This Sunday, Lansdale is in store a great concert featuring some local favorites. Headlining this Sunday’s concert is Cold Climb It, featuring Matt Brasch, from the popular band, The Wonder Years. Matt got his start in the Lansdale music scene about nineteen years to the day that this article is being released. In preparation for the show this weekend, I caught up with Matt about his time starting in the local scene, where it’s taken him and to talk about the future of Cold Climb It.
Ryan: Could you explain your musical origin in the Lansdale area?
Matt: “I started playing the drums in elementary school band, but my passion for the instrument didn’t come until I started taking private lessons from Jason Fine (Nessiteras, Leavenworth, Cetus). He taught me how to play the kit in various styles and my love for music only grew from there.
Fast forward five years to 2001 when I moved on to a more advanced drum instructor named Gene Lazowicki at Stuart’s Music, I was playing in middle school jazz band and I joined a punk/ska band called Barcode. On Jan. 27 of that year, I played my first rock show at the Knights of Columbus in Lansdale. Barcode was offered one of the opening slots for the headliner, Royal Noise Brigade, and we gladly took it. The set ran smoothly until about three songs in; I broke through the top head of my snare drum and was panicking because I didn’t have a backup. Luckily, Ryan from Bob MacAdoo’s Dance Party kindly offer up his snare drum for me to borrow for the rest of the set. Being at that show and playing in that kind of atmosphere to friendly, open-minded people had such an impact on me that I decided I was going to start going to as many shows as I could.
In later years, I went on to play in many bands that got their start in the Lansdale music community. I played drums/vocals in The Premier, and I currently play guitar/vocals in The Wonder Years and vocals/guitar in Cold Climb It.”
Ryan: Would you be able to explain how Cold Climb It came about and what the band's mission and goals are?
Matt: “Cold Climb It first started as a solo project. I was originally going to record all of the instruments by myself for songs I wrote. I had the idea to just perform the songs live with acoustic guitar. After doing my first run of shows under my own name with Aaron West on the west coast, I decided that the solo acoustic thing was not going to work for me. It stressed me out to be up in front of people by myself. I didn’t like being the sole person that entertained the crowd in between songs, I didn’t like how exposed I felt without a band, and I didn’t like the anxiety it gave me.
As soon as those shows were done, I texted a few of my friends who were a big part of the Lansdale music scene. Chris Mehr (Nexus, The Arrangement, Parkwright, The Sixties), Jon Edwards (Nexus), and Eric Sable (Pillars of Villainy, Commonwealth, Birthday Boy) all agreed to join a band with me. When I got back from that tour, we started working on songs together.
The core goal of this band is and will always be to have fun and challenge ourselves as songwriters/musicians. We love playing music together, and that’s what keeps us doing it. Everyone in the band has incredibly hectic schedules, so we just try to be as productive as we can with the limited time we have to work on the project.
Our current goals include trying to play more shows, continue writing new songs, and get tighter as a band. I feel as if we are on track to reach those goals. We have a run of shows this weekend with For Lack of a Term and Bloom, we’re several songs into writing a new record and we’re practicing on a weekly basis.”
Ryan: How does Cold Climb It differ from The Wonder Years, and/or how does it complement your experience in The Wonder Years?
Matt: “We are different in the sense that Cold Climb It is free to work on our own timeline. There is no expectation or pressure from fans or record labels to release material, make content, stay active on social media, go on tour, or have new merchandise lines ready to release every time a holiday comes up or a tour happens. There is a bit more of an expectation with those things when it comes to The Wonder Years.
We also differ in the fact that we have varying degrees of seriousness. Though both bands were created as passion projects, The Wonder Years has become successful enough to be my full-time job. Since this band is what keeps the lights on, I need to make sure I'm dedicating the time and effort to make it as good as it can be. That can be a lot of pressure when writing songs, making important business decisions, and drawing out your five year plan, considering you never know when you could either release your biggest hit or flop and fall off the face of the earth. With Cold Climb It, there is no pressure since the stakes aren’t as high.
Both bands have similar origins. Both are made up of friends who got together because we had similar music tastes, were passionate about playing instruments, and wanted to continually learn more about the craft. In the beginning, neither band had any expectation of “making it big” or becoming a “serious band.” With The Wonder Years, it was an endless loop of setting small goals, achieving the goals, setting new ones that were a little harder to reach, finding ways to reach them, getting set back a little bit, finding out how to overcome whatever hardship we were going through, and then continuing on with new goals. Cold Climb It is limited to how much time we can devote to the band, so we have a similar process but it moves a bit slower.
We are both very similar in how we write music. Everybody in both bands have a huge hand in songwriting, so we all write collectively as respective units. Usually a riff, vocal idea, drum beat or bass line will spark an idea. From that idea develops a part, from that part comes a complementary part, from a collection of parts it becomes a song. These songs are usually pretty basic when they are first written, but over time we craft all the individual parts and transitions to be more unique and have more personality. Sometimes a song can be rewritten multiple dozen times before it becomes the final version.
Both bands are like family. Not only do we do band activities together, but we also do things outside of those activities. We get together for dinners and hang out as much as we can.”
The Underground by Round Guys Brewing Company
Jan. 24 - Stand Up Comedy Open Mic | Free | Sign Ups Online
Jan. 25 - Drag Bingo Pajama Jam hosted by Fanci Dismount Stratton | $20 | 8 p.m. | Tickets Online
Jan. 26 - Cold Climb It (featuring Matt Brasch of The Wonder Years) w/ Bloom, For Lack of a Term & Andross | $10 | 5 p.m. | Tickets Available Online
Round Guys Brewing Company
Jan. 21 - Taco Tuesday | 4 p.m.
Jan. 22 - Whiskey Wednesday | Featuring Northbound Old Fashions
Jan. 27 - VR Racing Night | Free | 6 p.m. | Come test your driving skills with our virtual track and virtual super cars!
See also:
Pop Up Concert Of Local Favorites Happening Saturday Night At The Underground
The Ladies Of Lansdale Celebrate Six Years Of Drag Queen Culture This Weekend
One Year After Death Of Lead Singer, Mesa Glow Returns To Perform At The Underground
Three Beards And A Bush Make Their Underground Debut This Weekend
The Blue Wave Ramblers Make Their Underground Debut on Friday Night
