Glimpses of the South Florida Scene: The Clementines

Glimpses

interviews with the folks making it happen. This week, West Palm Beach's the Clementines.

The Clementines have a "song" on their MySpace page titled "Unbridled Enthusiasm" -- two seconds of Jerry Seinfeld laughing maniacally, asserting himself with a "Yeah!"  It's meant to be a joke, but it fits in just fine with the rest of the indie-pop set's lighthearted, just-as-likable material. In fact, they're veritably adorable. Chimes, bells, and sweet vocals -- vocalist/guitarist/synth player Andrew Marr nonchalantly belts out lines like "I want to be loved by everyone." This is delicious pop nostalgia -- not just for the '80s but for superperfect moments. Marr, fresh from a vacation, answered some questions about being a Borrough pop band and when, exactly, we can get our hands on their EP.

New Times: Who are the Clementines? What are your names, what do you play, and where are all of you from?
 
Andrew Marr: We

have had a couple of different drummers, but there have been three of us

since we "officially formed" and started playing out about five months

ago. It includes myself (vocals, guitar, organ/synth), Dylan Smart

(guitar, vocals), and Daniel Bean (bass guitar). I am from Connecticut,

about a half hour outside of New York City, Dylan is from Northern

California, and Danny is from Florida.
 
Andrew, is the

you, or any of the current band members, working anything else prior?
 
Yeah,

I mean it definitely started out primarily mine. Dylan and I were

actually roommates before he started playing with me. It just so

happened that I was going through some changes with the band and had to

kind of start over. Dylan agreed to fill in for a show, and it ended up

just developing from there. The guitar parts he writes have fit really

well with most of the ideas that I've written. Danny came on a bit later

and kind of pulled everything together for us. He really added some

needed experience and is really good with song arrangements. I have been

songwriting on my own for years but never released anything or put a

band together. Dylan was also working on his own solo stuff. Danny

actually played guitar in Surfer Blood when they were still called TV

Club.
 
You list your genre as "Burrough pop" -- what's up with that?
 
The

term "Burrough pop" was inspired by a friend's cat, whose name is

William S. Burroughs (after the writer). The cat listens to a lot of

catchy/intriguing pop music, which is kinda what we are going for...
 
You have such a light sound, but the lyrics are pretty emotive. What's "Everything Will Be Okay" about?
 
I

guess I would say that I pull random feelings and thoughts from my

personal life and also from the fantasy I sometimes like to live in and

lump them together into something that hopefully sounds good. That song

is no different from the rest...
 
When can we expect your upcoming EP? Who are you working on it with? Is it self-produced?
 
We

don't have a release date yet. Sometime this fall would be nice. There

is still talk of doing a full-length, in which case it would probably be a

bit later. We are just working with a couple of good friends and ourselves

as of now. Up until this point, it has been self-produced. Somebody said

Scott Storch was interested in producing, but that could just be a

rumor...
 
You play a lot of shows. What do you love and hate most about being a local South Florida band?
 
I've

only really been involved in the "scene" down here for the last six

months or so, but even in that short time, I have seen some growth. It's

fun to be a part of something that people are invested in making better.

I think the biggest downfall of being here is the lack of touring bands

coming to our area. It would create a lot more exposure for local acts

if we could get some bigger acts to come through town to open up for.
 
What have you been listening to -- currently and always?
 
I

try to keep up with the other local bands and keep up with songs they

release and whatnot. Blond Fuzz, the Jameses, Guy Harvey, Sumsun, and the Dewars are all supertalented. There's so many good bands coming out

every day; I love it. You should check out this group called I Am the Programmer.

Its creator, Ryan L. Abato, puts out a free downloadable podcast once a

month with a ton of bands that you might never hear of otherwise.

Villah Nah out of Helsinki is one I really took a liking to. I've also

recently been listening a lot to Grizzly Bear, the Morning Benders, Best

Coast, Real Estate, the Smiths, the Shins, Vampire Weekend, and Harlem

Shakes.
 
Any upcoming shows you want to mention?
 
We

have a show on August 27 at a new venue called Little Munich in Lake

Worth. We are also supposed to be featured on this month's podcast that I

was talking about earlier. The podcast will be available on August

31, which is also the launch date of their website, iatpaltitudes.com.
 
Lastly,

12:32am."
 
True Blood. I think Dylan wants to be a vampire...
 
The

Munich, 806 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. $5. Call 561-932-0050, or visit thehoneycomb.com/littlemunich.html.