Photo by Jenna Aguilera
I walked up to the white tent where Andy Grammer and the Plain White T’s were getting ready to play for the Waves Weekend concert Saturday night.
“She’s with the band,” shouted a student volunteer to another student wearing an orange Waves Weekend T-shirt. Kind of, not really. Before I could explain who I was or even what I was doing there, I was thrust backstage to interview Andy Grammer and the Plain White T’s — basically the music of my childhood.
There I was, standing on the green grass of Alumni Park, wishing I wore sneakers instead of velvet cat-shaped shoes and pleather leggings. I thought it would be a bright idea to show up early — 30 minutes was too early.
I stood sweating mightily next to Andy Grammer, deciding whether or not I should put my prescription sunglasses on or not, but ultimately deciding not to because I didn’t want to publicly unpack my suitcase of a bag.
So I stood there eavesdropping on Grammer, who talked about how much he loves his dog to two other people who I don’t know until he finally looked at me. He slightly cocked his head and appeared confused. I extended my hand and introduced myself while simultaneously knocking my own cellphone out of my hand. He didn’t seem to notice.
Where we would hold the interview (as it was a bit loud due to the Plain White T’s sound checking and practicing) was a struggle to figure out. We decided on the white tent complete with a table and two brown wicker benches with red cushions.
Verses of different songs were sung, guitars tuned and microphones tested. Grammer plopped down on the couch and said, “This is kinda bad***. Let’s do it.”
Grammer was back in his native state. He was born in Los Angeles, but grew up mostly in New York. He was born to Kathy Grammer and Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Red Grammer, who greatly influenced and helped his career.
“Being and growing up around a dad that did it helped a lot. There were no barriers,” Grammer said. At a young age, Grammer began playing the trumpet, then guitar and piano.
In 2011, Grammer released the self-titled album “Andy Grammer” with the hit single “Keep Your Head Up.” Grammer is aware that many of his songs have themes of optimism and hope and in a way “Keep Your Head Up” has itself become an anthem of inspiration.
“It all has been a pretty amazing and humbling experience,” Grammer said. “Especially when someone comes up to you and tells you that you helped save their life.”
The story he often tells on stage is about a girl who was about to drive off a bridge but didn’t because the song “Keep Your Head Up” came on the radio. Grammer drew back and slumped down in the couch a little bit while sharing.
Grammer’s voice lowered and got more mellow as he explained the reason why it has taken him so long to release a second album. Then, leaned in closer and increased the volume of his voice. “It took so long to put out something, because I wanted it to be truly special,” Grammer said. “I wrote about 100 different songs to get 11 on the album. So for every song, there’s about 9 that didn’t make it.”
It’s very fitting that Grammer’s tour is called “Back Home” as he returned to California before the tour that begins today. In fact, Grammer often performed on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.
“Performing on the Third Street Promenade was a good way to develop my career. I realized that I can’t have any ego out there. People won’t stop and listen. Otherwise, you better be giving them something good,” Grammer said as we said our goodbye. He hugged me, and I wished him luck.
Photos by Veronica Johnson
Plain White T’s: The Malibu Connection
I was surprised and a little startled when there was a rush of parents onto Alumni Field with blankets and chairs to greet the Plain White T’s as they took the stage. Parents knew many of the lyrics well from long car rides with their 12 and 13-year-old children who are now Waves.
Grammy-nominated band the Plain White T’s are just coming off a summer tour with the Goo Goo Dolls and Daughtry, and they are no strangers to Malibu.
Tom Higgenson, lead vocalist and guitar player, and Tim Lope, lead guitarist and backup vocalist, dressed in what Lopez described as a “Malibu grunge” look with a black beanie, navy button-down shirt and black leather jacket. Higgenson wore a black T-shirt (not a plain white T), a black zipped-up hoodie and later a leather jacket.
Texans and Chicago natives have adopted Malibu as a home away from home. In fact, Higgenson spent the first half of this year close to Point Dume or as he likes to describe it, “about a block away from the edge of the world.” The whole band — consisting of members Lopez, Dave Tirio (guitarist), Mike Retondo (bass guitar player) and De’Mar Hamilton (drummer) — joined Higgenson for about six weeks to record an album. Higgenson and Lopez joke that they did nothing but goof around and jam, and it wasn’t until they went back to Chicago that they recorded an album in about two weeks.
The Plain White T’s most recent EP “Should’ve Gone to Bed” was released on April 9, 2013 and features four songs. Their new album American Nights is set to release in the next few months.
“We’re stoked on ones we’re playing tonight — ‘American Nights’ and ‘Pause,’” Higgenson said. The crowd definitely agreed as they cheered and sang in unison with the band.
The Plain White T’s have six studio recorded albums and two Grammy nominations for their 2008 hit song “Hey There Delilah.” Most recently, however, they were seen performing for the troops in Italy.
“We did a full two weeks of shows for the troops,” Higgenson said. “We did a show on a ship in the middle of the Persian Gulf. It was a pretty amazing couple of weeks for us, to be able to give back to them because they’re doing so much for us, and it felt really great.”
They also filmed a Christmas episode of a television show called “Gigging and Grubbing,” which is hosted by Doug Frasure, during which the band got to eat some good food prepared by world-renowned chefs (but no turkey or ham for Higgenson because he’s a vegetarian).
While not eating or touring, the two like to listen to the radio. Lopez said he likes to listen to Hozier’s “Take me to Church,” and Higgenson is a fan of Pitbull’s new hit “Fireball.”
“I heard that Fireball song recently; that was really cool,” Higgenson said. “I liked that. It was almost too good. It was like not in a ‘Wow, I love it so much’ but just like ‘oh, God’ pulling all stops, and it’s just hook after hook. It’s awesome.” In Higgenson’s downtime, while not writing or touring with the Plain White T’s, he’s involved with a punk rock band called “That Lying B—-” with Plain White T ‘s member Dave Tirio and some friends back home in Chicago with whom they used to jam in high school. Higgenson’s face lit up as he explained how the new group originated.
“Basically one of our buddies was in a band with his girlfriend, and she totally just dumped him — like, ran off with the band’s manager basically — after dating for five years, almost getting married, all that kind of stuff,” Higgenson said. “He was heartbroken, so he wrote all of these punk rock breakup songs. And so we just started jammin’ with them, and it was fun, so we’re playing some shows.”
Their two songs “I’ve Been Doing Fun S—Without You” and “How am I Supposed to Hate You When I Love You” are available on iTunes and can be heard on YouTube.
A major theme of many of the Plain White T’s songs and albums is heartbreak and love. Higgenson and Lopez joke that they need relationship advice more than they can give it. Lopez has been in a relationship for a while now, but was down for a bit from his last one. Higgenson said he’s still recovering from his last one. He laughs at the fact that he’s offering advice about love.
“I think it’s all about just picking yourself back up and getting back out there and being able to love again with all your heart. That’s the key.”
Before a show, they said they often kick back and have a few drinks. Higgenson joked that because Pepperdine’s a dry campus, they wouldn’t be doing that. Instead, they just have to settle for some iced water and lemonade, he said as he rolled his eyes.
The Plain White T’s reached national success with their now favorite hit songs “Hey There Delilah,” “1, 2, 3, 4” and “Rhythm of Love.” One band that they would love to collaborate with is Magic!.
“We have one song on our album that’s kind of a little bit more reggae than we usually do, and I was thinking it would be real cool to get them on,” Higgenson said.
Before playing the song “Rhythm of Love” onstage, Lopez explained that the music video was filmed in Point Mugu. Higgenson chimed in, “I’ve always had a thing for Malibu in my heart.”
Indeed, and the Waves have a place in their hearts for the Plain White T’s.
The sun slowly went down as they started to perform, and an eager fan in the front row said she remembers listening to them in seventh grade and is glad to see that they’re still going strong.
The Plain White T’s performed their hit song “Our Time Now.” The chorus of the song is “This is the dance for all the lovers, Takin’ a chance for one another, Finally it’s our time now.”
Judging from the eager smiles and cheerful sways of the audience, those lyrics ring loudly for the Plain White T’s. The stage is theirs.
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Follow Veronica Johnson on Twitter: @veronajohn36
