The Peeps are originally from Newburgh, not Albany, but who cares since it’s close enough to anyone from LI, NYC or oustide of New York.
They’re the boys from Newburgh. The band wears their influences on their sleeve– The Clash being a major one– and why not? It’s the Clash! They’re a band that after the show, and what a damn good show, is looking for the after party if they aren’t hosting it themselves. By the end of the night, you’ll know Byron, Jonny, Adrian and Teddy.
If you’re still sober.
I got to know the Peeps roughly around Fall 2005, encountering Jonny first (as mentioned in the Caleb Lionheart post) and eventually the rest of the band my freshman year in college. I already thought that Jonny was a pretty cool guy, so when he said the band he was playing in was in Albany, I figured why not?
And it awesome.
I mean this is what the band is like on a regular basis:
I don’t remember which show it was, perhaps the one on campus with Cordero and Importante.
Not only did the guys play a good show, they had shirts and buttons ready to buy. These guys were prepared, and I was impressed. (Fun fact: Byron and Teddy are both talented graphic designers. There’s a reason I still have the band’s t-shirts.)
Some time later on, I got a copy of their first album: No Chochas, Just Warriors. (You look it up what chochas means), It’s pretty much 18– no frills– punk rock songs. You have the opening “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Wasted” and the closing song “I Wanna Be a Peep” all greats songs that always had the audience singing/shouting along. Honestly, a lot of the songs on the albums are great.
I would talk about the first album more, but it’s like talking about the Beatles with Pete Best in the band. The Peeps’ original guitarist Lechuza and the band went their separate ways over artistic differences. If you ever able find a copy of No Chochas, 1) save it, because these guys will be big and 2) you’ll be able to tell the difference between Lechuza-era and Teddy-era Peeps.
(There’s a brief period where the band was a trio working on the No Good Kids- EP, such as St. Rose’s Rose Rock 2008, see left.)
Three years after the previous LP, with the No Good Kids in between, The Peeps came out with Para Todas las Noches! (or For All the Nights) and you can hear how the sound has changed. While their first album is something to be proud of, the sound is a lot cleaner and the choice to have Byron on lead vocals was something that the band probably needed to do. Where as the previous album was full of rapid fire songs, most of which don’t hit past the three or four minute mark (in true punk fashion), you can tell the band took time to construct each song. Don’t worry, the band getting older hasn’t softened their edges.
Para Todas las Noches! kicks right off with “Nocturnal,” a song where the speaker explains that he only really lives at night, as in that’s he not going to be around for any real relationship. “Murder on Broadway” continues on with the speaker explaining how he ended up dead. In “Lucia,” the title character, falls for the speaker not realizing he thought they were a one-night-stand. The Spanish guitar throughout is a nice touch that doesn’t seem out of place, and similar flourishes interwoven throught out the L.P., which should serve as no suprise for a band that calls themselves salsa-punk.
There’s really three things being talked about on in the album: Girls, partying and being on the run, the last being hinted vaguely or through metaphor. The next song, “Count Me Out” is a good example, a song about the end of relationship using the end of a battle as conceit. The band also tends to tell stories some definite fiction and some that have probably happened. The bluring between the lines gives the album something of an urban myth/story collection quality to it.
The next two songs serve as sort of an interlude for the album. “Musketeers II” has the Peeps telling a story of guy on the run from the police and the lovestruck girl who follows after. The end of the song, you can see some of the band’s humor as they added a clip of Jonny, sped-up, saying:
Why ruin a party? Why do it? Why do you have to be the dude that goes to far? Why?
Which, I swear to god, I’ve heard him say a party in Albany before. It’s one of the little things the band gives the people who’ve been with them awhile. Following up is “Stubborn Few,” an acoustic number about letting yourself be vulnerable.
The album charges right back up with “So You Want to Know Who…” which has the speaker on the run again, captured and then giving up names. The end of the songs is a definite homage to The Clash’s “Police on My Back.” “Farewell” has the speaker leaving town to pursue better things. “Money Makers” has Adrian on lead vocals, a story about lost money and the problems that come with it.
The last three songs help the album close out with some high energy. “Young Guns” spells out the bands’ attitude: Live fast, die young. “Good Night,” the purposely ironic titled song details a night gone bad. After a cell phone jingle and Adrian saying “Ui Mompis!” (a trademark phrase) “Final Chapters” begins. The song is all about the band, what being in the band has meant for the members, as friends and how they’ll never stop.
And they haven’t.
The band is already working on more music. They also plan on releasing the Last Cavaliers - EP sometime this year featuring the single ”The Sun” (video below).
And after Tuesday’s show in Brooklyn (Tomorrow @ Club Europa), the band is heading for Colombia on tour.
Like most good punk bands, describing the music helps you to understand a bit about the band, but live shows are where you get to know band really. Between the banter amongst themselves, the interaction with the crowd and parties that always happen after it’s obvious The Peeps are a band you follow if you like having fun.
Ui Mompies, It’s
The Peeps!
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