Exercise Music for the Lonely by Matt Curreri & The Exfriends

These attributes should be amply displayed when The Exfriends perform album-release concerts Thursday at the all-ages Lestat's in Normal Heights and Friday at the 21-and-up Whistle Stop Bar in South Park. Both shows will feature Curreri's older brother, Paul.

Curreri is also a talented lyricist who makes each word count, even when a couplet might initially seem like a stream-of-consciousness aside (as in: My mom was a lamppost / My dad was a bin). He is able to be playful, sincere, self-deprecating and completely free of guile, often at the same time. And he and his band mates make a strong impact whether performing the wistful ballad “Goodbye, Virginia,” the joyously rocking “¡Hey Maria!” or the rousing, polka-inflected “Fishing For My Tongue.”

What results sounds consistently fresh and organic, despite having been released by an indie label with the non-organic name of City Salvage Records. The Exfriends' music is instantly inviting, but holds up well to repeat listenings. It also exudes a rare air of sweetness while pseudo-cool detachment and blustering melodrama are the norm in pop.

“Everything Matt does and writes is innocent; he's the most uncalculating person I've ever met in my life,” said [bandmember] Joanie Mendenhall, a classical piano teacher by day. “Plus, he's always buying weird stuff (online) on Craig's List; he had a church organ in the garage, until a flood ruined it. And I was so glad because I hated that thing!”

Born and raised in Virginia, Curreri values musical simplicity and directness, but embraces subtlety as well. He also regards different styles and approaches as qualitative equals, as do Mendenhall and The Exfriends' other members (string virtuoso Ray Suen, drummer Tyler Ward and taking-care-of-business bassist Pete Hamilton).

“I'm not trying to be Van Halen,” said Curreri, who admits to having played more than a few Guns N' Roses and Living Colour songs in his first high school rock band, Sex Preachers Under Definite Distortion. “My goal is not to get more and more complicated in making music. I like natural instruments that are in tune and make a nice sound.”

He also likes writing songs that allow each band member to contribute. Democracy lets him and The Exfriends thrive, artistically and personally.

“I don't really think of Matt as a band leader,” said Suen, 20, the band's lead guitarist and violinist. “One of the great things is how he will come in with a song and nothing needs to be said. Things just work out.”

Curreri and Mendenhall met in the mid-1990s while attending Notre Dame University, where both were English majors. They didn't hook up until the turn of the century, after both had graduated and moved to New York, where he taught high school and she worked in publishing for Random House. A shared love of music brought them together and romance soon followed. They share a Carlsbad apartment overlooking the ocean and railway tracks.

“Beyond the usual lovey-dovey intimacy that you see in most couples, Matt and Joanie have a set of individual quirks that really mesh well together,” said Suen, who has lived with the couple since February.

“I think the fact that their quirks complement each other so well really helps explain how they've been together for so long. And that's apparent in the music, and adds to it. It's their shared vision that allows the rest of us in the band to run with it.”

Curreri teaches music and math at the Winston School in Del Mar, a profession he enjoys, he said, because “the goal is not to make money, it's to teach somebody something.”

With a manager, booking agent and major record-label support, Matt Curreri & The Exfriends could rise above their underground buzz-band potential. But artistically, they have already achieved success.

“In some ways, I'm not doing anything more complicated now than the first song I wrote as a teenager,” Curreri said. “I'm trying to explain something, so that people can understand what I'm talking about. But I don't have very consumer-oriented thoughts when I'm writing a song. I just hope this album introduces folks to the band because I think the people in it are all pretty great.”

--George Varga, Pop Music Critic

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