SFTS - The Patsys

"Columbus seems to produce a lot of bands that almost make it." This might explain why in a city noted mostly for Big Ten football (Ohio State Buckeyes), the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets, and one of the best zoos in the country (Columbus Zoo), trying to make it in the music business can be a daunting task.

"Look back to the mid-eighties," explains Jeff Regensburger, drummer of The Patsys, "and you'll see Columbus' own Great Plains sharing a label (Homestead) with Dinosaur Jr. and Big Black. Around that same time Scrawl was on Rough Trade and blazing a trail that all manner of riot grrls would follow. If you dig deep enough into the Blues Explosion lore, you'll find that much of the trashblues Mr. Spencer favors came from time well spent with our very own Gibson Brothers and '68 Comeback."

While the 90's produced outfits such as New Bomb Turks and Gaunt, the leader of the pack became Tim Easton who, according to Regensburger, "was making a name for himself in the 'mostly unknown but critically acclaimed singer/songwriter' genre." He adds that "Today there are a few bands that seem poised to move beyond the confines of Columbus. The Whiles, The Feelers (ferocious lo-fi pummeled about the head and shoulders punk rock), The Evil Queens (ferocious lo-fi pummeled about the head and shoulders hard rock), and El Jesus De Magico (avant-hate rock) are on the list of bands from Columbus to watch."

The Patsys formed in 2002 from the remains of several notable Columbus bands including the aforementioned Gaunt. The band includes Tutti Jackson on vocals and bass, Regensburger on drums, John Stickley on vocals and guitar, and, recently added guitarist, Jim Weber. Jackson's credits also include backing vocals for "Soap Star Joe" on Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville. Their most recent effort is entitled On The 13th Kick, a compilation of single plus three new tracks.

TGB recently emailed Regensburger to find out the latest. Here is his correspondence.

What are some of the more interesting tidbits around Jim Weber?

Jim joined The Patsys in March of '05 when guitarist Stewart Nicol moved to Florida. Jim and I had played together in one of the early versions of Gaunt ('91-'92), so he seemed like the logical choice when we began looking for Stew's replacement. We invited him to join The Patsys, he accepted, and it's been a great fit. We've hit the ground running, already recording some new material and taking the live show out east for a few shows.

Many people are surprised to find out that Jim Weber is a high school English teacher and an excellent defensive first baseman. While generally a dead pull hitter he can go the opposite way if you try to cheat on him.

Fill me in on the recordings you undertook at Ghetto Recorders.

One of the things that's always interested us has been working with different engineers in different studios. There's a studio here in Columbus that generally meets our needs (Workbook Studio), but when he have the chance we like to try and get out and work with new people. Our full-length is really a compilation of a number of different sessions we recorded over a two year period. In that time we worked with Paul Mahern (Superchunk, John Mellencamp) at Echo Park, Steve Albini (everyone) at Electrical Audio, and Neal Schmitt at Workbook.

The Jim Diamond session in Detroit was just an extension of that philosophy. Jim Weber had done an album at Ghetto Recorders with the New Bomb Turks and suggested that it might be a good place for us to record our next batch of songs. It turns out he was right. Jim Diamond is great to work with. He's got great ideas in terms of tones and arrangements. Everyone was really pleased with the session. We did ten songs and we'll probably try to get up there soon and do a few more. I expect our next full-length will come out of those combined sessions.

I sense some Sonic Youth, some MC5, and maybe some early Blondie. Would I be in the right zip code?

I think so, though the Sonic Youth reference is a bit surprising and certainly nothing we've tried to consciously develop. Ultimately, a lot of what we sound like is the result of trying mash the square peg that is our influences into the round hole that is our abilities. I think much of our material points back to '67, but in a kind of garbled way. It's like there's hints of all these '60s garage bands, but the style isn't reproduced so authentically that it sounds derivative.

I've never considered Columbus a hotbed for music. Is that image on the verge of changing?

I doubt it. I think one of the things that's made it hard for Columbus to push its music to a more national audience is the fact that the bands are so eclectic. There's no "sound" that defines the music or the scene. I don't know if it's willful or not, but it's almost like no one really pays that much attention to what anyone else is playing.

Fill in the blank and explain your answer: The Patsys are the quintessential ______________.

The Patsys are the quintessential model rocket club of rock. Behind the righteous tunes are one librarian, one teacher, one historical society intern, three subscriptions to Harper's, onsubscriptionon to the New York Review of Books, Charlie Rose five nights a week, and a better than average chance of finishing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.