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Space Motor gives way to Secret Scene
An additional Aaron came on board post-Covid
This time around, the music is "more like a soundscape."
North County’s Space Motor was active for just a short time, a blip that spanned from 2019 to early 2020. “We had some fast songs,” says drummer Scott Taylor (Whole Hog). “We kind of did everything from surf rock to surf-influenced indie rock to just some straightforward rock and roll, and some artsy stuff as well. And, yeah, we had a pretty tight, probably 35- to 40-minute set.” The band played gigs at venues such as the Pour House, The Merrow, and Vista’s Black Plague Brewing before a worldwide pandemic stopped them in their tracks.
Once Covid hit, “I think we tried to get together a few times,” explains singer/guitarist Dennis Sheridan (Endcastle, Unnatural Numbers) “But I think the fact that everything was closed…it was very hard to be motivated. I had recorded a bunch of — I want to use the word ‘lo-fi,’ but no one uses it the same way that they used to ten years ago — low-fidelity recordings, self-made stuff. Sending around tracks to friends, but nothing really that was near the quality that you get when you collaborate with other people.”
It wasn't until the pandemic was past that Sheridan reached out to Space Motor bassist Aaron Harrison and pitched him on the idea of playing together again. “I think my caveat was just, 'Let's write all new songs,'” Harrison says. “I was going to play guitar instead of bass this time, and Dennis switched from regular guitar to baritone.”
Taylor was back on board as well, which left them with just one issue — they had to find a bass player. An ad was placed on Craigslist, and suddenly their new band, Secret Scene, was the home to not one but two Aarons. “[Aaron Poehler] is really creative,” Sheridan explains. “He's a songwriter, too. We haven't really started to incorporate his songs into the group yet, but hopefully that will happen soon.” (Since moving to San Diego in 2004, Poehler has released five solo albums and has published several novels and even more short stories. Poehler also had a fledgling project cut short by Covid. “The last band I had running solidly was Phantom Hearts,” he says, “which made its live debut performance on February 29, 2020. I'm sure you can figure out what happened there.”)
If you managed to catch Space Motor on their initial run, don’t expect Secret Scene to twang upon the mystic chords of memory. “[Space Motor] had a sound, but I think when we started this, we were just in a different headspace,” Sheridan says. "When I first started talking to Aaron [H] about playing, we were talking about bands like Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor — bands that are more like in that post-rock space. I think we wanted to make that our mood board. As we've jammed and written stuff together, Aaron [H] does a good job of making sure that it sort of fits a vibe so that we don't go too far in a weird direction.”
Taylor adds that one of the main differences between the two bands is Secret Scene wanders a little further afield. “We have a handful of seven-minute songs,” he explains, “so the music's a little more ambient, atmospheric. It's still super dynamic and gets loud and gets quiet and fast and slow, but it's more like a soundscape.” And while Space Motor tried to self-record some demos (“They sounded okay, but we never really finished them,” Sheridan says) interested parties will hopefully get a taste of the new band’s output by the end of the year. They are set to record an album with producer Ben Moore at Singing Serpent Studios in the coming weeks.
One fun fact about Secret Scene is that their drummer, Scott Taylor, played with Brad Davidson, the bassist from Portland legends The Wipers, in a local band called Phantom Ratio circa 2012. “That band blew up and fizzled out faster than any band ever before,” he says with a laugh. He also auditioned for Rocket From the Crypt after Adam Willard left that band, and landed another major audition via a Reader classified ad back in the day. “I looked at one that said, ‘Looking for drummer, influences The Clash, Agent Orange, Buck-O-Nine,’ and I called the number, and it was Buck-O-Nine! You didn't even know who you were auditioning for until you called them up. It could be some dude in a garage in Santee, or it could be a band that's got a hit on MTV.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Space Motor gives way to Secret Scene
An additional Aaron came on board post-Covid
Space Motor gives way to Secret Scene
An additional Aaron came on board post-Covid
This time around, the music is "more like a soundscape."
North County’s Space Motor was active for just a short time, a blip that spanned from 2019 to early 2020. “We had some fast songs,” says drummer Scott Taylor (Whole Hog). “We kind of did everything from surf rock to surf-influenced indie rock to just some straightforward rock and roll, and some artsy stuff as well. And, yeah, we had a pretty tight, probably 35- to 40-minute set.” The band played gigs at venues such as the Pour House, The Merrow, and Vista’s Black Plague Brewing before a worldwide pandemic stopped them in their tracks.
Once Covid hit, “I think we tried to get together a few times,” explains singer/guitarist Dennis Sheridan (Endcastle, Unnatural Numbers) “But I think the fact that everything was closed…it was very hard to be motivated. I had recorded a bunch of — I want to use the word ‘lo-fi,’ but no one uses it the same way that they used to ten years ago — low-fidelity recordings, self-made stuff. Sending around tracks to friends, but nothing really that was near the quality that you get when you collaborate with other people.”
It wasn't until the pandemic was past that Sheridan reached out to Space Motor bassist Aaron Harrison and pitched him on the idea of playing together again. “I think my caveat was just, 'Let's write all new songs,'” Harrison says. “I was going to play guitar instead of bass this time, and Dennis switched from regular guitar to baritone.”
Taylor was back on board as well, which left them with just one issue — they had to find a bass player. An ad was placed on Craigslist, and suddenly their new band, Secret Scene, was the home to not one but two Aarons. “[Aaron Poehler] is really creative,” Sheridan explains. “He's a songwriter, too. We haven't really started to incorporate his songs into the group yet, but hopefully that will happen soon.” (Since moving to San Diego in 2004, Poehler has released five solo albums and has published several novels and even more short stories. Poehler also had a fledgling project cut short by Covid. “The last band I had running solidly was Phantom Hearts,” he says, “which made its live debut performance on February 29, 2020. I'm sure you can figure out what happened there.”)
If you managed to catch Space Motor on their initial run, don’t expect Secret Scene to twang upon the mystic chords of memory. “[Space Motor] had a sound, but I think when we started this, we were just in a different headspace,” Sheridan says. "When I first started talking to Aaron [H] about playing, we were talking about bands like Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor — bands that are more like in that post-rock space. I think we wanted to make that our mood board. As we've jammed and written stuff together, Aaron [H] does a good job of making sure that it sort of fits a vibe so that we don't go too far in a weird direction.”
Taylor adds that one of the main differences between the two bands is Secret Scene wanders a little further afield. “We have a handful of seven-minute songs,” he explains, “so the music's a little more ambient, atmospheric. It's still super dynamic and gets loud and gets quiet and fast and slow, but it's more like a soundscape.” And while Space Motor tried to self-record some demos (“They sounded okay, but we never really finished them,” Sheridan says) interested parties will hopefully get a taste of the new band’s output by the end of the year. They are set to record an album with producer Ben Moore at Singing Serpent Studios in the coming weeks.
One fun fact about Secret Scene is that their drummer, Scott Taylor, played with Brad Davidson, the bassist from Portland legends The Wipers, in a local band called Phantom Ratio circa 2012. “That band blew up and fizzled out faster than any band ever before,” he says with a laugh. He also auditioned for Rocket From the Crypt after Adam Willard left that band, and landed another major audition via a Reader classified ad back in the day. “I looked at one that said, ‘Looking for drummer, influences The Clash, Agent Orange, Buck-O-Nine,’ and I called the number, and it was Buck-O-Nine! You didn't even know who you were auditioning for until you called them up. It could be some dude in a garage in Santee, or it could be a band that's got a hit on MTV.”
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