A gallant approach to rock
Two Gallants — the duo of Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel — took their name from two shady characters who appear in a short story in James Joyce’s “Dubliners” and reappear in “Ulysses.” Unlike their namesakes, Vogel and Stephens are hardworking musicians, songwriters and composers. They’ve known each other since they were 12 and have made five solid albums of blues-infused folk rock since they started their careers playing at house parties and on San Francisco street corners in 2002.
‘Beautiful terror’
“There was something incredibly palpable in the air in those early days,” says Vogel, who plays drums, guitar and vocals. “People were throwing themselves into the music, whether playing it or crashing all around it. It was inspirational because there was this beautiful terror of music that took over the city for a couple years, from Mission punk flats to Hayes Valley apartments to rooftops, public bathrooms, parks, basements, laundry rooms, kitchens, street corners, storefronts and alleyways.
“The bowels of San Francisco were splattered with sound, undulating bodies and intertwining personalities, seething with a raw conviction that connected people to a higher goal or understanding. In other parts of the world, we would call that occurrence culture.”
When Two Gallants began, the duo was planning to use the traditional small rock combo format of guitar, bass and drums. They soon discovered that Stephens’ free-flowing guitar lines and Vogel’s unrestrained rhythmic excursions meshed perfectly.
‘ To the street’
“We’ve played music together as long as we’ve been playing music,” says Stephens, who contributes guitar, harmonica, keyboard and vocals. “We both got our first guitars when we
were about 12 and made noise in some form ever since. Starting this band wasn’t a decision we ever made. The decision was just to take what we were doing in Tyson’s parents’ garage out to the street.”
The combination of Vogel’s kick drum and Stephens’ thick power chords held the music together and provided a driving bass line. Creating the dynamic sound of a rock band with only two pieces allowed them to move the music, and their musicianship, in unexpected directions.
‘Emotional freedom’
“In many ways, I feel that the constraint has been absolutely inspired and inspirational,” Vogel says. “Emotionally, it doesn’t matter that we are only two, so why should it matter sonically if we are directly translating our feelings? I think we both have a good sense of the emotional freedom and sonic discourse that happens between us. ... We both hold and care and share the responsibility for our sound, in our individual ways.”
“We Are Undone,” Two Gallants’ latest album, just released on ATO Records, showcases their continuing evolution as songwriters and arrangers. They play three Bay Area shows this week. The music is still bluesbased but shows off strong rock and folk influences; the former in Stephens’ larger-thanlife, almost metallic approach to the guitar and the latter in the subject matter of the songs. They remain focused on the real-life struggles of young working people and the problems they face in today’s uncertain times.
“We’ve been making records for over 10 years now and I don’t think we’ve ever dealt with anything but reality,” Stephens says. “At times, we’ve addressed reality in surreal or indirect ways, but we’ve never shied away from singing songs about things that seem relevant, or at least real, to us. Yes, going out and partying and trying to enjoy life is also a real experience that thousands of pop songs have been written about, but most people write songs about having fun so desperately, simply because they are trying to ignore a life of exhaustion, repetition, dissatisfaction and disaffection.”
Uncertainty
Stephens says that they chose the album title to reflect that uncertainty. “People often ask me what certain songs or lyrics mean, as though I were an authority on the matter,” he says. “I’ve never felt like I have a more direct connection to the meaning of something I’ve written than anyone else. So, in respect to the title, I guess I like the ambiguity of the phrase; the fact that ‘undone’ could be interpreted as both unfinished and finished. That it implies both a sense of dogged perseverance and complete deterioration.”