The guys from Poetry 'n Lotion are a fun bunch who like to drink — heavily. That's what my co-worker told me before I left the office to meet them. I figured as much, considering the band chose to be interviewed at 3 in the afternoon, on a Monday, at The Hub, downtown Tampa's most notorious dive bar. But that's not the reason — well, not the only reason — I decided to profile the mostly instrumental local quartet.
I had seen PNL play at New World Brewery several times, including a packed-house gig during WMNF's Tropical Heatwave. The band's distinct, highly agreeable blend of bluegrass and jam-jazz with a dollop of fusion caught my ear — especially the choice mandolin playing of Jim Page. I was instantly sold on their fluid, innovative yet immediately recognizable interpretation of Black Sabbath's booming pacifist anthem "War Pigs," especially when juxtaposed with a snazzy rendition of Irving Berlin's timeless "Putting on the Ritz" and a few melodic, often playful, sometimes poignant, originals.
I told the guys as much after their Heatwave set, but by then we were all pretty sauced. Or maybe I approached them after a different show at New World. Honestly, I'm not sure. The PNL guys weren't, either.
Whatever the case, their live gigs and WMNF airplay resonates with others as well. PNL was one of six bands selected to perform at the station's Listener's Choice Show that took place Aug. 25 at Skipper's Smokehouse.
When I walked into The Hub that afternoon, CL photographer Shanna Gillette was seated next to the four PNL dudes. They were at the darkest corner of the bar, where a spiraling tower of liquor bottles blocks the afternoon sun pouring in through the dirty glass door.
Shanna didn't have a drink in front of her, but the band members sure did: cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a glass that looked to be half full of bourbon. There were empty plastic shot cups strewn in front of them as well. I recognized guitarist Matt E. Lee and mandolinist Page, then introduced myself to drummer John Nowicky and bassist Tom Murray.
"So, what made you guys pick this place for the interview?" I asked.
"Because it's like our living room," John said.
"We even sleep here," Jim joked.
Matt got permission from the bartender for Shanna to shoot the band "wherever you want," and it was quickly apparent that the PNL dudes are definitely tight with the staff and regulars at The Hub. Shanna led the musicians into the storage room, and I used the downtime to order a whiskey and water because, well, it wouldn't be right for me to sit there with my reporter's notebook stone sober while the musicians knocked 'em back and answered my pesky questions. Plus, being inside The Hub without even a minimal buzz is an odd and frightening experience.
I peeked into the storage room and saw Matt stuffed inside a metal shopping cart, clutching a fifth of Jack Daniels, Jim hunched over him as if to kiss to his cheek. Jim also had his arms around the shoulders of John and Tom. They were all laughing. It was clear these guys decided to form a band a few years ago for a couple of reasons: to douse the Tampa scene with a fresh blend of beer-drinking-friendly music and to have an excuse to hang out in the name of rehearsing and/or playing shows.
"Oh, this is going to be good," Shanna said as she clicked away.
She and the boys next entered The Hub's adjacent liquor store. The guys knew their way around this room, too. In fact, Tom used to work here. Jim casually walked behind the counter carrying a four-pack of Schlitz tall boys. Matt held a bottle of Alize while Tom double-fisted what appeared to be mixers. John fingered a pack of American Spirits.
The photo shoot wrapped, and we found a table near the back. Shanna asked to stick around, and I agreed. As it turned out, she probably asked the band as many questions as I did. Which worked out nicely because it's hard to interview a band while smoking, drinking and scribbling into your notebook. The only problem occurred when Matt went to the bar to order her a strawberry-flavored vodka.
"What?" asked the bartender as the regulars looked at Matt and me like we had said something bad about someone's mama.
"It's for her," Matt quickly said, pointing at Shanna.
"Oh, OK," said the bartender with a smile.
For about three hours we consumed a smorgasbord of PBR, whiskey, vodka and Red Snapper shots. We talked music, too. The PNL guys range in age from 25 to 34 and are huge fans of everything from John Coltrane to Metallica. More impressive, they knew bluegrass legends like The Stanley Brothers and such country blues greats as Mississippi John Hurt, whom Jim recognized immediately when one of his songs came on the jukebox.
"We feel it's important to know the history of music and really know how to play your instruments," Matt said, "before you start to weird things up with effects pedals or odd covers or whatever."
PNL have yet to release a CD — they want to compose more originals before doing a proper recording — but there's plenty of music to be found online (myspace.com/poetrynlotion), including their hilarious in-studio performance at WMNF. The actual music sounds fine, but during the interview, you can hear the guys slurring their words.
"We were up until 1:30 [a.m.] the night before we had to be there at 8 [a.m.]," Matt said. "We were hurting, so in the parking lot, before we went in, we turned up a bottle of Jack."
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2007.