A full album release form Floor Model brings that classic pop-punk feel with a fun and gritty 90's rock attitude and a metric ton of hooks that you can sing along to with hands in the air.
The Slightly Damaged album is packed with endless danceable riffs and anthemic vocal sections that just feel good to listen to.
The songs have this amazing combination of classic 1950's and 60's songwriting hidden just beneath the hard hitting alternative pop rock surface.
This is like Social Distortion and The Ramones had a baby.
The entire album boasts a major energy and more heart than you'd ever expect on top of the record sounding almost like its a live performance and the players clearly feed off of each others energies through the record.
There are some great elements of straight alternative rock and even country undertone and the vocalist has a incredibly perfect swagger that fits so well its intimidating.
Backing vocals turn choruses into choirs and guitar licks come in and get your blood pumping.
The album feels like memories and the aesthetic of real deal a whole hearted punk rock is alive and well with Floor Model.
The album absolutely must be heard in its entirety.
Hell, if you love one song you'll love them all so you might as well jump on the whole thing. You'll be pleasantly surprised at every corner.
These guys have a killer presence from start to finish and with such a great release, we wanted to have a talk with the band about where this all came from.
Buzzslayers: This record has a killer punk undertone with a real classic aesthetic to it. Where did this album come from?
Tim: It was spawned from the writings of Jeff and Mark, incubated at the bow and birthed at Hamtone.
Jeff: Floor Model has always had a punk rock vibe. Dave and I have both been fans of punk from the early 1980’s. I personally have always loved songs that make you sit up and say “What the fuck did he/she just say?” I absolutely love the musical side of this record! But I also think the music should be the vehicle that drives the lyrics around the song. I feel like both on this album have fused into a party down, rock and roll record. Buzzslayers: So how did all of this start for you as a band?
Dave: Floor Model started waaay back in 1999! Jeff and I got it going and have had a couple of different bass players over the years - including Tim from 2000 - 2005 and now he's been back for another go around since about 2015. Mark Diliberti, our Lead guitarist, joined in the Fall of 2017.
Tim: I started playing music with Jeff in 1989. We had a couple of one off bands (Power the Picnic and The Frank Nines). My wife and I moved to Rhode Island in 1995 and returned to Milwaukee in 2000. I immediately wanted to get back to playing music with Jeff, met Dave and eventually became the bass player of Floor Model that year.
Jeff: Tim and I have been rocking since we met in a poetry writing class in college in the early 1990’s. Lots of late night shenanigans, drunken song writing games, hack job recordings, and Fisher Price Pixel 2000 films. Dave and I met through a mutual friend named Bennie. He kept telling both of us we should meet up to rock out. Eventually we all had a drink at the Stork Club Here in Swillwaukee. After maybe one drink, we decided to go to Dave’s styrofoam insulated studio room that he and his room mate had put together. With both of us being self taught with a lot of the same musical tastes, it took about 30 minutes before we knew, Fuck yeah! This is great! Mark, our lead guitar player, is a neighbor of Tim’s. Buzzslayers: I'm surely hearing indie rock, pop punk, garage, riot rock, and much more here. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Mark: X, the Pixies, the Cars, Son Volt, Hank Williams
Tim: The Jesus Lizard, The Pixies, Flea, Nirvana, Camper van Beethoven, too many to name.
Dave: The Clash, Chuck Berry, Lionel Hampton, 70's disco/funk/soul, punk rock. . more Buzzslayers: Do you guys play any live shows"?
Mark: Oh yeah! We play live shows at least once a month; often, more than that. This December we have 3 gigs lined up, including at The Rave/Eagles Club (https://www.therave.com/main.asp)
Tim: As many as possible!
Jeff: We play almost every show we are offered: Singer songwriter, duo, trio, or full band gig. Always looking for a new venue, city, or event to conquer. Buzzslayers: Can we expect any music videos coming from you next year?
Jeff: The new video for our song "Hurry Up", is in the works. We have shot one part so far, and are lining up our schedules to start shooting the next scenes. All I’ll say is, watch out when the piñata breaks! Buzzslayers: What's actually next for you as a band?
Mark: Well, first up, we’re waiting to receive Slightly Damaged on vinyl. The test pressings were really great so we’re very excited.
Dave: Doing what we do best! playing more live gigs, writing new songs. We actually had a fairly prolific past year, Jeff wrote several new songs and Mark came up with 2 or 3 that are great. We have a very democratic band room when people bring songs in and they come together pretty quickly. At this point we've got more than enough songs together for another full-length record, so we may be heading back to the studio in 2022. We had a great time recording with Jeff Hamilton at Hamtone Audio for "Slightly Damaged" so I imagine we'll be knocking on his door again. Tim: I really enjoy writing the bass parts to all of the songs, working with Dave on being a strong rhythm section, building the songs with the whole band and coming up with background vocals. It's a remarkable feeling playing music with people you really enjoy hanging out with. Buzzslayers: What are you all doing when you're not working on music?
Mark: When is that? Ha. I always have my iphone recorder handy and am jotting down song concepts, a title, a line of lyrics, singing little lyrics. Whatever. But we all have day jobs, kids and families and, you know, life. I’ve never relied on music to pay the bills but I think real life is where the songs come from for me. Jeff: I have been teaching 2nd-4th grade for MPS for the last 25 years, so I could be easily swayed to make records and tour the world! Dave: Hanging out with my 7 yr old daughter, trying to stay present in life, avoiding news "doom scrolling", walking, running, traveling the world when I can. Tim: I was a chef for 30 years and wasn't home much. I have a new career and have way more time to spend with my family and friends. Buzzslayers: What sort of things really inspire you to write?
Mark: my songs tend to come quick. An image will stick. Or a phrase. Or idea. Then I’ll run up to my little music corner and frantically jot down the lyrics as they pour out, usually with some kind of rudimentary melody to provide the meter. I think my best songs are like an hour start to finish, give or take (then a while to refine). But then one new one the guys really like called The Quiet End started maybe 10 years ago. The lyrics really haven’t changed much, but they have lived in at least 3 completely different chord progressions, arrangements and even the whole feel. This one feels right where the other versions never did. It’s still a mystery I guess.
Jeff: I usually have an idea that pops into my head about something when I’m driving or sometimes when I talk to people about funny or weird things in my past, they tell me I should write a song about it, and I’m like, shit, that’s a great idea! I have always tried to write songs that are unique, in that they are very different from each other. I think our latest album "Slightly Damaged" is a good example of that. With Mark adding his songs to the mix, we has even more diverse sets now. Buzzslayers: Who are you all listening to right now?
Jeff: One of my favorite records right now is by a local band called Couch Flambeau. Another great band from Green Bay is The Smart Shoppers. Edgy and witty. They both deliver the proverbial “Kick in the head” as Dave and I like to call what really great bands do to you when the start playing.
Mark: Totally cliché! Since Thanksgiving background music is traditional Christmas: Dino! Bing, Ella, Nat, Frank. It’s on constantly. For dedicated listening, Till Tuesday, Killing Joke, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cure. I guess the dark side of the 80s is hitting my ear right now. Lots of great hooks, harmonies and songcraft. Our son is getting older and into music so he asked me to sit down and listen to Floyd’s The Wall, and then he introduced me to Marc Miller and Kendrick Lamar. Full circle.
Tim: Idles, Run the Jewels, Queens of the Stone Age, The New Pornographers, too many to name. We play a ton of 80's stuff (The Cure, Morissey) and old school hip hop around the house. Dave: Old Skool underground Puerto Rican reggaeton from the early 1990s: Ivy Queen, Maicol y Manuel, and super eraly Daddy Yankee believe it or not! Before he went soft and mainstream. Buzzkillers: This album is huge and feels like it was a big undertaking. What sort of advice would you have for other up and coming bands out there?
Mark: Thanks! Jeff Hamilton at Hamtone Audio really got us. He did sound for us at a big festival and told us to come knocking when we were ready to record. It was a bigger expense than our normal garage recordings, but so worth it. He referred us to Justin Perkins at Mystery Room for mastering, and Justin did a great job too. We financed it all through bigger shows. So I guess what worked for us is to make sure the engineer got our band and liked our stuff, to road-test the new material at lots of shows so we could pay for but also be efficient in the studio, and then to cut loose and have fun. We really put ourselves in Jeff’s hands and it paid-off big time!
Jeff: My advice for other bands is don’t go into the studio to record until you have played the shit out of your songs in the studio and live for at least a year. A lot of things change in new songs that makes them a whole lot better when you hash ‘em out for an extended period of time, like solos, harmonies, and bridges etc…
Tim: If you're planning on investing money in producing the best possible record you can, go into the studio prepared! Don't fucking practice your songs there! Communicate. Collaborate. Have fun. People who don't have the experience of playing music with others, have no idea how fucking great and amazing it feels. Dave: Recording is hard work but fun work. The best kind of work! Buzzkillers: Okay so you wake up in the middle of the night starving. What's all of your go-to midnight snacks?
Mark: Olives. I have a thing for olives.
Jeff: I like anything with mayonnaise, especially a million slivers of cheese off the block. Early on in the Floor Model days, we would hit late night Mexican restaurants, and slob out on queso fundidos and Tacos de lengua. Tim: Cannabis, whiskey and ice cream. Yeah, pizza is a good one too! Dave: Chocolate/peanut butter Hagen Daz ice cream Buzzkillers: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
Mark: Thank you! Honestly we’d be writing and playing no matter what. But to have fans stick with us for over 20 years, and get more excited as time goes on and for new material? Wow.
Tim: Thanks for listening. We love playing for you all!
Dave: There is nothing comparable in this life to the feeling of performing live for our audiences and seeing/feeling them get it, dig it and connect with us.
Jeff: To our fans, we are glad you get us! Nothing makes us happier than you digging our music. We put a lot into it and truly enjoy EVERY SINGLE FUCKING SHOW we get to play for you. 5 people, 500 people, it doesn’t matter as long as somebody gets a little kick in the head!
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