Dan Larkin knows Liam & Me are going to make it.
"We all are," he says over the phone from Gainesville, Fla. "Ask them, ask them right now. We all know we're going to make it."
If this is the attitude necessary to turn a college band into a music sensation, then Liam & Me is headed for rock 'n' roll stardom -- if only they could agree on an ending for the third song of their next EP.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Penn graduate Matt O'Dowd, Kevin McKenzie and Jay Persicketti are holed up in a moldy basement on 45th and Chester.
They comprise three quarters of the band Liam & Me (guitarist Dan is in Florida until Monday), and they are rehearsing new songs for an upcoming album. Nobody in the band is named Liam, or Me -- the title's a film reference to The Big Lebowski.
Matt, Kevin and Dan have known each other forever. The three of them joined a punk band in high school. They found Jay after kicking out the previous drummer, a heroin addict who was unable to keep time.
Jay was a much better alternative. They also went through an awkward naming period, performing under names such as Snowballs, Name Pending and Immaculate Erection.
Back in the basement, they start by running through one song from their first self-titled album and two completed songs from the new collection. Red and yellow spotlights suspended precariously from the ceiling give the basement-rehearsal a rock 'n' roll atmosphere.
They launch into "Another Year" with lyrics that are barely audible over the music, and then "Dance Song" which is quite appropriately named because, you know, it's a dance song.
Once they've warmed up on the polished songs, it's time to get down to business. They have a partially-finished, untitled song that needs an ending.
"There's always those 'How do your creative processes work?' questions," says Matt. "This is how it works."
A little emo and a little piano-rock, the beginning sounds polished. A minute and a half in, they stop mid-song. The piano bridge needs to be worked out. Jay and Kevin wait expectantly as Matt tries a few notes on his keyboard.
Kevin, who's been standing one hand on hip, perks up. "What chords?" he asks Matt who plays back the last notes. "Wait, what was that?" asks Kevin. "D," says Matt.
They spend half an hour ironing out a three and a half minute song. There's some discussion about the ending. Should they bring it back to the piano? Or should they slow it down and let it trail off? While Matt and Kevin try to figure it out, Jay picks up his drumsticks and breaks it down with a furious drum solo. The other two stop and look at him. "Like it?" asks Jay. "I loved it," says Kevin.
Finished for the day with this song, they take a moment to talk about how they'll know they've made it. "When I have a mansion, two Bentley's, $20,000 spent on cocaine... in two weeks," laughs Kevin. For Matt, it's selling out an Electric Factory-sized venue or making it on Total Request Live. Everyone echoes his sentiment, "I want to meet Carson Daly"
