Matinee: lecture for world
by Mary Campbell
Patrick Leonard, who produced Madonna’s three latest albums, says he and Kevin Gilbert are “sort of on a soapbox” with their self-titled, debut Reprise Records album, “Toy Matinee.”
“We’re saying there are things we could notice about our culture and about our lives.
“In the ‘70’s, message songs were pompous, ugly and preachy. We’re trying to do it with a sense of humor and more tongue-in-cheek.”
The first single is “Last Plane Out,” which Gilbert says is about people consuming and partying, destroying the planet, with the chorus saying, “Wake up.” The video was shot in California’s Mojave Desert.
Music by Toy Matinee is being called “thinking people’s rock” and “adult rock.”
Leonard, who wrote most of the music and plays keyboards on the album, says: “We’re trying to say something lyrically and in a harmonic sense in the music. It’s more adult.”
He says comparisons with Steely Dan are apt.
“It has to do with how many notes you put in a chord. Steely Dan was one of the only pop bands ever to use denser harmonies. When you use four notes instead of three, you sound like Steely Dan.”
But Toy Matinee, which includes drummer Brian MacLeod, guitarist Tim Pierce and bassist Guy Pratt, doesn’t follow Steely Dan’s meticulous way of recording, “going over things for ages and ages.”
Leonard adds: “We want to strike a spark saying this really is not to get girls and hit singles. We feel lucky to have make [sic] the record with no compromise and have a record company willing to support it. It’s not the rule any more. This record resembles more of an artistic endeavor, and Reprise is supporting it.
“Everything can’t become fast food or we’re in big trouble.”
As for Madonna, Leonard says they haven’t talked in five months. “So who knows where that is.”
Gilbert, who wrote most of the lyrics and sings, says: “I’d love to be able to look at the world and feel a sense of hope and purpose and love for people I meet. It seems like we’ve been spiraling toward purposelessness and a culture without culture.
“The hope is by putting something we care about into the world, it will trigger people to do something they care about.
“I’m 23. I think the hopelessness is that we’re the janitorial generation. We’ve got to clean up the world in the next 10 years so our kids can have a good time. Some people just shrug and say, ‘I can’t possibly do anything but look out for myself.’ I’d like my writing to stimulate a larger-scale approach than that.
“The solution is to keep doing something.”
One of Gilbert’s early jobs was playing keyboards for Eddie Money. He quit after a year and formed Giraffe.
Giraffe entered a 1988 rock music contest in Los Angeles and won top prize, $25,000. Leonard, a judge in the contest, suggested that he and Gilbert try writing songs together.
Leonard and Gilbert clicked immediately as collaborators, Leonard says. “As bizarre as either of us can get, the other one can keep up.”
They found it even more amazing that their record collections are much the same, though Leonard is 11 years older than Gilbert.
They hope Toy Matinee will tour, but aren’t putting all their musical eggs into the one basket of the band.
“Toy Matinee: We like it, believe in it and it’s cool,” Leonard says. “But we’ve got to do everything. That’s what makes it work.”
Leonard will continue to produce and write film scores. Gilbert is making a solo record.