Pleased To Meet Me: Safety Meeting
It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
Introduce yourself…
Keith: My name is Keith, I’m from Saratoga NY & I play guitar and sing in a garage rock band called Safety Meeting.
Sam: Sam from Saratoga Springs NY, Safety Meeting, Bass/ back Vox.
Dan: My name is Dan, I am from Saratoga & I play drums and backup vocals in a band called Safety Meeting.
Why do you play music?
Keith: I play music because I enjoy creating something & hanging out with my friends. Oh and all the free drinks.
Sam: Music is a good outlet for me & sometimes I get to look cool too.
Dan: I play music as a way of seeing new places, meeting new people and having fun with friends.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?
Keith: Major influence for me is The Black Lips, I really like their style & how they’re not afraid to play with genres. As I got more into guitar I started to really appreciate guys like Zappa, Tom Verlaine & Albert Hammond Jr.
Sam: The first music I really got into was Demon Days-era Gorillas.
Dan: A band called Brians Jones Town Massacre early in my life showed me how far a destitute band can go with a touch of creativity and insanity.
What’s a favourite book or film?
Keith: I enjoy anything by Bukowski or Kerouac. Dharma Bums is one of my favorite books. Turkish Delights by Jan Wolkers is great too. I just recently watched Dr. Strangelove & thought it was amazing.
Sam: Not super huge into books or movies. Every so often I watch 1971 Willy Wonka.
OG Wonka
Dan: One of my favorite books is Just Kids by Patti Smith. Its an interesting glimpse into the music scene of NYC in the late 60’s early 70s.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?
Keith: Nothing beats a really good show. Recording is fun but a lot different of a process.
Sam: Performing is but I find recording to be more satisfying in the end.
Dan: Playing music live is by far more fun but finishing a record is way more rewarding.
What would be a dream collaboration?
Keith: Dream Collaboration, anything with Julian Casablancas.
Sam: If I had to pick a dream collaboration it might be with beach house or Paul Banks.
Dan: Apparently Tommy Stinson (bassist for The Replacements) owns and operates a music label around where we live. It would be cool to pick his brain about a few things.
Describe a favourite album.
Keith: Natural Childs album For The Love of the Game. That shit is just pure excellence. Recently been playing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco, almost forgot how amazing that one is.
Sam: A favorite album of mine is Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective. Nothing else really sounds like it. Their whole discography is worth a listen if you ask me.
Dan: One of my favorite albums is Interior Light by Young Rival because it an interesting mix of glimmering reverb soaked shoe gaze with excellent songwriting and a touch of garage rock.
What's your favourite local haunt?
Keith: RIP, Gugs in Glens Falls NY. It was this awesome bar/venue that we ended up being the band who would play if another band dropped. I think we played there 12 times one year & it was always a party.
Sam: There’s really only one answer to this: Desperate Annies. Dive dar with weekly shows. A cornerstone of local music.
Dan: In Saratoga there is a bar called Desperate Annies that has single handedly kept the music scene alive there.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
Keith: We played a run of shows pre covid & after a show in Vermont I completely lost my voice. We had a show the next night in NYC & we didn’t wanna cancel so I drank salt water all day thinking it would save my voice but it didn’t. Every time I tried to sing nothing came out & the show was a disaster. Maybe more sad than strange.
Sam: One of strangest live experiences was playing a show for my aunt and grandma and pretty much no one else. They liked it though.
Dan: One time in Oneonta I was too scared to be on the dance floor to watch the other band that played after us because it looked like the floor was about to collapse, turns out the people running those shows has had that happen in the past.
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in Albany?
Keith: Albany has such a diverse array of musicians & a never ending rotation of house shows. Met a lot of cool people being a musician in Albany.
Sam: Saratoga is known for being a tourist trap but anybody who’s anybody locally makes some kind of art. Nice little scene to be a part of.
Dan: Being part of a music scene regardless of what city you live in has a fun way of bringing people closer together.
Did the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine influenced your creative process?
Keith: Covid sucked, but it did give me time to get even better at guitar & learn how to juggle.
Sam: We definitely had to do things a little differently during lockdown but once things got back to normal so did we.
Dan: Covid helped us take a break from playing out and focus on creating new music and recording.
If you weren’t playing music in Albany where would you be ?
Keith: I don’t know where I’d be if I wasn’t play music in Albany. Maybe Vermont, I really dig it there.
Sam: If I weren’t playing music in Upstate NY I’d probably go be with my family in Buffalo.
Dan: I would probably be a much more boring person but with more money.
Any sage advice for young musicians?
Keith: Advice for young musicians. Keep playing & meeting new people. Learn to DIY everything you need. Support other bands around you & have fun.
Dan: Don’t focus on money or clout, at the end of the day it’s about having fun with friends. If your not having fun find something else to do.