They got a little bit O’Country and a whole hell of a lot of Rock ‘N’ Roll. It’s music deeply rooted in the bands who influenced them the most. A young Rolling Stones with a new edge capturing the 1960’s british rock sound. Heavy drums, griddy guitar licks and tantalizing harmonies Tab the Band is holding strong with their grass roots sound. If you are an indie music connoisseur this band should be on your main menu of bands to watch for 2013. “My brother and I came together in 2007. We have never been in bands together. He grew up on the west coast going to colleges out there and he would come into visit. I started to get music we liked together and I would start to write songs and record demos including a few joke rap songs. I knew these two guys for a while (Drummer and Bass) and they came into do a session. We wrote a few songs and then decided to play our first show the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA.” Explains Brother Tony.
Tab the Band comprises Tony Perry on guitar, brother Adrian Perry rocks it out on Bass and Vocals. Ben Tileston racks it up on the drums and Louie Jannetty sums up the band on guitar. Their first performance at the Middle East has been the setting for some of the best bands to date including international sensations Mumford and Sons. Tab the band brings a raw and high octane driven performance. Very different from the low key persona they contain backstage. Their music is catchy with sharp hooks and better yet triggers the mind of days long gone. They are original and very unique to the music block and with only three albums completed to date they have a real opportunity to make something of their music career. Tab is a collaboration between two brothers Tony and Adrian Perry. The indie distributed group is currently touring throughout New England and recently supported Jane’s Addiction on the New England leg of their 2012 tour.
“Eight months from our initial collaboration as a band we were invited to open for Stone Temple Pilots and later for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The band’s popularity is growing through word of mouth to people we know and online through the social networking outlets of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Songify.
Being an independent band is a toss up really. The labels still have power in marketing and promotions for bands as well as booking bands into the bigger venues and on tours with big name acts. Being an independent has its challenges and in order to succeed you have to put in more time, more energy, and more effort in order to make a name for yourself as a band. Even getting on the radio has its challenges but having the internet has opened outlets and opportunities for young bands to be discovered and have more control on their direction. We really are a self sustaining band at this point and each member has specific roles outside of the instruments we play.” Brother Adrian states.
Adrian’s background in law gives him a unique edge ahead of most bands who have to lawyer up for protection on rights and protection of their intellectual properties. His ability to understand sync licensing and having control of the publishing and masters of the bands music is key when the band pursues music placement into film, TV and even in games. The money incurred aids the young indie group to travel, to generate merchandise to sell at their shows, create the promos to share online with our fans. Success in music placements and licensing include HBO’s Entourage, MLB 2K11 video game, MTV’s Jersey Shore, and great additional exposure with appearances TV and radio shows such as Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius Radio and Matt Pinfield’s The Rock Show on 101.9 RXP in NYC.
Adrian gives insight to the indie lifestyle from the band’s perspective. “The internet is the great equalizer to the label. To cut through the label’s established reputation and presence is extremely difficult. The relevance of the label is that the label can push a band through on the marketing front with their people and financial support. There are a number of bands that have been able to burst through without a label. Even in our case with North Street Records the deal we have is strictly a distribution deal with our friend Chris Howerton. The label is tied to The Orchard which is directly linked to iTunes and other online music providers.”
Tony chimes in and adds to the conversation. “Right now we are releasing free music recordings to connect with our fans. They love free music and we want to give them that along with the best live performances we can bring to any stage. Getting sync licensing for our music is key and helps us to create merch to sell at our shows and to help us record our music. We even have one song in a video game for MLB. I poke fun at that fact on stage but we want to get more placement opportunities. We are releasing cover songs each month that we rerecord just to keep in touch with our fans and to release something to share for free with the fans as well and they are here tonight. This is our second performance at Terminal 5 and our second night opening for Jane’s Addiction. The fans have been awesome and the energy is on high octane and the fans are bringing the same energy to us.”
Having Joe Perry as their father is described as a double edge sword. It definitely helps to have their music heard by certain people but the music still has to be good. If their music didn’t have the professional value that it has they wouldn’t be opening for the groups that we are opening up for.
“Perry Farrell heard our band play a few years ago and he connected us to the Lollapalooza Festival. We did well and I think our performance stuck in his mind when he was seeking an opening band for this year’s Jane’s Addiction tour on the East Coast.” Tony reveals backstage before opening the night as the support act of the evening. “This is a clear case that our reputation as music artists supersede our relationship to our father. Honestly our father having the success he has had and continues to develop can almost be a curse for us when our music is being previewed. Some people may be disinclined listen to our music or they will listen in a certain way to compare us to him.”
Not every show is club based. Tab the Band has been involved greatly on the festival network. “We’ve done Lollapalooza, Mountain Jam, SXSW, and CMJ among other live events. Our involvement in music festivals is whatever we can get without an agent. It’s like gaining a position in an opening slot to open for a band. If we can get in front of the person who makes the consideration for festival slots each time we submit our music we would play every festival offered. We just want to play, have fun, and connect with as many music fans as possible. It’s the best way for a new band to gain exposure. The music festivals are a feast for hungry music fans who desire new music and are tired of the garbage on the radio. What can we get, the short answer is we’ve done a few but we want to play more.”
Tab the Band can be heard over a number of internet outlets conveniently on your iPhone, iPad, or other smart-ish device. “We are on spotify and everything digital such as Pandora. We are expanding ourselves through social networking in all areas and constantly seeking new homes to place our music into. We’ve even promoted ourselves through bandcamp. Our sites are set on completing our latest music video and we are finding our popularity is coming through as we approach the finishing touches. The video will be another big launch for us to connect with our fans and to dig ourselves deeper into the music industry.”
Tab the Band took control quickly grabbing the attention and focus of a very tough New York crowd. Their performance turned out to be enormous for the concert goers cramed into Terminal 5 that evening. “I don’t know who these guys are but DAMN I dig their sound. I usually don’t show up for an “opening act” but these guys were great. I’d like to see them again on their own.” Exclaimed Sean from Jersey City, NJ. Kristen, a student at Emerson College in Boston attended the Jane’s Addiction show and testified to the talent that opened the night. “I have been following Tab the Band for a over a year now and caught them in Boston before this show. They have great stage presence and they just seem to have fun. I miss that about bands. The members interact with each other and that connection gets lost when the bands get more popular and members come and go. You lose the core and the band is never the same. Tab seems solid and I hope they stick it out.”
Tab the Band music is readily available on iTunes for sale. Pitch in and help support indie music. Visit their facebook page for all the latest news and touring updates. Download their music freely and often while helping them continue their climb up the indie music charts.
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