The Americas

In the grueling pursuit of locating musicians who have their ears firmly planted to the streets of their local scene, as well as the drive to spread their music as far as an old repair-dependent van will take them, you sometimes end up discouraged and hopeless. However, in the cases of more and more Northern California acts, it seems as though this tireless aesthetic is becoming increasingly commonplace. Often, it is the groups who have an “agenda” to meet who realize that they possess the way, not the will, and end up as veritable farces in their community. This is certainly not the way that local two-piece rock outfit The Americas view their existence in the increasingly indefinable underground music scene. As the band closes in on the esteemed 100th show marker, I had the pleasure of chatting with drummer Casey Deitz and guitarist/vocalist Travis Wuerthner via AOL Instant Messenger, an unprofessional and impersonal approach to an interview, I admit, but an interview nonetheless.
Though the allure of seeing bands perform with only two members is by now something of a mainstream notion, given the rise of a certain Detroit-based garage rock duo, The Americas — whose music by no means represents anything other than the indescribable — maintain that for them, having two members has far more pros than cons. “We’ve played with some different people, but nothing really worked out just because of commitment reasons and styles not really clicking,” states Deitz. “One of the main pros is that it's easy to set up practices. It’s easier to communicate ideas during the songwriting process...easier to get two people to agree on something than four or five or six or seven…”
“And whenever we have a tour with another band, we can all fit in the same van,” adds Wuerthner.
Musically, this pair prefers to let the songs do the talking, rather than indulging in metaphorical lyrics about inner angst and kept-up rage. “Sometimes we'll have the music and play it at a show and Travis will just be making up the words onstage,” says Deitz. Wuerthner elaborates on this statement, saying “I’ve always felt that lyrics are a very unimportant thing in music. Don’t get me wrong, I love to sing and scream, and I think that’s more important than trying to communicate something lyrically. The only time I write lyrics is after we have every single minute detail of a song worked out, and I have gone over every possible melody in my head and onstage. There’s nothing that I could sing about that hasn’t already been sung a billion times anyway. I’m not political. I’m not suicidal, or have a tortured soul. I have nothing to say, but I like to get up onstage and just make sounds with my voice that compliment whatever chord I’m playing or that compliments the mood of the song. I enjoy that kind of freedom musically.”
For a relatively young duo, The Americas have kept themselves more than busy over their two-year existence. Having played nearly 100 shows all over the West Coast and at just about every Chico and Redding venue, the group has honed their unique rock attack, which at times may include the aforementioned improvised lyrics, busted china cymbals and indecipherable screams from either member, often resulting in a comical yet unnerving live show. The group doesn’t mind having played so many shows locally, yet they project a yearning to be on the move just about every chance they get. “I prefer playing out of town, because it doesn’t matter if two people or 100 people are there, it still beats the shit out of playing the same place all the time. I’m glad show-goers in Chico have accepted us for who we are and helped us grow as a band,” states Wuerthner. “Certain local shows have been amazing, but also extremely awful,” says Deitz.
“Our goal now is to only play all-ages shows in Chico,” adds Wuerthner. “I don’t mind playing in 21-and-over venues on tour because, bottom line, it’s better to play than not play, period. But now with people like Rene at Fulcrum Records, and Matt at Moxie’s, we’re being given the opportunity to play for kids as opposed to a room of drunks.”
The Americas have their roots firmly planted in the local rock scene. Deitz is a former member of such venerable Chico acts as The North Magnetic and Isabell while Wuerthner was the frontman for the equally influential group Micro Magnesia. Through the years, the band has seen first-hand all of the positive things that can arise from this area’s underground scene. “I think in my youth when I realized that there were amazing bands coming out of Chico, that was an important point in my life where I realized that rock ‘n’ roll is something tangible and it wasn’t just something I saw on TV. It was real and anyone can be a part of it,” states Wuerthner.
For a band as realistic as The Americas are, the future only holds realistic goals. Namely, to record a follow-up to last year’s Rinds Of Glory EP, and to embark on another West Coast tour. News of an upcoming CD should fill the hearts of locals with joy, as a new recording of the band’s spastic tunes has been anticipated for some time. “I've always been a perfectionist when it comes to songwriting and recording, so I stress to people that I don’t want to half-ass anything on a recording, plus it’s only been a year since Rinds Of Glory came out,” says Wuerthner.
Equally intriguing is their reluctance to let their music become stale. “Some of the songs we've been working on for like six months or so...and a lot of the songs feel like they're never really finished. When playing shows and practicing, new ideas and parts will come up from improvising and whatever, and if we like it, we'll change it,” adds Deitz.
At once hilarious, sarcastic and focused, The Americas assure us that traditional rock ‘n’ roll values don’t always have to be compromised in order to get to “the next level.” If anything, they have proven to many that all it takes to achieve their own definition of success is loud, unbridled rock and an affinity for making sure they don’t take things too seriously.

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