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 For the best Beatles cover band on the East Coast, Gainesville’s got it with The Shoddy Beatles, a remake of the locally renowned and previously defunct Shitty Beatles.
By Lindsay Smith THINK FAST
Favorite place to play in Gainesville: Common Grounds
Favorite band: The Beatles
Favorite place to eat: Flaco’s
Most forgotten piece of equipment? Pics or guitar cables
One word that best describes the Shoddy Beatles? Sincere
How many cars does it take to get your equipment and members to a show? 2-3
Who is the hottest member of the band? Collin is the sizzle to the band’s steak, so it would have to be him. If the screaming, frenzied crowds alone don’t tell you enough about this band, INsite caught up with Gainesville’s fab four (Eric and Travis Atria, Chris Hillman and Collin Whitlock) to find out what’s really behind their renditions of John, Paul, George and Ringo’s classics. How did the Shitty Beatles transform into the Shoddy Beatles?
Collin: Our original drummer, Jake McMullen, moved to Finland about two years ago. We assumed the band would close up shop after he left, so we told The Gainesville Sun that we were having our final show and that we'd like a little press for it. They agreed on the one condition that this was truly the last Shitty Beatles show and that we wouldn't just reform a month later and start playing again. Since we had no intention of reforming, we agreed. However, after about six months of requests to reform and play again, we decided we would adopt our friend and Morningbell drummer, Chris Hillman, to be our new Ringo. In honor of our agreement with the Sun, we changed our name to “Shoddy” so that, officially, the Shitty Beatles never played again. What is your favorite song to cover, and why?
Collin: I'd have to say "Oh! Darling" is my favorite, most likely because it's the hardest song for me to sing. I really get to belt it out during that one, so when I do it right, it's a blast.
Eric: For me, it’s “With a Little Help from My Friends” or “Something,” because the bass lines are so intricate. We just played “And Your Bird Can Sing” and that was one of the most fun ones in recent memory. Also, you can’t deny the energy of “Helter Skelter.”
Travis: Gotta be “Helter Skelter.” That’s one of my least favorite Beatles songs, but sweet Jesus, when you play that thing live, it’s just three minutes of playing as loud and as hard as you can. It’s good for the soul. My favorite one that I sing would probably be “Something,” because it has the most beautiful, perfect guitar solo ever played. Paul McCartney is notorious for forgetting the lyrics to Beatles’ songs in concert, especially the ones he wrote. Do you ever forget the words?
Collin: I know the other guys are chuckling at the thought of me answering this. I forget the words all the time. If I'm listening and singing along with the four lads, I get every word. For some reason, when I'm the one playing the song, the words escape me. It used to be that I'd always start "Get Back" with the "Sweet Loretta" part instead of "Jojo was a man..." I've conquered that lyric block, but I don't think I've ever gotten all the way through "Hey Jude" without forgetting a line from the chorus.
Chris: I only ever have to sing two songs and I always forget the words. I remember the words to "With a Little Help from My Friends" but I never remember what order they go in. I used to always forget the third verse of "Octopus's Garden," but during the guitar solo now, with every beat I hit, I think in my head, "shout...shout...shout...shout..." because it starts with "We would shout..." It's so funny how different singing along to the records and actually singing them by yourself is. Some of the Beatles music goes beyond complicated; I’ve heard you imitate trumpets and flutes, but where do you draw the line on what you try to replicate?
Travis: Our ethic has always been to recreate the recordings as faithfully as possible. We all hate it when we see a Beatles cover band that adds their own embellishments to the solos or melodies. These songs are sacred to us, and we take great pride in being as accurate as we can. But, if we can’t physically play something, or if we can’t find people to do the horns and strings, that’s where we draw the line. The only time we’ll leave something out or not play it exactly like the record is if it is physically impossible to do so without extra musicians or extra hands.
Collin: About six months ago I really wanted to play "Martha, My Dear" because I learned the somewhat complicated piano part. But when we went and listened to the rest of the song, we realized that 50 percent of the song was brass and there were almost no guitar parts. Unless we got the guys from Umoja Orchestra to come down and learn the parts, it would have been a bad performance choice. So now instead of including it on the playlist, I just play the little opening part when I do my soundcheck before the show. Have you ever performed a weird Beatles song just to mess with the crowd, like “Revolution 9”?
Collin: Once we played "Wild Honeypie." The crowd just stood there looking very confused. I love those songs, but I don't think we'll do them again.
Chris: Funny you ask, because we have a running joke that we'll play “Revolution 9” some day. It's fun to branch out and not always play the popular songs, because there's always gonna be someone in the audience whose favorite Beatles’ song is one of the weird ones. Does it ever seem strange to hear people cheering for songs you didn’t write? As a cover band, do you ever wonder if they’re excited for what you’re doing, or just the songs themselves?
Collin: I think about that all the time. People will pay us compliments on the show, which is always appreciated, but I always feel like I'm taking credit for someone else's genius. Before the Shitty B’s, I used to scoff at cover bands. In all honesty and hypocrisy, I still do. But I think there's something different about covering Beatles’ songs. I've played a lot of shows with bands of my own playing our own music, but seldom have I ever gotten the rush onstage that I do while cranking out an organ solo during "She's So Heavy" or screaming bloody murder during "Helter Skelter." These are the songs that shaped me into the musician I am today, the person I am, so I feel like they are a part of me. With that in mind, when I'm on stage letting my adrenaline and instinct take over, I feel like I'm a temporary part-owner of the songs, sort of like a Beatles steward of Gainesville.
Eric: It’s very strange. It always feels like we’re cheating. Not to sound pompous, but I do feel that the four of us really do these songs justice and part of the crowd reaction is to our specific performances of the songs. I always make a point to look out at the crowd and enjoy the little slice of thunder we’re stealing from the actual Beatles. Collin, you’re a middle school teacher. You’re practically living a double life, like a superhero. Do you ever share your music with your students?
Collin: This year I actually had a student and his parents come to one of our shows, and I definitely felt like my secret identity had been exposed. When I tell my students that I play music, most of them think I'm some sort of hippie with an acoustic guitar singing Oasis covers at open-mic nights, so I think he was a little floored when he saw the size of the crowd and heard the band play. After seeing me going nuts on stage and playing the keyboard with my elbows, he's never looked at me the same. Other than that, I usually keep my music and school separate. Once a year I'll bring in my acoustic to teach my writing classes how to write a blues song, but that's usually the only time they hear me play. One year, I had a kid download an old album of mine off of iTunes and come into class the next day with copies for the kids. That was a little embarrassing. What’s the strangest thing that has happened at a show?
Travis: Strange things don’t happen too often at shows. Annoying things happen, like monitors blowing out or strings breaking. Mostly, the things I remember are sort of beautiful things—moments where I leave my body a bit and realize that I’m playing my favorite music with some of my closest friends to a crowd that genuinely appreciates the work we put into it. The Gainesville music scene slumped into a depression when the Shitty Beatles disappeared; are the Shoddy Beatles here to stay?
Travis: We’re going to live this post-adolescent fantasy as long as we feasibly can.
Chris: I would play in the Shoddy Beatles for the rest of my life if I could, so I sure hope so. Make sure to catch their next show at Common Grounds on Feb. 5!
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