyrics?  Music. Lyrics are written to serve the melody and their meaning is usually divined after they are written. 

Do you compose in a certain enviroment?

Sean - At my house in my music room.  Sometimes things get written during rehearsals. 

Have you done any covers live?  Our favorite cover to do is "Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money. We also have performed "Modern Love" by David Bowie.  We are actually developing an all 80s set to be played at possible event in the summer for Wheeling Jaycees. 

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs?  The least number of people we have ever performed for would probably be in the single digits. The most this band has ever played to had probably been about 60 or so. 

What ages are most of your concert attendants?  MFP is really music for children from ages 3 to 93, but usually we play for 25-60 year olds. 

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary?  Depends on how much time we need to fill. We've played anywhere from a 1/2 hour to 2 hours. 

Do you have a regular place you play live often? No. It's a constant struggle to find gigs around the area if you're in a band that plays mostly original songs. 

What was your first gig like?  As far as this line-up goes,  It was pretty good.  It was a fundraiser on the outdoor stage at Generation's. 

What was your latest gig?  3rd Fridays at the Artworks in Centre Market in Wheeling. It was awesome. 

Have you had to cancel a gig?  No. 

Where have you played live this year?  3rd Fridays

Where do you plan to gig the coming year?  Maybe at Down on Main Street. The Summer Solstice Festival in Wheeling. The Wheeling Arts and Multicultural Festival. We'll play wherever. In fact by the time this comes out we will have probably already participated in a battle of the bands up at California University of Pennsylvania.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale?  MFP has one recording. It can be found at https://sdeckermrfancypants.bandcamp.com/album/so-you-think-you-can-pants. It features me and former members of the group. People can have it for free or donate/name their price.  No other merchandise yet. 

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?     

Eh. It is what it is. 

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this?  I don't know. It definitely makes those old biopics and fictional movies about rock bands sending in their audition tapes to the record company and getting their big break seem a little dated. I think it actually has democratized some aspects of the music industry, more so than the old system of depending on corporate labels. Indie labels are of course indie labels and do what indie labels do, which is typically pretty good stuff. Bands that are really good and innovative can still make their mark on the world. Major labels will still put style over substance when it comes to promotion, distribution, and overall amount of money spent on artists. Streaming music sites have already replaced record label execs as "the man" making way more off the artists than the artist is making. Teenagers will still determine who will be famous and who will not be famous in the rock/pop world. It's  like any other medium. The notion of reading and writing books, essays, etc. has not changed much since the inception of the printing press, but HOW a book is written, published, marketed, and consumed has definitely "evolved". 

Do you have any role models or idols?

Sean - Musically - You name some legendary New Wave artist and I'll probably say "yes". And of coursestandard rock greats--Beatles, Zeppelin, Nirvana, etc.  Other inspirations: Anyone who's ever done anything that has changed my perception of humanity and/or reality. 

Ryan - Geddy Lee, Kendra Morris, pretty much anyone with a beak. (nose)

Matt- I really want to say The Beatles or The Clash or Talking Heads. which is all very true because I do look up to them, but I think when I was younger the band that made me want to be in a band and play music more than anything was The Beastie Boys.  I also think I didn't really appreciate playing the drums until my dad showed me The Last Waltz and I saw Levon Helm.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today?

Sean - There are some amazing bands today like Beach House, Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses. But yes, the biggest piece of my musical heart is voluntarily stuck in the past. 

Ryan - Both.  Despite what some believe, there are good bands around today.

Matt - I don't think one is any easier than the other. I'm probably just as inspired by drummers like Glen Kotche from Wilco or Janet Weiss from Sleater Kinney as I am by John Bonham or Keith Moon. Anytime I see a band perform and that performance is amazing, it kind of makes me want to go and start playing.   

What have been your biggest obstacles? Getting a second guitarist we'd like to work with or a keyboard player. It's been such an obstacle that it still hasn't actually happened. But, we're not letting that get in the way of playing. This band is something that is meant to be fun. We're not sacrificing the fun for anything. 

What advice would you give other bands or artists?

Sean - If you're young, get out there and go for it. If you're old, have fun and never pay to play. 

Ryan - Have at it.  Do it already.

How do you get psyched for a gig?

Sean - Couple of beers

Ryan - Shower, panic, second shower, second panic, rock out.

Matt - Before a gig I am almost always on edge. I'm generally more focused on calming my nerves and making sure that I have everything, I'm on time, and that I've actually eaten, which is usually something I forget to do. 

Do you have any new material?  Yes. We are recording a new album right now. 

What are your web sites? See the Bandcamp site above and check out facebook.com/pantsthenightaway

How can people reach you?  They can't!  We're too broken on the inside! 

No seriously, just check our Facebook, use messenger if you want to get a hold of me.  I am literally always on my phone. You can listen to us on Reverbnation or Bandcamp. Just use the google and you'll find us. The future is now!

What are your plans for the future?  Keep on keepin' on until we can't. 

What is one thing even your biggest fans don't know about the band?

Sean - Our moms and dads know us better than we know ourselves; and, they are our biggest fans. So, nothing. 

Ryan - Sean wears a toupee.  Matt refuses to wear pants, despite the band name.

Do you have something to add?  We'd love to ADD more fans to our base, so go check us out on internets. 

"I used to be disgusted; now I try to be amused" -Elvis Costello