“who do you think you are?” meyerman’s debut was released in 2011. It took a while before the band led by Theo Meyer presented their follow-up, but it’s here now. ‘happy to see you‘ was released in mid-July and is brimming with witty, fist-pumping Power Pop anthems of a quality that seemed so natural during the genre’s heyday in the ’90s but sounds refreshingly new today.

And if you have such a good command of writing this type of songs, why not write a song about your own band? meyerman just goes ahead and does it, and it’s infectious, funny, and ready to be the theme song of a new animated series that tells the story of the band and how the new album came to be.

Theo Meyer explained to the Sweet Sweet Music blog what the script of that series will roughly look like.

How did this record come together?

Slowly I guess, is probably the headline here. Our debut record was in 2011, and here we are releasing the sophomore effort in 2023. Usually the first thing people ask is “why so long?”. Well, the short answer is that we are not full-time musicians. Sadly, we have jobs and families that selfishly rob us of our inevitable meteoric rise to rock stardom. Other time-sucking contributing factors since 2011 include: fully replacing two meyerman band members, my insistence on fully recording and re-recording demos before completely re-recording them all over again with the band,  Jeff’s iron-man competition training (just kidding I support you buddy! *eye-roll*), and finally, world-wide pandemics.

When did you decide to start asking for opinions on the new songs?

Generally I’m not really interested in anyone’s opinions about a song until I’ve fleshed out the entire thing in a demo that I’m happy with. I’m just chasing the purest connection to that initial inspiration in my head into a finished thought. Then I’ll run said demo past the band because the guys I have now are also my most respected music friends and trusted guardians of what we’re trying to do here as a band. If one of them hates a demo after this stage it’s heartbreaking, but usually means the song gets sent to the archives. After we put the band recordings together for the record, I have a handful of other friends who I know won’t blow sycophantic smoke up my ass. That basically constitutes our “market research” for the record.

The meaning of success has changed over the years. What would success look like for the new record?

It’s funny…Back in the day I dropped out of college to pursue a major label record contract with my band at the time. It was a blast and my buddies and I were sure we would be rock stars. That didn’t happen. Since those days, I have really focused on becoming the best song-writer that I can be, and to following the creative directions that come most naturally to me rather than chasing a popular sound. As a band, we are just trying to put the best stuff into the universe that we know how to make, without giving a crap about where it will take us professionally. From there, whatever happens, happens. The 22 year old me might not believe this, but it truly has been a much more rewarding path than the days of worrying about album sales or fame and fortune.

As an artist, you choose to show your emotions to the world. Is it always comfortable to do so?

I don’t think meyerman is really making overtly emotional music. Like myself, meyerman’s music is lyrically a little emotionally detached, sometimes softening uncomfortable subjects with wit or downright smart-assery. My own personal favorite emotional reaction to music has always been that feeling of lift or elevation, almost like temporary weightlessness…two people listening and bobbing their heads up and down, just grinning like idiots at each other. That’s kind of the goal.

Is the best song you ever wrote on this one?

I really am proud of every track on this record but I really don’t think I’ve written my best song yet. It’s part of what keeps me writing.

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meyerman:
theo meyer: guitars and vocals
jeff preischel: bass, vocals
robert sadowski: guitars, lead guitars, vocals
danny diaz: drums

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