Mornin’ Old Sport were once Allston sweethearts, but broke for the west coast about a year ago. Since then they’ve been busy, releasing a self-titled full length and touring the States. The former Berklee babies put their rich musical prowess to work on the record, collecting a vast assortment of styles and influences, from jazz to folk and everything in between. Mornin’ Old Sport is a vocal delight that could please anyone from a regular at O’Brien’s to your Ma and Pa. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from them, however, so we figured we would catch up with MOS’ Kate Smeal and Scott Nanos. Be sure to check out their album, and watch out next time they’re back in town.
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Allston Pudding: It’s been a year or so since you guys moved out of Boston. What’s the best thing and the worst thing to come from the relocation?
Scott: The best thing about relocation is all of the places yet to be discovered. The worst thing about relocation is all of the future friends that have yet to be discovered.
Kate: The move from Boston to Colorado to Oakland was scary, to be honest. We had no idea what the fuck would happen and were just hoping for the best. The worst part has been being away from our Allston family. We miss the people that not only encouraged us to develop our sound, but backed us up no matter how “weird” we got. Moving to Oakland has really taken us out of our comfort zone and has forced us to get our name out there as much as possible. The city is filled with incredible artists and it’s been inspiring for us, giving us transformative songwriting initiative. The best part of the relocation has been the unavoidable inspiration we’ve gotten and meeting George Corona, our PR rep from Terrorbird Media. That d00d has been the most supporting member of our Oakland family thus far and we can’t thank him enough for all the love he’s thrown our way.
What’s the reception been like to the album you guys released last year? It’s pretty versatile genre-wise, but is there a particular audience it seems to be reaching?
Scott: The reception has been fairly favorable, especially on tour, but I think our weird mixing of genres heavily affects the congruity of our audiences. Even so, we’ve managed to acquire a small (but growing) group of local fans.
Kate: Well, when we were in Boston we had a very diverse group of people who seemed to “be down with our sound”; Punk kids, folkfucks, mediocore heads, witchhouse hunters and the like were always coming our to our shows and letting us know that they were into the style of music we were writing. In going on our first two month national tour last summer, we really got to see and hear the opinions of our album from groups of people we had never met before. Overall, i’d say the album was successful in that, because it was so “all over the place”, different parts of it spoke to different groups of people. It helped give us a small, but strong, fan base. We don’t really have a definitive “group of people” that seem to like it more than others. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I’m just happy anyone is even listening to it.
I recently saw on Facebook that you guys have been writing a ton of new songs (an estimated 50!). What are your guys’ plans for another album?
Kate: The plan for the next album is going to be much more simple than the last. We’ve stripped down our sound and will be recording the album live again. The next album is going to be way more cohesive. We have two special guests coming in to help us record: Spencer Ludwig of Capital Cities and Deux Sons (their trumpet player) and Max Whipple of Deux Sons (one of my favorite bands in LA – gypsy jazz assholes who will rip you a new one with a single note. They’re insanely good and old friends of mine). This next album will be a more 1930s jazz than the last and upbeat. We dont actually have 50 songs written, hah, but we do have quite a lot. Scott and I plan on making as many demos as possible beforehand, listening to them and really thinking about what we want on the album. I’m very happy we will have so many options- I think it’ll make for a solid album.
What’s the local scene like out where you guys are? Is it at all comparable to Allston?
Kate: When Allston had rows of DIY houses on every block, it easily trumped any music scene in the country. It was a mecca for underground music and filled every Allstonite with such joy. Oakland is about the same. It’s such a large city, though, so you won’t find a house venue on every block but you will find the most supportive group of artists in California. Just like Allston, Oakland is a place for mutant-freaks like Mornin’ Old Sport to find solace and an unrivaled sense of community.
Scott: The local scene is fantastic here, very similar to Allston, in that there are a large amount of great DIY venues and spaces clustered throughout Oakland, SF, and the bay area in general. But I still miss the Boston DIY scene (that I remember), particularly for the uncanny feeling that every house/space was somehow connected or in-communication (directly or in-directly). Out here in Oakland/SF, there are so many awesome shows going on, and so many different collectives… but they appear more like microcosms as opposed to branches of a unified body. I was actually in Allston, for one night only, last December for the Migs/ABADABAD/Dirty Virgins show at Great Scott. That night, I heard from a number of people that the Boston scene is in a period of transition right now, and if it’s true, I sincerely hope it returns to the incredible, sloppy monolith it once was.
Speaking of DIY, your late afternoon set at the DIY Fest last year was one of my favorite musical memories of 2012. Do you have any plans of coming through Boston any time soon?
Scott: Perry, thanks so much, that show (and the whole festival in general) was an epic, epic moment for our tour. So many friends (old+new) came out and sat on the hill to see us play, but it was much more than that… playing our tunes up on the hill, in the exact same spot as the previous DIY fest… the entire year came full circle for me in that moment, a flood of emotions arising from missing old friends and familiar haunts, the trauma of losing a vital band member in Colorado, and the frenzy of a haphazard (but successful) national tour. Unfortunately, we have no concrete plans of coming through Boston or the east coast anytime soon, but, if our new album does well, we will use any momentum we get to tour east and spend some time in our old hometown (we miss it dearly).
Kate: We really appreciate you saying that! Allston DIY Fest is one of our favorite events to play and we hope to come back next year. We’re recording our next album in June and are hoping to have another national tour shortly after it’s finished. Boston will always be on our list of places to play when we tour again because it’s the city that helped get us off our feet. We are definitely coming back – next time, with more tattoos and a 50ft edible arrangement.
When you were in Boston, who were some of your favorite bands here? Who are some cool local bands you like out in Cali?
Kate: In Boston there were far too many bands we loved. To name a few – Pajama People, Dirty Virgins, The Fagettes, Rodeo Church (which is now ABADABAD), Caleb Groh, The Inhalers, and Hyena (Greg Hartunian and I go all the way back to high school in LA). In Oakland we adore Ed Masuga (holy balls), Shannon and the Clams, Sharky Coast, SAFE, and Mwahaha.
Scott: My personal favorites in Boston are ABADABAD, The Dirty Virgins (who are now in Brooklyn), The Hogstompers (now defunct), New Highway Hymnal, The Migs, MMOSS, the Fagettes, and the Inhalers. And I’ve definitely fallen hard for some local bay area bands, particularly Shannon and The Clams, SAFE, Sharky Coast, and Upside Drown.
We miss you guys here, any shoutouts you’d like to give?
Kate: This is the most loaded question thus far…
Scott: Only one, to Rad Rob. Dear Rad Rob, I hope you’re still alive, no I don’t have a joint for you right now. Oh, and also to Goldenstash. He recently made some new material and it’s really awesome- I want to cover Oakland with his stickers all the time.
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