Kelly: "Yeah, we three met at a July Fourth party, which was pretty fortuitous because we love America. We didn't start playing as a band, however, until about six months later. I had to court Tom and Sean for a long period of time — hella wine, hella dine — but they finally acquiesced, and we've been in a very healthy and loving band ever since. Before [this], Tom and Sean went to college together, played in bands together, and lived together."
What does everyone in Teen Mom do outside of music?
Teen Mom: "Chris works for a senator, Sean has four jobs, and Tom's a programmer and futurist-cartographer."
The Teen Mom sound is surprisingly sweet and upbeat, but it's a bit more complex than that, with hints of '90s grunge and shoegaze sprinkled in. What are your influences?
Teen Mom: "Hmm, that's tough to say. I mean, grunge and shoegaze bands have been important to us at different times in our lives, but we never tried to emulate any particular band, genre, or sound, really. I tried, with Mean Tom, to write a few Great Pop Songs (GPS), which, by definition, are comprised of pretty standard and traditional elements, so that they sound kind of familiar, friendly, but hopefully not stale or boring. Which can be a tricky balancing act. But when writing, I try to use my own experience and interests,
rather than be bound by influence or aspiration. That's why Angels & Airwaves sucks but Dude Ranch totally rocks. You just gotta do you. Obviously, though, that guitar sound and vocal styling are pretty ubiquitous these days, so I guess I don't really know what I'm trying to say."
Do you have a favorite place to play in D.C?
Teen Mom: "To be honest, all of the venues in D.C. are pretty great to bands and really fun to play
at. We've probably played the Black Cat and the Velvet Lounge the most."
Teen Mom: "We're totally into Shark Week, Young Rapids, and Golden Looks."
Photo: Courtesy of Teen Mom
Teen Mom: "ALL of our songs are hits. This one just seemed to work out a little better or maybe easier. This song, however, is meant for pregaming with shots of rail gin. Also, this song almost didn't make the album, for whatever reason. Our friends convinced us otherwise, even though I do like the idea of having superior B-sides."
Teen Mom: "We've been playing for nearly two years now, and in that span, a bunch of new bands have popped up, and a lot of them are really good. I think there's a good mix of the kinds of music D.C. bands are playing now, though, which makes for a pretty healthy and diverse musical environment. And it's like, the ‘80s D.C. hardcore era was unique, and there was a lot of great music being made, but it's also super-historicized and, even now, seems to dominate a lot of what D.C. music is 'supposed' to sound like. And that's not cool. Like, I Against I is my favorite album and whatever, but that was 30 years ago, and I think people are surprised that 'pop' bands like ours are coming out of D.C. these days. There's a lot of people doing pretty different things, and it's nice to be a part of that."
Teen Mom: "Off-duty, we party. Had a very nice Saturday the other week — saw some freaky bugs at Natural History, then checked out the Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Hirshhorn, and then had some soup at a new pho place, before drinking all the beers back home in Columbia Heights."
Teen Mom: "Wait, there's a television show called Teen Mom? We actually don't really know the show that well — I don't think any of us have seen an entire episode. Although I did hear that a former cast member released some hot tracks, so I might have to check those out."