Phillyist Interviews... Matt O'Dowd of Liam and Me

Okay. For starters, who is Liam and which of you is "me"?
The phrase “Liam and Me” is a fragment of dialogue from the film The Big Lebowski. It’s from a scene where The Jesus, played by John Turturro, talks some shit to The Dude and Walter out on the lanes: “Dios Mio, man. Liam and me, we’re gonna f*ck you up.”

Earlier in the band’s genesis we had great difficulty deciding on a name. We played numerous shows under a variety of absurd (and sometimes offensive) temporary joke names. Biting the bullet one freezing cold winter evening, we decided that we would stand outside wearing only t-shirts and shorts until an official band name was selected. After nearly 30 minutes of frozen discourse, Liam and Me was selected.

Admittedly, Liam and Me is an awkward band name that causes much confusion. There is no “Liam” or “Me” in the band and our music is not at all referential to The Big Lebowski. But if bands with such god-awful names as Hoobastank, The Butthole Surfers, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Toad the Wet Sprocket can survive in music, then why can’t we?

How would you describe Liam and Me's sound? Any particular influences?
We consider ourselves to be a concise, melodic, rhythmic, emotional pop rock outfit. We put a lot of care into making fun and accessible music that is also arranged in a creative and artistic manner. I find that most radio rock acts with hit songs are sonically uninteresting, and most great sounding art rock albums lack the breakthrough singles to reach a greater audience. We’re trying to be the best of both worlds, and I mean that in the least lofty and pretentious way possible.

So there’s our mission statement. Our sound? If The Cure and The Cars had a baby that was placed in a foster home run by U2 and shared bunk beds with Keane and The Killers, that would be us. We definitely borrow some great sounds from the 1980s palette, but I think it’s largely inaccurate to call us a retro band.

Who's in the band and what does each of you do?
Liam and Me is:
Matt O’Dowd (Vocals, Keys, Guitar)
Dan Larkin (Guitar, Vocals)
McKenzie (Bass)
Jon Briks (Drums)

How did Liam and Me get its start?
Liam and Me began as a high school punk band called Mad Mardigan (which is a great band name!) founded by Dan Larkin in 1999. He booted his bass player and enlisted Kevin McKenzie, who shortly after brought in me (McKenzie and I had met in kindergarten, and Dan was the younger sibling of a neighborhood friend). After an unforgettable summer of rock, the band members split up and went their separate ways to geographically disparate universities, re-uniting occasionally on winter breaks and summer vacations to play, write, record, and kick out our original drummer.

Over the years, we got better. More artful and mature rock replaced our punk origins, and we wrote a few songs that people really seemed to like. When one of our newer compositions won us a spot on the 2002 Warped Tour, the rock and roll dreams we worked so hard to suppress started to overtake our more conventional career plans.

By the summer of 2004, drummer Jon Briks from Boston joined the band, introduced to us through a college friend of mine. We added the keyboard, developed our sound, and began writing the catalogue of songs we’re currently playing. We started playing tons of shows, self-produced our ten-song album There’s a Difference, and things have been on the up and up ever since.

You went to Penn. Recently, a mutual acquaintance of both of ours through [the consulting firm you used to work at and I currently work at] called Liam and Me "collectively the smartest rock band I can think of." Do you feel that your music is likewise smart, or just that you've got a high average IQ?

Songwriting and arrangement takes a lot of thought and talent when done properly, and I find that most artists who consistently produce great material are very intelligent. A less complex thinker may fumble his way into one-hit wonderdom, but the reliable hitmakers are crafty and generally manage their lives and careers well—think Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Paul McCartney, Sting, U2, Bon Jovi.

Unfortunately, being in a touring rock band is only a step or two above traveling with a carnival, and doesn’t provide much opportunity for cosmopolitan personal development until you hit the big time. Even if you’re a genius, chances are you’ll say “dude” and “radical” far more than you should.

I do believe our band and our music is smart. We work our songs and arrangements like professionals, and put thought, research, and analysis into our craft like mad music scientists. Our other advantage is that we’ve all held real jobs and have done other things besides being in a band. Grown-up music industry professionals enjoy hanging out with us because we’re sensible adults with a penchant for rock, drinking, and flirtation.

I’m the only Penn grad in the band, but Larkin got a 4.0 at Villanova and I’m pretty sure every one of us tested very well on childhood cognitive abilities tests. Tell [our friend] we said “thanks!”


When my mother met you, she thought you were witty and charming and then begged me for copies of your CDs. Do you find your audience is generally wide-ranging, or is my mother just particularly hip?
Not to take away from your Mom’s indie cred, but we have been pleasantly surprised to see a wide demographic which seems to like our stuff. Parents, collegians, urban professionals, teenagers, homosexuals, metalheads, hipsters, etc. We play many shows with bands that don’t sound like us at all, and we’re always flattered when some tattooed hardcore kid comes up to us and says, “Dude…I’m not a fag or nothing, but I really like y’all'ss songs, man.” A good song will always reach people regardless of/in spite of its style. That’s why I adore Kelly Clarkson’s "Breakaway." That shit is tight, seriously.

Along those lines, what do your mothers—and fathers, siblings, grandparents, etc.—think of the band? Was it hard for you to tell them that you'd all quit your jobs to become rock stars?
Sort of. Our parents and families are all extremely supportive and very proud of us for doing this thing and making it work. McKenzie and I probably quit our jobs a little prematurely, but with our travel schedule going bonkers it was pretty hard to not be unreliable. Our parents are highly suspicious of us getting screwed over and misled, but they rejoice at tangible successes, such as our song on TV, our photo on the label’s website, an article in the paper, a record deal and advance check.


And now that you signed with Thrive, you really are poised to be rock stars! What's next for y'all?
Oh, there’s a long list of things to be done. I have learned greatly from my [consulting] experience and circulate numerous excel sheets, memos, and strategic documents which the Thrive staff surprisingly loves. Most important is making our new record, which we’ll do in LA starting in early February. Then comes constant touring, press, music videos, radio play, whatever we can get our hands on. I can’t wait.

Answer the next few questions as quickly as you can. First up, if you could open for anybody, who would it be?
The Beatles, The Cure. But more realistically, I think it would be fun and financially prudent to go out with Maroon 5.

If you could have anybody open for you, who would it be?
Daft Punk. I adore playing with DJs and Electronic Acts. They’d fire up the room to epic proportions of craziness, and assuming we’re megastars, we’d bring them home—or be a disappointing anticlimax.

Pretend you're going on a whirlwind tour of all seven continents—yes, I'm including Antarctica. Where are the places you want to be sure to hit before you go home?
Paris, Madrid, London, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, Melbourne, Beijing, Cairo, Buenos Aires, NYC, LA, Vegas, Berlin, The Ross Ice Shelf, so many great places, so little time.

When you're really famous, what do you think you're going to miss about being plain ol' Matt O'Dowd?
It depends, but probably not. Rock music celebrity is the best kind, because you can play every night for 5,000 people who think you’re a god and be reminded you’re the man, then sit outside at a Starbucks with a novel and have nobody recognize you. All the perks, with none of the alienation and invasion of privacy. If I ever reached Britney Spears tabloid levels of fame, I’d probably long for anonymity at times—then I’d jump into my limousine with some close friends and affectionate supermodels. The horror.

And who's going to play you in the movie version of the band's early days?
James Ransone (The Wire Season 2), David Krumholtz (Numb3rs)—check these guys out, it’s a little freaky. Older me would be played by Eric Bana, or Christian Bale in the glitzy Hollywood version.

What kind of Behind the Music do you anticipate being in twenty years from now? The Leif-Garret-I-ruined-my-friend's-life storyline? The MC-Hammer-I-had-money-but-I-spent-it-all stereotype? Or perhaps something a little more positive?
Our Behind the Music would suck big time. We’re far too balanced for drama, too moderate for epic substance abuse and womanizing, and we’ve had no real adversity aside from getting the run-around from some big labels for several frustrating months. For a different interview, however, I came up with some amusing five-year scenarios that I was quite pleased with:

Scenario A: Having just finished recording the follow-up album to their international multi-platinum smash debut, the members of Liam and Me take a month’s vacation before taking the world by storm again, spending some much needed downtime with their many, many millions of dollars and supermodel/ingénue concubines.

Scenario B: Having toured the world and experienced many great adventures, the members of Liam and Me return home to Philadelphia with a few hundred large in the bank and many stories to tell. Weary of the road and each other, they take a short hiatus from the band to pursue some passion projects and spend some time with their illegitimate children.

Scenario C: In a freak on-stage fake flying saucer and pyrotechnics accident, the
members of Liam and Me were pureed and incinerated into oblivion. Globs of their seared flesh rained down on an adoring capacity crowd at the Tweeter Center. No one else was harmed.

Can we still hang out now that you're a rock star?
Can we put the drinks on your [corporate] AMEX?

The Satan Claus Ball
Featuring DESOTO JONES, LIAM AND ME, KITTY KAT DIRT NAP, Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Danger O's, OH The Horror, When Coastlines Collide
The Trocadero
Tix: $9.00 adv $11.00 DOS
Doors @ 6:00pm - All Ages

Image via Liam and Me. Matt's front-and-center.