On The Mark
For much of a recent show at 285 Kent in Williamsburg, Cason Kelly is on one side of the stage mashing away on the drums, his long hair covering a tortuous expression. The other half of the band, Greg Walters, is in front, standing over a folding table covered in electronics, manipulating sounds. As the two come together at stage center, their hands moving over an assortment of knobs and touch pads, someone in the crowd yells to her friend, "They kinda sound like Black Keys and LCD!" The two members of Tiny Victories met a couple years ago in Williamsburg, when introduced by a mutual friend. After winding through different countries and professions, they were still intent on pursuing music. Honing an experimental, electronic-tinged pop sound, the band began opening shows in New York or packing up Kelly’s white minivan to go on the road, hitting venues from Austin to Baltimore. Now, on the cusp of releasing its first full-length album—out later this year—Kelly and Walters are hoping that Tiny Victories is about to make its mark.
"It’s easy to let yourself fall into sloppy, lame, I-love-you-guys kinda stuff," says Walters, "but the fact is we’re all going to die someday. Most of us don’t live like it. I’d just really like to leave behind some music."
There are two things that people are unlikely to forget about Tiny Victories. One is Walter’s voice and the other is Kelly’s live drumming. When Walters, wearing black-framed glasses and jeans, begins singing, it can take a minute to match what you hear and see. As someone who’s taking opera-singing lessons, his voice stands out above the beats. Kelly’s punctuating rhythms keep the pace, driving the sound behind Walters’ vocals.
The band has its own practice room at the Music Garage on South 4th Street, a space that accommodates about 15 groups in various rooms. The ornamentation revolves around a whiteboard with a list of songs, Christmas lights and several colorful prints of the Hindu god Ganesh. There are two hooks coming down from the ceiling in the room, said to be a leftover from the previous occupant,
Victories is ours! Cason Kelly (left) and Greg Walters setting up for a show in Williamsburg.
Blonde Redhead, which kept a large horse sculpture that would be trotted out for live shows.
For the moment, Tiny Victories is short on tricks. The band only has two songs out there, "Mr. Bones" and "Lost Weekend," both of which are available as a free download on Bandcamp. Walters and Kelly explain that they decided when they first started to only put out songs when they’re ready.
"We’re sitting on something like 20 or two dozen tracks," says Walters. The band is sorting through them to determine which will be on the upcoming album.
For now, the two still make their livings from jobs that allow them to pursue their primary goal of making music in the off hours. Walters, who works for a financial firm off and on, and Kelly, who works several shifts a week as a bike messenger, still get together a couple times a week or more to practice and throw ideas back and forth.
"I think a lot of musicians out there imagine some sort of ‘blowing up’ or ‘making it,’ where they ride off into the sunset on a pile of money, and that’s what we’re trying to do," says Walters, laughing. "But no, really, that’s not something we’ve—I don’t want to say given up on, but I don’t feel like if I never make tons of money or become super famous that I would fail as a musician."
"Same page," says Kelly. Where the two find themselves at present is still far away from where they were before coming to New York and teaming up. Walters worked as a foreign correspondent stationed in Moscow for a handful of years and Kelly as a social worker, but both got burned out on their respective career choices and decided to make music.
"My dad always likes to say, anything worth doing is too much trouble," says Walters, "and that’s, I think, certainly the case with music but you know, we…" "Love it," says Kelly, finishing the thought.
>> Tiny Victories
July 3, Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave. (betw. N. 11th & N. 12th Sts.), Brooklyn,
www.brooklynbowl.com; 8, $5.