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Making their own scene across the Southeast.
Greensboro - For Keith Allen, blaming “the scene” for a bad show is a little like blaming the refs for a bad loss. In life, basketball, and music, lack of preparation leads only to ugly results.
The Mantras know all about “the scene.” Each city and every small town has it’s own “scene.” Outsiders talk about the “scene” in Asheville, and at least one journalist who reviewed the band's Dharland album lamented the lack of “scene” in Allen’s band’s hometown of Greensboro. The Mantras have played them all.
“When people go to a place and don’t do well, they have a tendency to say that the scene sucks, when in reality they don’t know who to get with,” Allen told Magazine33. “I think every town has a scene, you just have to find it.”
“Everywhere in North Carolina is tough.”
The Mantras have been touring the state for over five years, and there wasn’t a single town that threw them a parade as their tour vehicle rolled across the city limits.
“People are very interested in doing what they’re friends are doing,” Allen said during a phone call. “If you can figure out the people that are involved with the scene than it’s easier, but it just takes time.”
That's the glorious life a touring rock band. You try to mix in moments of brilliance, but mostly you just keep your head down for long stretches of time and plow pavement, hoping that when you next look up you’ll be a little further along. The Mantras’ footprint has swelled like grandpa's belly at Easter dinner. Over time they've gotten a little bigger, and then a little bigger, and then a little bigger…
In 2011, they got physically bigger with the addition of keyboard player Justin Powell. The now six-piece project could fall into the jam band genre if their sound wasn't so organized. The Mantras describe themselves as “southern rock meets eastern fusion.”
Allen and bassist Brian Tyndall hold music degrees from UNC Greensboro. The rest of the band is self-taught and capable of slipping into any style at a moment’s notice. Bobby Brown, Iron Maiden and classical music are all possible during live shows, like their set at the Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh.
As veterans of the North Carolina music scene, the Mantras could probably teach a course on navigating the local industry. These days booking agents sniff out slimy club owners before they sign a contract. "That’s one way to know you’re in trouble," Allen said.
“If people aren’t used to working with contracts, that’s usually a good sign that they don’t know what they’re doing.”
The Blind Tiger in Greensboro is the band’s home bar, although they play 15-20 shows during a good month, traveling across the state and through the south and east.
The core of the band met UNC Greensboro. Originally, they were Marcus and the Mantras, after guitarist Marcus Horth, but they unified in 2005. Immediately, each member found a new sense of belonging and commitment. There have been a couple of different drummers over the years, but the core of the band has stayed together. Allen credits this to how they select bandmates.
“It has so much more to do with personality than musicality actually,” Allen said. “You can be the best drummer in the world, but if you’re a dick, then nobody wants to work with you. And that’s something they told me in music school that really rang true with me for a long time.”
Allen concedes that while he’s very proud of the recorded music, the live show is where they’re best. Like many jam bands, the Mantras are sensitive to a crowd. When it’s a good audience, it can be a great show.
“There is something that happens when you see a live band that you just can't get off of a CD, you know? An energy that’s there with the crowd that you can’t really replicate.”
“I’ve been at shows that I thought were incredible and then listened back to them, and the band may have been playing a little sloppy or whatever, but the crowd was just so into it that they took everybody there with them.”
Look for the Mantras at outdoor music festivals across North Carolina this summer. For a complete list of tour dates, visit TheMantras.com.
Comments(2):
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Justin W. Powell of The Mantras has a music degree.
Saturday, July 02, 2011 Justin
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Justin W. Powell of The Mantras has a music degree.
Saturday, July 02, 2011 Justin
