Mates of State meshes perfectly, on stage and at home
By Chris Nixon
For The Union-Tribune
November 23, 2006
'The first time we ever played together, we were so nervous,” recalled Jason Hammel, one of half of the husband-wife duo Mates of State. “We thought that if it didn't work out musically, maybe there was something wrong with the relationship. But luckily it worked out.”
For Kori Gardner (organ, vocals) and Hammel (drums, vocals), the musical relationship blossomed into a marriage and more recently a child. After beginning their musical and emotional relationship in Lawrence, Kan., they moved to San Francisco and started playing around town as Mates of State.
Despite the lack of traditional instrumentation like bass and guitar, the two made infectious pop with layered vocals. Gardner and Hammel weren't sure if it would work at first.
“Before we met, we were both in separate bands, and were songwriters and singers,” said Hammel, speaking from his current home in East Haven, Conn. “When we came together, it was this lucky occurrence; like striking gold. We realized we could actually do this together.”
With its stripped-down duo mentality and the vocal interplay between Gardner and Hammel, the band has since earned a following among indie scenesters. From 2000-2003, the pair released three albums of cute pop (they were married in 2001). It's not the kind of pop that leaves a saccharine aftertaste, filled with fake enthusiasm or tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. Mates of State's music rings true with a sunshine outlook and sincerity.
In 2004, Gardner and Hammel moved to Connecticut to buy a house, explore New York City and be closer to Gardner's family: “We actually just wanted to live close to New York City for a while. We're about an hour from there. And Cory had some family here, halfway between us and New York City. We also wanted to buy a place, which we couldn't do in San Francisco.”
The year also gave the husband and wife a baby girl, who they named Magnolia, which transformed their lives on the road and at home. When on tour, they now travel with a nanny (a friend from San Francisco) and schedule drives between shows around Magnolia's naps.
Mates of State has always worked collaboratively, hashing out songs while both musicians were in the same room. With the move to the East Coast and the purchase of a home, the band has a home recording studio. But with a baby in the house, working together is tougher these days.
“For this most recent record, we had a child and also had recording capabilities at home,” said Hammel. “About half the parts we'd work on separately. One of us would put a part down on the computer, and say, 'Look, I'm stuck. You run with this.' We'd just keep passing it back and forth until we had a song that we liked.”
“Bring It Back” (released last March), Mates of State's fourth album, is filled with glorious harmonies and symphonic pop. After laying down the basic tracks at the couple's home studio, the two ventured into a conventional studio in New Haven, Conn.
“It was the first time we went into the studio and said we wanted a producer,” said Hammel on working with producer Bill Racine (Rogue Wave, Mark Gardener). “He's just a gold mine of ideas. He also had a lot of sonic ideas, about how to achieve certain amp sounds and drum sounds and keyboard sounds. He really pushed us to find which sound works for each song.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
