Teddy Boys
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Teddy Boys

Cleveland, Ohio, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF

Cleveland, Ohio, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2012
Band Rock Garage Rock

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Teddy Boys: Press Play"

You like your rock loud and rowdy, right? Then do whatever it takes to get Teddy Boys in your ears immediately. The Cleveland sextet–Jon Chips, Stef Chips, Zach Panek, Jason Rubinski, Matt Pietrick and Rick Pietrick–will quickly make your list of favorite bands. Their sound features some heavy guits, strong vocals and infectious beats. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have them put together a playlist for you. Enjoy!

PRESS PLAY: TEDDY BOYS – THE TRACKLIST & WHY THEY PICKED ‘EM:

1.”Wild Life” by Wings

Rick says: “There’s a ton of Wings/McCartney stuff I really like but I chose this song because it reminds me of staying up way too late, drinking beer with my friends and singing along to this record. What I like about McCartney is he isn’t afraid of anything. If he likes it, he does it. Kind of like singing “the animals have the right of way…” In that sense, we’ve tried to hold onto the things we enjoy amongst ourselves while writing songs.”

2.”Everything Hits at Once” by Spoon

Stefanie says: “I first saw the amazing and heartbreaking music video for this song when I was up one night watching 120 minutes. I was completely drawn in and moved by the stark loneliness of the lyric, “I go to sleep alone but think that you’re next to me.” The album, Girls Can Tell, quickly became an obsession of mine, with all of its subdued instrumentation and laid-bare, interesting lyrical content. It’s an album still constantly in rotation for me.”

3.”Judge Not” by Bob Marley & The Wailers

Matt says: “Reggae music touches my soul more than any other style of music, especially Bob and the Wailers. I chose this song because I love what it’s about. Instead of judging someone, try to find the beauty in the person.”

4.”Laid, Paid, and Strange” by Natural Child

Jon says: “These guys are gnarly and they don’t give a shit. It’s great! This one is their description of being a broke dude in a rock band. They aren’t reinventing the wheel or anything here, but their raw energy and authenticity is undeniable.”

5.”It’s Him!” by White Denim

Jason says: “These guys kick ass! This track is from their 3rd and my favorite album D. It was also the first one from the band that I heard so that could be why I am a little biased towards it. Josh has a very interesting drumming style and I have fun trying to replicate it. It can definitely push me out of my comfort zone, which I enjoy. The rest of the guys are extremely talented as well. If you have not listened to these guys yet and you are a fan of rock music, you truly are missing out.”

6.”Elvis’ Flaming Star” by Pond

Zach says: “There’s a lot of the really cool stuff coming out of Australia these past few years. A lot of people know about Tame Impala, but not as many know about artists like King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, Courtney Barnett and Pond. This song came out a few months back as the first single off their new album Man It Feels Like Space Again and has pretty much been stuck in my head ever since. I really enjoy the way they mix spacey guitar tones and psychedelic synths with pop melodies to create some catchy goodness here.”

7.”Cactus” by Pixies

Stefanie says: “Every time I hear this song, I literally never want it to end. I want to ride it across the desert into eternity. When playing through the Surfer Rosa album, this song never plays just once – I immediately repeat it 3 more times before moving on. Aesthetically speaking, this song perfectly captures my general taste in music – simple, thrumming and lyrically compelling. It also seems to be mixed at a lower volume than the rest of the album, so I gleefully crank the volume to get the desired effect.”

8.”Gang’s All Here” by Cheeseburger

Matt says: “I picked this song because it’s all about the great times you have with your friends and Joe Bradley is one of the best frontmen ever. CHEESEBURGER!!!”

9.”Hot Smoke and Sassafras” by Bubble Puppy

Jon says: “My dad played this song for me on one of our road trips when I was in high school. As soon as it kicked in with the opening guitar riff, I yelled at him for not showing me it sooner. They were a relatively unknown band, but for anyone that has an appreciation for ’60s guitar rock/psychedelia, this is a must-listen.”

10.”The Lemon Song” by Led Zeppelin

Zach says: “I feel like this is the song that plays when you look up rock & roll in the dictionary. Page’s dirty guitar tone wild leads, Plant’s howling vocals, John Paul Jones pretty much putting on a bass clinic and John Bonham holding it down like only John Bonham can. All of these guys were some of the best and most influential musicians to ever play their respective instruments and this song really showcases all four of them.”

11.”Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt” by The Mars Volta

Jason says: “This is my favorite track on possibly my favorite album of all time: Deloused in the Comatorium. It is truly a journey from beginning to end, with the end being “Take the Veil.” Jon Theodore is insane on this album and specifically this track, when during a breakdown near halfway through the track he goes into one of the craziest beats I have ever heard in my life. There has been many drummers for Volta and every one of them is just absurd. This album, in my opinion, is far superior to all the others they have come out with over the years but nonetheless, they are still one of the best bands of our generation.”

12.”Echoes” by Pink Floyd

Rick says: “This song rules. It’s 20 some minutes long so its a good one to play on the jukebox at a bar. See if the bartender lets you get past the creepy noise part in the middle. If they let it play all the way through, that’s a cool bar.” - Midwest Action


"Band of the Week: Teddy Boys"

Band of the Week: Teddy Boys
By Jeff Niesel

Meet the band: Matt Pietrick (vocals), Stefanie Chips (vocals), Rick Pietrick (guitar/organ/vocals), Jon Chips (guitar/organ/vocals), Zach Panek (bass/vocals) and Jason Rubinski (drums)

A Family Affair: The group formed in 2012 and released its first album then. “It was a recording project between me and Jon,” says Rick Pietrick. “It’s a bit of a family thing. We recorded a couple of songs. We would be hanging out at parties and play a couple of songs. That’s how we started it. We had a good group of friends and people were floating in between. It just turned into a rock ’n’ roll thing.”

Influences: The band unabashedly embraces a retro ’60s garage rock vibe. “It’s rock ’n’ roll based,” Pietrick says. “Paul McCartney was a big influence. It’s more about energy. We don’t put limits on anything. If we like something, we go ahead and do it. We just enjoy the company of being in a band. That’s why we called the new album Social Club.”

The Live Show: The band’s live show is good fun as the group really revels in jamming. “The live show is the most fun and that’s rooted in how we practice and not having limits on anything,” Pietrick says. “Guitar-wise, Jon and I gravitate toward old-school garage rock.”

Why You Should Hear Them: Their new album, Social Club, is a ramshackle affair that alternates between garage blues and punk. With its cooing vocals and gritty guitars, “Ball of Light” opens the album with a fury and the raucousness doesn’t let up. Expect a new EP by spring. “We want to push the boundaries of our sound and refine things a bit more,” Pietrick says. “We want to keep evolving our sound and go on some regional shows.”

Where You Can Hear Them: teddyboysmusic.com

Where You Can See Them: Teddy Boys perform with Roosevelt, Johnny in the Grave, the Natives and the Moxies at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, at the Beachland Ballroom. - Cleveland Scene


"Unite CLE III : The Moxies & Teddy Boys"

"The Teddy Boys’ set was a party from start to finish. Their head-banging rock n’ roll and enthusiasm sent the energy through the roof. This 6-piece band started in 2012 and released their first album, Social Club, in 2013. Together they have fun and find inspiration by spending time with friends, having backyard parties, listening to music, and of course laughing. Their passion for music is transparent when they perform. They danced and stomped, barefoot, through the entire set, mesmerizing the crowd. The Teddy Boys’ music features Matt Pietrick’s gritty vocals and Stefanie Chips’ haunting tone. This quality is apparent in “Mummy” and “River” from their album Social Club. Keep an eye out for their newly completed EP." - Kryptonite Music


Discography

Social Club LP (released December 2013. 12 songs) (http://teddyboys.bandcamp.com/)

Black Hills EP (released November 2014. 6 songs) (http://teddyboys.bandcamp.com/)

Photos

Bio

Seeing a Teddy Boys show live, with all the raw emotion and positive high energy, its hard to believe that the band started as just a small basement recording project only a few years ago.

Now an established 6-piece, Teddy Boys started with a few demos that brothers Rick and Matt Pietrick and their cousin Jon Chips started writing and recording towards the end of 2009 when Chips returned to Cleveland after college.  The goal was pretty simple; to have a few drinks and have some fun making music together.  With Jon and Rick handling the instrumentation, and Jon's sister Stefanie added in with Matt to the vocal mix, the 4 began to hone in on a soulful rock-n-roll sound with multiple vocalists which would become the basis for the sound they are now known for.  Eventually, the collection of basement demos they were creating slowly started making their way around town through various friends and were consistently met with overwhelming praise.

In 2012, the "family band" decided to build upon the local buzz and unique sound they were creating. It was at this time they added long-time friends Zach Panek and Jason Rubinski to serve as the band's rhythm section. With their line-up now set (Matt and Stefanie sharing lead vocals, Jon and Rick sharing guitars/keys/vocals, Panek on bass, and Rubinski on drums), Teddy Boys were ready to expand their sound and their fan-base.

Throughout 2012 and 2013 the band played countless shows at just about every venue in Cleveland and surrounding cities, gaining the attention of their growing, devoted fan-base as well as local club owners, promoters, and publications through their high energy performances. Whether it was unapologetically rocking out like some younger fans had never seen before or bringing an older fan "a performance they hadn't seen anything like since back in their day," it was becoming clear that Teddy Boys had something going. 

It was also at this time that the band wrote and recorded their debut LP, Social Club. Written, produced, recorded, and mixed entirely on their own, the 12-song LP was released independently on December 27, 2013 to a sold-out Foundry concert club.  A mixture of garage-rock, pop, blues, and soul, the songs manage to sound somewhat familiar yet brand new at the same time. The album has drawn praise from publications such as Cleveland Scene, who wrote "With its cooing vocals and gritty guitars, “Ball of Light” opens the album with a fury and the raucousness doesn’t let up," and Cleveland Music City, who named it one of the top 7 Cleveland albums of 2014 amongst highly touted label acts like Jessica Lea Mayfield, Herzog, and Mr. Gnome, writing that "having a sound that would of fit like a glove in the late 60's/early 70's, in this modern day, was a risk. A risk that they kicked though the wall. Instead of just reprising pop culture history, they've gone the way of real life, "Love Us, or Hate Us, We're Still Going to Rock Out!!" And that's something we really need now, more then ever!"

The momentum of Social Club carried the Teds into 2014 with a full head of steam, and they only sped up and revved the engine more. Along with playing for packed houses at the biggest venues in the city, they played the 5th annual Weapons of Mass Creation Fest and the Fashion Meets Music Festival in Columbus. They also continued to write and record, this time stepping into a professional studio with a professional producer. Working alongside platinum producer Jim Wirt ( Incubus, Fiona Apple, Hoobastank, Buffalo Killers, etc.) at Crushtone Studios, the band recorded the 6 songs for their Black Hills EP in just a couple days.  More polished and powerful than Social Club, the 6 songs (released November 12, 2014) span over multiple genres while somehow fitting together into one delicious cocktail that only Teddy Boys could create. The EP earned #2 on Cleveland Music City's top EPs of 2014.

Whether it's the super-dancable guitar funk and Fender Rhodes keys of "Gabriel," the vocal harmonies and oh-so-catchy hooks on tracks like "Every Night" and "Lemonade," the pure energy and driving rhythms of "Sioux Falls" and "Black Hills," or the dreamy textures of the delicate closing track "Soft Mellon Dreams," there is a little something for everyone on the Black Hills EP.  And with the recent release of their first music video and work already under way for their next full-length, it doesn't look like Teddy Boys plan on slowing down anytime soon!