Sam McPheeters posted an interview on his blog today with Marty Key, aka Marty Violence, aka Marty Apathy. The interview ostensibly focuses on Marty’s recent performance, in his role as bassist for Ted Leo And The Pharmacists, opening for Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden. In reality, though, they spend most of the interview talking about random Richmond-related memories, many of which involve an apartment they both used to live in. The interview is weird, and not really relevant to much of anything, but it struck me as the kind of thing that veterans of the Richmond underground music scene would find entertaining. Plus, it features a brief guest appearance by former Action Patrol singer David “Nappy” Grant.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW
Some background on the featured players:
Neither Sam McPheeters nor Marty Key still live in Richmond, but both were residents for a long time, and both contributed quite heavily to the underground music scene in this city, especially during the 90s.
Sam McPheeters, along with his band Born Against, moved from New York to Richmond in 1993. Born Against broke up almost immediately after arriving here, but Sam spent the next decade or so sending weird vibes through the Richmond scene as leader of Men’s Recovery Project, an experimental, frequently electronic, and never predictable collaboration with former Born Against bassist Neil Burke. MRP faded into obscurity around the beginning of this decade, and Sam moved to LA and formed the short-lived Wrangler Brutes before seeming to retire from music. He now devotes his energies towards art, and has done writing and editing work for Vice Magazine, among others.
Marty Key has been a member of Ted Leo’s Pharmacists since 2007. Before that, he most famously spent five years playing bass in (Young) Pioneers, the post-Born Against project of guitarist/vocalist Adam Nathanson. Marty played in a variety of other Richmond-based bands over his decade-plus of residency here, and spent years working in the record room in the basement of Plan 9. Most recently, he and fellow Plan 9 alumnus Drew Snyder have opened a record store called Steady Sounds at 322 W. Broad St. in Richmond.
