TIGERCITY
Interview by Shara Sprecher
Images by Ebru Yildiz
It was a chilly Sunday in the fall when ‘Sup met up with four guys in a sandy, beach-themed eatery. Those four guys happened to be Bill Gillim, Joel Ford, Aynsley Powell, and Andrew Brad – also known as Tigercity. We were meeting up to eat and chat about what’s new with them, but we’ll get to that in a sec. The band started in Massachusetts in 2004 by Bill and Joel. A few short months later, they met Andres and Ansyley, which completed Tigercity as the suave band we know and love today.
Perhaps Tigercity isn’t already rotating around in your iPod playlist? If that is the case, then you probably aren’t aware of their modern day soft-rock sound – but they do it in a totally awesome and non-ironic way. Citing influences that range from The Police and Prince to Roxy Music and Daft Punk, Tigercity has created a fresh take on soft rock that can fit in just as well next to LCD Soundsystem as, say, Michael McDonald.
They have an EP out called Pretend Not to Love, which boasts six tracks and four white horses galloping in the waters of a beach on its cover – smooth indeed. The songs encased in that EP are just as evocative as those beachy stallions: easy synths dancing with subtle power pop riffs, bouncing bass lines, and harmonious vocals will take the listener back to a time of school dances and the first insurgence of legwarmers (but without all that awkward stuff like acne and shoulder pads).
Tigercity didn’t plan for their music to be a part of a musical movement, but lucky for them, while they were busy touring and recording, people simultaneously seem to have been unearthing their old records and looking back to that specific niche era of late-‘70s, early-‘80s music now known as yacht rock – which has become so popular it was chronicled in a Channel 101 series. Whether it was something that was in the ether waiting for many to pick up on or not, Tigercity are now at the forefront of this new surge of modern day savvy rockers and we are all A-OK with it.
So you guys are Tigercity.
All: Yeah…
[Pointing to Joel’s white tiger T-shirt] So do you always wear tigers?
All: [Laughs] No!
Joel: I only had one shirt that like, didn’t smell.
Bill: My suit smells, though.
How long have you guys been a band?
Bill: About two years.
Joel: It’ll be two years in January.
Bill: We were pretty much all in different bands before this one.
Were the sounds similar?
Bill: Nah, they were kind of all over the place. I was in this band that sounded like an old German psychedelic band, and the all of a sudden started sounding like Fugazi.
Joel: Before this band I played drums in a rock band that was just synthesizers and singers, and before that, mostly funk bands.
Andrew: I was most in funk fusion stuff too. Joel and I were in this band together for like three months.
Joel: When was that, like early college?
Andrew: It was like 2000, 2001. It was called The Uplift Ensemble. [Laughs] I dare you to find that, somewhere.
You guys totally have a soft-rock vibe now.
Bill [appalled]: What?
Joel: No!
Andrew: That’s embarrassing. [Laughs]
Bill: Maybe.
Then, how would you describe your sound?
Joel: Adult Contemporary.
Aynsley: If our moms like it, then we know it’s good! It’s called “The Mom Test”.
And what does “The Mom Test” entail?
Aynsley: You know, she’s in the minivan, driving the kids to school, and if she does that little subtle head bop/finger snap—not exactly singing to herself, but like, mouthing the words—then you’ve got it [laughs].
A lot of other bands have a soft-rock, adult contemporary vibe to them right now. Do you feel any relation to bands like that?
Bill: Not really.
Andrew: Which bands?
You know, like Hot Chip, Junior Boys, Chromeo, Sans Serac. My friends have a party called Yacht Rock where they only play ‘70s and ‘80s soft rock hits. Then of course there are the Yacht Rock sketches. There’s definitely a resurgence.
Bill: Honestly, we discovered Yacht Rock way after we had formed. I think movements like that happen all the time, where people all happen onto the same thing at once.
Aynsley: People needed a label for it, so the Yacht Rock guys sort of capitalized on that, like ‘Yeah, this is hip!’ Meanwhile we were holed up in our practice space doing our thing, to be honest. It happened separately, you know?
Bill: Probably, we all just started listening to the same music from 20 years ago, so we all suddenly have the same influences.
What ‘80s teen movie do you think your music would score the best?
Bill: Um, what’s the one where Mickey Rourke fucks the really young girl?
All: [Laughs]
Bill: 9 ½ Weeks. I don’t know if it’s a teen movie, but I’ll go with that one!
Joel: We were talking about scoring Shooter, that movie that Marky Mark was in.
Andrew: Shooter 2!
Bill: We’ll do any inane action movie.
How funny is it that Marky Mark is now like a relevant superstar?
Joel: He’s super legit!
[Singing] ‘Feel it, feel it!’
All: [Laughs]
Andrew: That was relevant when it happened!
Joel: It was totally relevant! He’s never been irrelevant!