Headband

Inside Boston's longest-running garage band

By David Day

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Although the group has been in existence for nearly 15 years, we still wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of Headband. While not exactly a joke band, Headband certainly doesn't take itself too seriously and sings mainly about, well, music. But they do it in such an endearing and catchy way you learn to love it. "We're working on a silly country song right now," says Don Lofthouse, one of three active members of the group. "My mom listens to so much country music it drives me crazy. So we're working on a song called 'I'm a Gonna Wanna Talk Raunchy to You.' 'Can't Afford to Rock,' is another one of my favorites. I've never been motivated to tell people my personal feelings about a girlfriend or a shirt that I've been wearing."

"'Heavy Metal Drunk-Driving Basement' is another one that we have been working on," says Matt Byers, who, along with new member Johnny Allen form the current core of the group. "When we started, we didn't really know how to write songs, you know?" Byers says. "It's like 'Is this a song? It's some chords and some singing, but is it really a song?' We just started writing songs about bands and being in bands. Well now over 75 percent of the songs are about that." When the legendary group got on its feet, they split a practice space with Sebadoh, who inspired them to swap positions while playing live and stay away from having a de facto lead singer. "I'd never seen them but I knew how they switched off instruments," says Byers, an idea that they maintain today. Even new member Allen is learning to pick up the bass and drums for different songs, a technique Byers call "The Switcheroo Thing." Lofthouse learned something different when he met the lo-fi indie pioneers. "When I met Sebadoh," he says. "I mean, I knew their music, but when I met them personally I was like 'Oh, this is what a rock band is, just crawling on the ground looking for joints.'"

Neither Byers nor Lofthouse consider themself rock stars by any stretch. Byers' day-job consists of being a self-described "bookmonkey" for the Cambridge Public Library while Lofthouse is currently celebrating his 10th year at a ball-bearing company in Allston. "I had to remind my boss it was my tenth year. I told him and he was like 'I've been here longer than that!' ... It's not an 'atta-boy' type of place." They are in the middle of recording another album and with Allen in the band now, they feel like they have an even better shot to actually finish recording. "He's the man to go to," says Byers. "He's somehow wound up with us, which is pretty amazing because we don't really do a whole lot. None of the band before officially played drums, so once we got a 'drummer' in the band, we went into the studio and tried to make everything sound better."

The result is a kick in the ass of their recording process. "We started on Marathon Day in April," says Byers. "And gosh, we're probably about halfway there." The group also plays sporadically, so seeing them live is a treat. "We don't really go after shows. We just wait for people to ask us, really. We went from July and October without a show, for example, but there was no real plan to go on hiatus."

Expect Boston's greatest garage band to gig out more these days, and maybe even get a CD done. Live, they might play the classic "I Get High on Music" or the renowned "Satan Wraps His Wings Around Your Safe College Rock Band." But don't expect a love ballad anytime soon. "No one writes any love songs in the band," says Byers. "We just don't know how."

HEADBAND

W/ VAN WALTON

AND THE WILD BUSINESS

WED. 2.6

O'BRIEN'S

3 HARVARD AVE.

ALLSTON

617.782.6245

9:00PM/21+/$7

GREATSCOTTBOSTON.COM/OBRIENS

MYSPACE.COM/HEADBAND