There's a cliché about life and open doors, and in a sense, it's kind of true. At least that's something Tom Malach, guitar player in the alternative rock band, Garcia Peoples, is becoming more aware of following the release of their debut album, "Cosmic Cash." We sat down with Malach to talk about the album, and other stuff.
Source Weekly: How did Garcia Peoples come to be?
Tom Malach: Well, we all, the original lineup, I guess, all came from the same town in Rutherford, New Jersey. We just started playing in various bands with each other and then me and Danny, the other guitar player, started writing some songs together and we've been doing that for – a good amount of time now. I'm not 100 percent sure the exact chronology but it's been more than five years.
SW: Were all of you always into music?
TM: Yeah, yeah. My dad's a musician, so I've lived my whole life listening to cool music. I'm lucky in that regard. Danny (Arakaki, guitar), and Caesar (Arakaki, drums) and Derek (Spaldo, bass) have always been music guys as far as I know.
SW: Where did the name Garcia Peoples come from?
TM: It came from being into the Grateful Dead, and Jerry. It's interesting. We were always into the Grateful Dead but it's really been in this past year or so that we, like, got really into them, going out to see Grateful Dead cover bands like High Time and Grateful Shred, who we're going on tour with which should be really fun. While the name has been there for a while, the actual deep influence thing is just setting in now.
SW: What are some of the band's other big influences?
TM: Definitely early Fleetwood Mac stuff. Like Peter Green era and Danny Kirwan era. The Fairport Convention has always been huge for us and anything Richard Thompson does, you know? We just were at a Riley Walker concert in New York and man, like, he tore the house down man. It was really good. He's definitely on the forefront.
SW: "Cosmic Cash," your guys' debut album, came out technically last year now. How's it feel to have that out for a little while?
TM: It's definitely cool! We've been doing this thing for a while and to now be on a label, and to have people actively listen to our music and getting opportunities like this to talk to people about it, it's like pretty surreal.
SW: Have you guys been out to Bend, or Oregon before?
TM: No! I can't say the same for the other guys, but this will be my first time on the West Coast. The furthest west I've been was Chicago. It's amazing the fact we get to go out with Howlin' Rain, too. Those guys are amazing! I'm really stoked for it. I'm so excited that the town is called Bend. Because, like, guitar bends and stuff!
