Q&A: ‘Townies’ eye future in LA
Photo by Samuel Bendix
Whether they intended to or not, the musicians behind the punk band, Townies, chose an ironic name for themselves.
They’re not “townies.”
Drummer Nolan Meila has moved away from home, to Los Angeles. Bassist Chris Magnani plans to join him soon. Vocalist and Guitarist Tom Lynch, meanwhile, has moved to New Orleans to attend college. Going forward, though, he too wants to move to LA.
“Hopefully we’ll be linking up on the West Coast but it’s hard to tell,” Lynch said.
Ironic, goofy and loud, Townies has dropped four singles and an EP since 2018, intermittently convening in studios and practice spaces here in Central Massachusetts to write and record music.
Delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, their latest such reunion brought the trio back from their college towns and into the Five By Two studio for a live session and a brief conversation…
Dakota Antelman - Five By Two Music Journalist: You wrap up your debut EP with a song entitled “Joe Flacco.” But you’re a New England Band. Why name that song after a Baltimore Ravens quarterback?
Photo by Sam Bendix
Tom Lynch – Townies Vocalist, Guitarist: If you’re in a band, you sometimes come up with a new song on voice memos and you need a name for it. I just named one of them “Joe Flacco is Not an Elite Quarterback.” We just kind of rolled with it and eventually shortened it to “Joe Flacco.” So now we have a fake love for him. It’s sad to see him on the Jets, though, because we don’t like the Jets.
DA: Take me through your gear setup here. How do you get your sound?
TL: I am the least educated gear person you probably will ever see in this studio. I just turn [my amp] on and click through until its really distorted, I don’t know what I’m doing…It was a terrible investment.
DA: You’re a punk band but you’ve also certainly evolved in sound over the course of your releases. Who are your major influences?
Nolan Meila – Townies Drummer: We have our own individual influences but big, band wide influences are groups like Title Fight, Taking Back Sunday. Tom is a big Brand New fan. Chris is more of a funk guy. He’s rooted in Herbie Hancock…Marvin Gaye.
***
The Townies’s recorded studio set with Five By Two Records will be part of our upcoming livestream, available just by visiting this site on July 26. We will also be featuring additional Q&A articles on other local bands in the coming weeks and months, as well, as we conduct future livestreams.