Their song list doesn't have a genre...great hip hop, great hardcore and ska, and charged, emotive ballads. They are no jam band.
Singer Evan Brenner, bass player Ryan Reilly and guitarist Robbie Pereira went to East Lake High together. Born out of the beer and jam soaked parties that start a lot of great bands, Variety Workshop played their first live show with eight original songs in January 2004.
Their musicianship, excellent songwriting, fast rhymes and high-energy live shows won loyal listeners among music lovers and music media. From their start they took pride in being "the epitome of DIY."
Evan Brenner talks about Variety Workshop, their songwriting, and how they got their start, a story that involves a cast of players from some great area bands.
What led up to the start of Variety Workshop and what was your first show?
From what I can remember, the start of the band came from a combination of hanging out, free jamming with Ryan Reilly and Robbie Periera on and off about 8 years ago, (but I'd known them since we attended East Lake High School), and a shared desire to bring a positive and energetic message to people. There was an abundance of melancholy music on modern rock radio back then, and we wanted to bring back the good vibes.
Robbie and Ryan's previous band, Muy Gordo, a band that included Justin Vilardi (Weaksauce, Paint The Town Red,) and Paul Liperato (Weaksauce, Rise of Saturn), had just broken up. I was in a band playing lead guitar and vocals at the time, but the drummer had to unexpectedly leave town. R and R started Variety Workshop with Ryan Hale, who now plays in a band called Midnight Spaghetti and the Chocolate G Strings in VA. Hale left for VA shortly after starting the band, and the drummer in my previous band went to ATL for six months...at this point, R and R asked if I wanted to join them in Vdub.
We rented a warehouse/party space behind Steak N Shake on 580 at the end of an RV and boat storage property. We set up all the essentials for jamming and recording. The warehouse soon turned into a practice space/party space for other local bands as well.
After all that, we still needed another drummer to fill Hale's shoes. Anthony Tonneson, who was in Jyme at the time, introduced us to Jason Spurling. He soon became our first drummer and many a jam ensued.
Who's in the band?
Evan Brenner, 29, vocals, aux. percussion, Robbie Periera, 28, vocals, guitar, Brad Whitsett, 22, drums, Ryan Reilly, 26, bass. Guest MCs: Doonz, aka Chris Ervin, and Ditty, aka Jon Didier.
Name your three favorite Variety Worskshop songs. Which would you say are the three most popular among crowds at your shows?
My three favorites are "Change," "Thriftstore Shopping" and "1234 Go!" The first song is on our first album and the other two are newer songs that we've already started recording for the new album. They give me a lot of energy on stage!
I'll bet each one of our fans has their favorite song. I'm not sure I could name three... but I definitely know that "You Suck Noodles," "The Way Down" and "Keepin' It Going" are fan faves.
Of your most recent shows, is there one that stands out as the most fun?
We played a show with Chubby Tuff at the Beach Bar in Clearwater. There were so many people there that I was able to crowd surf, girls were moshing, and dudes were falling into the equipment, toppling it over!!! Almost 500 people were there!! That was a great show and is definitely a recent standout.
You guys have such a unique sound, what do you feel most contributes to that?
We dislike the word genre. It's too limiting and controlling. we try not to make a barrier when it comes to new songs. If it's country...so be it... if it's metal...no problem. If it's coming out in the song writing process, there's a good reason, and we're not afraid to exploit that...regardless of gnere. I think that's what makes it so unique. I feel that the amount of time we've played together as a group has a lot to do with the uniqueness too.
How has the band evolved over the years? Have you had any players who have gone on to great things.
Yep! Ryan Hale went on to form a new band in VA and puts on big camping festivals. Really the onlly position that has changed over the years is the drummer. We started with Hale, then Jason Spurling, followed by a short stint by John Shugarman, then Brian Shear played drums, and most recently, Brad Whitsett, who is our current drummer. He's been in the band for at least 6 years now. We've also added on our guest MCs in the past 3 years or so.
You are also a music writer, and graduated with a journalism degree not too long ago. How do you think being in a band yourself colors your work in that?
I love writing about music. I think that being in the band helps me write about music because I can help people see it from a different perspective. I understand things about shows, promoters, marketing and playing venues that other music writers might not know. It's just a different outlook I guess.
What are your favorite bands right now, local and national? What about the rest of the band? If you had to pick a favorite band ever, what would it be?
I currently love the Rx Bandits. As a band, we've been listening to everything from Fugazi to Wu-Tang Clan to Wilco to Between The Buried and Me ... and everything in between. It's really a variety! My favorite band ever is The Beatles.
Your drummer Brad is SO good. How did you meet him. Was he in any other bands before VW?
Brad was in a band called Crime Speak before Variety. He used to come to all our shows as a fan, and played shows with my brother's band all the time. He came to our jamspace one night, after apparently practicing our songs on his own, and begged Ryan and Robbie to play a few of our songs with him. He played the songs with an energy and precision we didn't even know could exist in some of the songs. He already had six of our songs down by the end of the night, and we decided to make him our new drummer. I was at a Less Than Jake concert at Jannus when I got a call from Robbie. He said, "Hey man...get to the jamspace immediately, we just found our new drummer." I didn't even know we were looking for a new one, but was immediately sold when I heard him play.
Brad has been playing since. I think, he was 7 or 8. He took lessons with Jim Berretta, who also taught some other great local drummers like Paul Liperato, Johnny Cocryn, etc.
What is your typical songwriting process. Is there any typical process?
The songs usually start with an idea on guitar or bass. We then add layers on top of the original idea... drums, vocals, auxiliary, instruments...etc.! Then we just jam it out until it feels right.
Variety Workshop have 21 songs currently available on reverbnation and currently have two singles, "You Suck Noodles" and "City Lights," playing on 97x radio show, Local Motion.
By Frances Brennan
An Interview with Evan Brenner of Variety Workshop
