D.C.’s The Rememberables dropped a new album — Breathe — last month, but it isn’t actually very new. It had been recorded long before the pandemic and was just waiting in line at a pressing plant. This is their second full-length and it was recorded at God City Studios in Salem with Kurt Ballou, whom drummer Chris Moore had met while recording with his former grindcore band, Magrudergrind.
The Rememberables has a diverse cast of characters: drummer Chris Moore has mostly played in grindcore and hardcore bands throughout his musical career; lead guitarist Tim Bean has been in punk, hardcore, and ska bands and currently has another punk project, Walk the Plank; singer/guitarist Bihn Ngo has also played in punk and ska bands, and is currently also working with his fuzzy shoegaze project, The Merciless Howl. They come together with bassist Mat Cabral in The Rememberables to deliver a fun mix of all these influences.
Scene Point Blank caught up with the band before their show with Bitter Branches and Be Well at D.C.’s Pie Shop on October 15. We talked about coping during the pandemic, working remotely as a band, pigeonholes, regrets, and how Taylor Swift causes problems for the band.
Scene Point Blank: When was your last show before tonight?
[All laugh.]
Binh Ngo: Long enough to forget.
Chris Moore: Pass.
Mat Cabral: I have it [in my phone] . . . January 25 [2020]. Slash Run.
Scene Point Blank: So tonight is the first one in …
Binh Ngo: A year and…
Chris Moore : A long time.
Scene Point Blank: So how are you feeling about it?
Timothy Bean: Stoked!
Binh Ngo: Good!
Mat Cabral : Very excited!
Scene Point Blank: Especially considering that it’s sold out.
All: Yeah
Binh Ngo: It’s all like friends and good people so it’s a really good energy here.
Timothy Bean : Everyone wants to hang. We wanna play. It’s all good.
Chris Moore : Mostly good people.
[All laugh.]
Scene Point Blank: [Chris,] Sometimes you do sound here, right? What’s it like to play at a place where you do sound?
Chris Moore : I have to remove myself from wanting to control things. But, Eric who is doing sound tonight is a really good sound dude so I know it’s gonna be chill. Even if it’s not, I don’t really care. I don’t really care about how things sound when we play. I just wanna play.
Scene Point Blank: Last year was very unprecedented. How did you get through it once you couldn’t play live or tour?
Mat Cabral: I moved to LA.
Scene Point Blank: Oh!
Mat Cabral : Well that was this year. After realizing we could kind of be virtual in a way.
Binh Ngo : “Virtual” like you’re living in the year 199—
Chris Moore : Johnny Mnemonic
Binh Ngo : The internet
Chris Moore: Cyber
[All laugh.]
Scene Point Blank: So…remote?
Binh Ngo: Yeah. Well, I mean everything got put on pause so we kind of just checked up on each other. Hung out. Like we never got to -- We get to hang out on the road. But hanging out just to hang out -- that was sorta nice. Like not having to be so stressed out about work, we just kinda chilled.
Chris Moore : We burned a lot of trash in my backyard. For Real. That was a big thing.
Binh Ngo : We did.
Mat Cabral : Get that campfire going.
Chris Moore : Like, fulfilling the teenage dream. Like, well, the world is fucked so we’re just gonna burn stuff…it was weirdly cathartic.
Scene Point Blank: All right. That's one way to cope.
Mat Cabral : Yeah, I worked out a lot.
Scene Point Blank: Did anyone get laid off?
All: Oh yeah.
Chris Moore : Pretty much everything that made me money stopped happening until a couple months ago. The dog walking business went kaput, there was no sound…then, my girlfriend and I went on a cross country motorcycle trip. That was kind of a spirit quest adventure.
Mat Cabral : I also took a three week-long road trip with my dog…We camped everywhere: Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado…it was tight.
Scene Point Blank: Sounds like everyone had a good time! [Laughs.]
So, congrats on the new album. I heard that maybe it's not actually that new because it was already made and just put on pause for a while. When was it actually recorded?
Mat Cabral : When Obama was in office?
Scene Point Blank: Nah-ah.
Chris Moore : I think the final product was sometime in 2018.
Scene Point Blank: I didn’t realize putting out albums took that long.
Binh Ngo : It doesn’t.
[All laugh.]
Binh Ngo : Now it does. Because pressing plants are backed up.
Timothy Bean : Yeah, everything is really backed up.
Chris Moore: It doesn’t help when Taylor Swift is like, “I’m gonna put out a limited edition 6,000 copies-only of my new record.”
Scene Point Blank: And she jumps the line.
Mat Cabral: Taylor Swift definitely causes a lot of problems for us.
[All laugh.]
Scene Point Blank: So when your self-titled came out you were already done with the new one?
Timothy Bean: We were on tour in Europe with the self-titled [in 2018], but we were already playing some of the new songs then.
Scene Point Blank: Oh wow. So, do you already have new material?
Mat Cabral : We don't have anything finished, but we did demo some songs.
Scene Point Blank: So how did you link up with Kurt Ballou?
Chris Moore: I recorded with him like 10 years ago. And from shows and stuff, seeing his band play.
I was like, man, it would be so cool to record something like this with him. He tends to record heavier things so I didn’t know if he would be into it. We had demoed some stuff with our friend So [Uehara] and we sent him the demo, and he was like, “This is awesome.” . . . He was down to do it. We told him the vibe we were going for. One thing I told him was that I really like the drums in [Weezer's] Pinkerton and the self-titled Floor album. And usually if you tell a recording engineer something like that they are like (sarcastically) “Ok, dude.” Cuz you can’t really recreate those things. But after we went in to record the first take of the drums, he had taken the time to isolate the individual drums in Pinkerton. It was cool that he had taken the time.
Scene Point Blank: You mentioned that most of what he has recorded before is hardcore and metal, so how did you feel about that when you were going in to record with him?
Chris Moore: Well he also did [Torche’s] Neanderthal.
Binh Ngo : And he also did Pygmy Lush…Since he’s so dynamic it was like, “Why not go for it?”
Chris Moore: I think his bread and butter is metal and hardcore, but he listens to a lot of different types of things.
To me, the perfect record comes from a bunch people who have different ears for things coming together and coming up with something.
Scene Point Blank: Yeah exactly. So, in a similar vein, I saw this headline about [Chris]. It said, “Grindcore musician stretches out to play power-pop and grunge.”
[All laugh.]
Scene Point Blank: How do you feel about having that label with you and coming into this band?
Chris Moore: I don’t really care.
Scene Point Blank: Do you feel pigeonholed?
Chris Moore: I feel like I pigeonhole myself. I feel like when I first started playing drums, I only cared about playing fast. I didn’t care about learning different techniques or listening to jazz…when, in reality, I probably should have.
Timothy Bean: There’s still time, bro.
Chris Moore: No, I don’t have the capacity in my brain or the time or patience. But I don’t really care…I have regrets.
Scene Point Blank: You have regrets?
Chris Moore: I have regrets, like maybe I should’ve taken drum lessons or something.
Timothy Bean: Nah, you’re fine.
"It’s also a friendship at this point now where we are going to make it work one way or another. You don’t make that kind of music with everybody. You just do it with the people that you love."
Scene Point Blank: When I read the headline, it was funny because I was thinking, isn’t grindcore harder to play? Or…which one is easier to play?
Chris Moore: They’re both hard. Mat and I were talking the other day about how hard it is for us to play slow. I feel like I play faster stuff in my other bands to where my body can’t function anymore, and that’s the limit. But in this band, I’m like, oh…I have to chill and pay attention to things. It’s less of a cheat band and more of a real band.
All laugh
Scene Point Blank: Cool. So how did you guys recruit Chris?
Timothy Bean: We’ve all known each other since we were teenagers. We all played in different bands.
Binh Ngo: I was like, “Hey, we’re enlisting. Looking for a change? Looking to broaden your skills?”
Chris Moore: He was like, “We want you, but you could be better.”
Timothy Bean: I think if I remember correctly, it was kind of a funny story. We had a three-song demo we recorded with a different drummer, and I was friends with Chris and other members of other bands that he plays in, and I gave one to our friend Nolan who went on tour with Chris in a different band, and he played the CD a lot in the van. So, then Chris was texting me from the van, like, “This shit is pretty cool.” And I was like, “Yeah. Come play drums for us.”
Chris Moore: You guys were sneaky about it in a way. I didn’t realize they were looking for a new drummer, and Tim was like, “Maybe you can play a show with us.” And then it was, “Hey just be our studio drummer.”
Mat Cabral: And after we recorded I was like, “Man, you kind of fucked us though because now we’re not gonna sound this good live.”
Timothy Bean: I think it was studio first, then it was “just play the record release,” and then “just go on this tour,” and by then I was like, “Alright, you’re in the band.” We got him!
Scene Point Blank: I realized that you are film buffs.
Timothy Bean: We actually worked at a movie theater for a long time.
Scene Point Blank: How did you connect with Zach Van Hozer (director of their “Breathe” music video)?
Binh Ngo: [He’s] another guy that grew up in our neighborhood. We are all Northern Virginia kids. Back when we were doing bands, he had a high school band, and we played around with them a lot. I noticed that he was doing videography work. All of his videos helped translate his music to a kind of mood or theme. I had been following his videos. So when it got time to make a video for the new record, I thought he would be able to do the right kinda stuff.
Scene Point Blank: You directed the video for “Stranger.” Is that a hobby of yours?
Binh Ngo : My real love is music; my first love was film. I see both hand-in-hand. I spent a great deal of my youth watching movies.
Scene Point Blank: You came up with the plotline for the “Stranger” video, right?
Binh Ngo : That was not even something that went ahead with a storyline.
Mat Cabral : That’s just Tim’s life, dude.
[All laugh.]
Binh Ngo: Were we going for a mood? Yeah. So, we had an evening where…
Timothy Bean: Method acting
Binh Ngo: I just wanted to do a video that sort of captured D.C. at its worst.
Scene Point Blank: It was cool. It was like a tour of D.C.
Binh Ngo : Thanks!
Scene Point Blank: So you’re the one with the camera. Do you always have your camera on you?
Binh Ngo: No...I brought it today.
[All laugh.]
Binh Ngo: The camera is a pandemic hobby.
Scene Point Blank: And the “Miles” video – is that your footage?
Binh Ngo: That’s actually Mat’s footage.
Mat Cabral: I brought my GoPro with me to the tour and we just kind of captured ourselves doing what we normally do on tour: eating, hanging out with friends, exploring the cities we were in, and just enjoying each other really.
Scene Point Blank: Could you give me a quick rundown of your other active projects?
Chris Moore: I have a band called Aertex, which is me and my girlfriend Josie and Pat Vogel who was in Sick Fix, Crispus Attucks, and Roshomon…[It's] more gothy kind of stuff. Repulsion I joined six years ago. They live in LA now so we don’t play that much. Those are all my “active” bands, but what’s “active” now? I mean even though [Rememberables are playing] this show tonight, we’re not really active.
Timothy Bean: Is Coke Bust still playing?
Chris Moore: Maybe. Kinda, sorta, maybe. I mean people are still scared to be at shows. And our guitarist has two [kids].
Timothy Bean: I also play in a punk rock band called Walk the Plank, and we are also still a band but we aren’t playing right now because one of the members has an immune-suppressed condition. But we did cut a new EP that’s coming out in January so I am excited about that.
Chris Moore: (to Bihn) You have another band: Merciless Howl.
Binh Ngo: (to me) Yeah, you saw us. What did you think?
Scene Point Blank: It was great. I told you your drummer is a fucking maniac and your other guitarist is very creative with his pedals.
Binh Ngo: Yeah, he does like texturized kind of stuff. He’s a mixologist when it comes to sound stuff. He does cool stuff.
Scene Point Blank: I guess, during COVID, it hasn’t been that hard to balance all your projects.
Timothy Bean: During COVID you just take what you can get…We don’t have anything else planned but we did book two shows this month.
Scene Point Blank: (to Bihn) I heard that you are moving to New Orleans. So how are you going to keep working with The Rememberables?
Binh Ngo: Same way that Mat does it with us from LA.
Timothy Bean: Mat already lives in LA.
Chris Moore: Mat’s and Bihn’s lives are already so intertwined in D.C. that it’s not even a thing.
Scene Point Blank: Do you practice along with the tracks at home?
Binh Ngo: We’ve been playing together for some time now and after doing the big tours it’s like, OK. And once we get new material we’ll definitely want to practice that and record that and figure that out.
Timothy Bean: We’ll probably just meet up a week before a tour and get a handful of rehearsals in.
Scene Point Blank: So you guys really trust each other.
Chris Moore: I don’t trust Tim, but I trust everybody else.
[All laugh.]
Timothy Bean: My other band, Walk The Plank, is doing the same thing. We are all spread out up and down the east coast from Boston to Virginia Beach. We just get together for tours and stuff.
Chris Moore: I feel like so many bands are like that now. It’s just becoming normal.
Timothy Bean: We’ve got the phone, we’ve got the internet. It’s like working remotely or whatever.
Binh Ngo: It’s also a friendship at this point now where we are going to make it work one way or another. You don’t make that kind of music with everybody. You just do it with the people that you love.
Timothy Bean: We’ve been making music together for the past 20 years, and I’ve known Chris and Mat for the past 20 years. So, we’re old school friends.
Scene Point Blank: That kind of brings me to my last question: are any new local DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) bands you’d like to recommend.
Timothy Bean: I like my buddy’s band, Treble Lifter.
Binh Ngo: I really like NØ MAN. NØ MAN’s new record sounds violent, immediate, awesome.
Chris Moore: I saw this really cool [local] DJ the other day. His name is KERIM the DJ. He was scratching, but he also has a drum pad and an actual electronic drum. So he’s like a marching band drummer who was scratching. It was so cool.
Timothy Bean: One of my friends has a band called Gangstagrass. They are a bluegrass hip-hop group. They’re actually really popular. Their new album charted number one on bluegrass billboard charts.
Binh Ngo: (to me) What about you?
Scene Point Blank: Well I caught Awad do a solo show of Too Free songs recently. I love Too Free.
Chris Moore: Yeah, Fuck yeah. Awad is one of the most talented fucking people in this city.
Scene Point Blank: He has the voice of an angel.
Chris Moore: Awad is one of those assholes that can just pull a tune out of nowhere. He can sing on anything. He is fucking awesome.
