Matt O'Connor, Front Page Medford Transcript Online 1/27/05

http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=171309 Home > Medford Transcript > Arts & Lifestyle Band debuts while lead singer moves By Joe Viglione/ Correspondent Thursday, January 27, 2005 A debut performance of the band "Slop" at an established Cambridge hotspot, the All Asia Bar in Central Square, proved to be lead singer/vocalist Matt O'Connor's final show as a resident of Medford. The local landscaper who is also a singer/songwriter is moving outside the Worcester area, but will continue performing with the Boston based Slop. The all-ages show on Dec. 11 contained an interesting blend of originals and music by some of the group's heroes, from Jimi Hendrix to Bob Marley, and what they lacked in proficiency this new group certainly made up for with heart. Belmont's Pierre Ratzki is lead and rhythm guitarist for Slop with his friend Joey Jebari handling the bass guitar. They met O'Connor on Sept. 18, 2004 at a festival in Boston where O'Connor performed solo to approximately 200 people. Slop formed shortly after that meeting when O'Connor emerged from the recording studio at the end of summer 2004, putting to tape music by his friend from Los Angeles, the late Greg Zera. O'Connor's travels have taken him from Worcester to Woburn to Spokane, Wash., eventually leading him to Los Angeles. He became friends with Chris Poland of the group Megadeth and taped an interview with Poland for his TV show, The Rehearsal Space, when Poland played Johnny Ds in Somerville. When Zera tragically passed away in Los Angeles, O'Connor made it a mission to get some of his musician friends songs put to tape. O'Connor moved to Medford in January of 2004, where he worked for a local landscaper and found musicians to help him bring the new music to life. The Deal, another band which recently exited the city, loaned their drummer, Peter Kelly, to the sessions. After the recordings O'Connor began looking for people to play with on a more regular basis. Encountering Jebari and Ratzki at the festival led to a quick friendship and thus "Slop" was born, an old school blues sound fused with hard rock that began by playing a mixture of songs composed by O'Connor with instrumentals from Joey, Pierre and an earlier drummer. A bassline from Jebari led to "The Slop Anthem" when O'Connor and Ratzki put additional music to it. O'Connor added lyrics later. Drummer Jake Staley came on board after being introduced to O'Connor through a friend from college. Staley is a sophomore at Berklee College of Music majoring in Contemporary Writing and Production. His solid beats keep the Slop boys organized. Staley takes private lessons from Casey Scheurell and cites Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and session musician Vinnie Colaiuta as his influences. Born in Silver Springs, Md., the 19-year-old Staley now hails from Toledo, Ohio, though the pull of Berklee College brought him to New England and this unique and creative quartet. Joey Jebari is a self-taught musician who hooked up with Ratzki at Belmont High School around April of 2003. His musical tastes range from blues to jazz to 60s rock and indie music to techno. Born in Cambridge, the Jebari family moved to Morocco from 1988 to 1995. They returned to Massachusetts setting up residence in Belmont. Joey has owned his bass since 2000 and joined a local pop band with other Belmont High musicians James Green and Geoff Wright. That group, Suburban Legends, performed at the 2004 Belmont Talent Show at Belmont High Auditorium. The final gig with "Suburban Legends" was on May 19, a celebration for the passing of the same-sex marriage bill. At that event Jebari jammed in public for the first time with Pierre Ratzki. Ratzki commented on his friend's skills: "Joey's basslines often become the backbone for songs, and if I introduce a song I've written, I know that his bassline will complement the guitar perfectly. We feel very comfortable playing together, and I don't think either of us would have as much fun in a band without a good friendship, which is what we have." The guitarist went on to explain the composition of their own material: "The way we write originals, there's no set method. Joey will start with a bassline, and I'll come up with a guitar part, and Matt will do something over that, while Jake brings it all together, etc. But it could start with any of us, and most of the originals we will be playing at (upcoming shows) were created on the spot like that, and refined later. We just jam a lot in practice, which helps fuse a band and make them communicate well together. You can't just throw four guys together and expect them to be tight on the first song, you have to jam first. Plus, jamming is awesome. So far, Matt has written all of the lyrics, but I hear that Jake has a bunch of originals he will soon be introducing to the band." The show at the All Asia is the first since Ratzki's return from a trip to Paris, France, where he has relatives. And for such a young group of - - O'Connor in his 30s, Jebari, Ratzki and Staley in their late teens, it is amazing the amount of traveling they have all done, Morocco, Paris and Los Angeles contacts can only help the group in obtaining some kind of tour schedule or CD release outside of the Massachusetts area. Ratzki commented on the importance of the band's newest member, drummer Jake Staley: "Jake is the key ingredient to the band, because he is sort of like the director. He brings the songs up or breaks them down, and has complete control over dynamics. Without him, we sound thin and lacking. It's humbling to play with someone from Berklee, especially someone with as much musical talent as Jake. He can play faster and louder than any drummer I have ever heard, but he can also play soft and jazzy." Prior to the formation of the band lead singer O'Connor, the group's most veteran member, found himself on the Cambridge Central Square music circuit, performing solo at the All Asia Bar, The Zeitgeist Gallery as well as the Cantab. The decade before he found himself in both the Seattle and L.A. music scenes, ultimately recording a two song tape on 24 track tape resulting in the tunes "Errand Boy" and "The Barking Dog Band." When he returned to the Boston area, landing on Garfield Avenue in Medford, he began hosting a television program, The Rehearsal Space, which featured interviews with The Supersuckers, Audrey Ryan Band, former Medford residents Pat O'Hara and his group "The Deal" and Chris Poland of Megadeath. Where Slop will go in the music industry is anyone's guess, Pierre Ratzki hoping the band will continue to be part of the Boston Music scene, "...especially during the summers. If we could get a record deal, sign me up, but right now its just about jamming and having a good time."