SW: How do you describe Meantone’s sound?
MT:Meantone is the bastard son of Houndog Taylor and Black Sabbath. It’s “Original Graveyard Blues” and unlike any other blues. All these heavy-rock, metal bands stole from the blues. All I’m doing now is stealing from them and bringing it back to the blues — it’s rightful home.
SW:Meantone is a band of just two people — guitar and drums. From listening to the band, you’d never know it. How do the two of you make the music sound so full?
MT:I restrict poor Young Brett to a two-piece drum set and he uses bundle sticks instead of regular drumsticks. Less is more. This is also a more purist blues drum set. Plus this gives me more room to jump around on the stage. I play fretless slide guitar in 1/4 comma meantone (hence the name). It’s an old European tuning that utilizes more than 12 notes to the octave. I use 31 notes from this tuning. I string my guitars with bass and guitar strings to create the illusion of two players and in combination with the bass amp I use, this creates that huge sound.
SW:Several of Meantone’s songs are written about real people and situations. Where do you find your inspiration?
MT:I bartended and lived in Brooklyn, NY for 12 years which is a backlog of inspiration. You have to have a comical look on life. “Kick Your Ass” was written in Brooklyn because my wife and all the girls I knew were always hassled by guys on the street. Young Brett gives me inspiration by just talking to him. Other times it’s just day to day life. Most of us work hard and live paycheck to paycheck and that’s what “Flatbroke Blues” is all about.
SW:How long have you been playing guitar and how did you get into playing slide guitar? Who are your guitar heroes?
MT:I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years. My first introduction into slide guitar was Elmore James. Then it was Houndog Taylor and Son House. I studied all this classical guitar, classical composition and microtonal music. My first microtonal knowledge was 72 notes to an octave. I still employ it and the slide is perfect to hit all those melody notes. I have a vast array of guitar heroes. On the blues side it’s Houndog Taylor, Son House, John Lee Hooker, Bukka White, Elmore James, T-Model Ford and RL Burnside. On the rock side it’s more about the bands than the individual guitar players — Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Melvins, Frank Zappa. On the classical side it’s the composers — Shostakovich, Bartok, Maneri, Webern, Bach, Biber and Beethoven.
SW:What’s in the future for Meantone?
MT:We just released our debut CD and we’re releasing an EP this fall with a roller girl theme. Three of the five songs are about roller girls. We’re going to play along the Northeast to support both CDs. The big goal would be to receive label and tour support and tour the U.S. and Europe. And, as always, we keep our live shows different. We have about 40 originals and sometimes bring up guest performers and dancers. I even get dragged out in a body bag sometimes. I’m proud to be part of the Portland music scene. There are so many great bands and musicians and I look forward to playing here for a long time.