The fiery enigma that is Lowell’s Tysk Tysk Task is an artist that’s just as compelling now as when we first heard them and even more so when you factor in the visual element surrounding the mystique (Read: Get to a Tysk Tysk Task show!) After a relatively quiet year on the recording front, but definitely not on the live front with multiple appearances during the 2023 Rock & Roll Rumble resurrection among other shows throughout last year, Tysk Tysk Task kicked off 2024 by not only unveiling a brand new song featuring the fresh new TTT lineup band but also with the recent announcement that the band would be taking part in this year’s annual Boston Calling music festival appearing on Day 3 of the stacked lineup which also features Killers, Megan Thee Satllion, Hozier & more over Memorial Day weekend from May 24th through May 26th.
In between bouts of creativity, TTT guitarist, vocalist, and founder Samantha Hartsel was kind enough to field some questions about new single “Intolerable”, the upcoming Boston Calling appearance, and this new era for Tysk Tysk Task:
To start off and since the news is out in the world now, how did the Boston Calling opportunity come about? What does an opportunity like that mean for you and the band?
Samantha Hartsel: “You know, we’ve worked really, really hard these last five years. It was a major surprise, and huge excitement in the band when we heard from Boston Calling out of the blue in the fall. They just DM’d us on Instagram and asked for the best email to reach us. A few days later, we had a festival contract in our inbox! It was wild and thrilling. I called everyone in the band right away, screaming and shrieking. It was a real “That Thing You Do!” moment, like when they all run to the drummer’s family appliance shop when they hear their song on the radio? I would have gotten everyone in the same room to break the news if I could but I couldn’t contain my excitement and just had to call them. I was speechless and could barely get the words out.
We are a DIY band and we primarily play in basements. Our biggest shows to date have had about 100, maybe 150 people, in the room. The idea of playing for a few hundred, potentially thousands, of people is not only mind-boggling but also, almost a relief. I say that because I know how hard everyone in this band works – and how hard everyone who has ever played in our band has. As the frontwoman and founding member, I’m relieved to know everyone is getting recognition for their efforts. I really believe TTT is not my band but a collective, so this is our opportunity to share our music and art with people outside our local circles.”
On the local-based fests kick, you had the opportunity to compete in last year’s Rock & Roll Rumble making it into the rounds at Sonia. What was that experience like and how did you manage to rally with Cutty (Aka Ben Cuthbert, formerly of Paper Tigers) as a last-minute drumming replacement?
“The Rumble was another opportunity in that same way. We were able to rally and bring in some new people as the band was in flux with line-up changes – that was just another opportunity that kind of came out of the blue amid that. Unfortunately, when we got the Wildcard to move on to the next round of the Rumble, we suddenly found ourselves without a drummer and in dire need of back-up for the big Sonia show. I am forever grateful to Cutty for stepping up – he’s like the Boston Batman of session drummers. I threw up the signal and he was there, and we had only met a couple weeks earlier at a Rumble meet-and-greet cocktail thing. He said he was really moved by our preliminary performance and could maybe fill in some time – I don’t think he expected that I would call him 48 hours later to take him up on that offer. Cutty just said, “I’ll do it,” just like that – no questions. Absolute legend. And then he listened to our music non-stop over the course of another 48 hours to learn our seven-song set backwards and forwards.
That someone could be show-ready under so much pressure that quickly is such a great testament to what a dedicated percussionist he is… and, we had so much fun during that chaotic week that the band decided to take Cutty on the road from there. We played several New England gigs and even recorded some songs. “Intolerable” is the first of our releases with him (produced, mixed and mastered by our new second guitarist, Rick Martel) and we’re planning to have one or two more releases over the next few weeks, also featuring Cutty. Then we’ll have recordings we’ll work on over the summer with our full-time drummer Matt Graber, who took over the role in July after Cutty’s magical two months with us.”
While Cutty helped out last summer, it’s been announced that Matt Graber is now the Tysk Tysk Task drummer going forward joining Kyle Griffin on bass and Rick Martel on second guitar. How did the new line-up come about and how important is an overall sense of chemistry between the members, whether it be on stage or in the studio?
“I think non-musicians don’t know or appreciate how intimate being in a band with other people really can be – there has to be an emotional and mental connection as well as the physicality of actually playing the instruments together. Chemistry is outrageously important. Rick and I had been friends for a couple of years and I finally convinced him to join the band because he’s really just that remarkable of an all-around musician, as well as producer and recording engineer – he plays guitar as well as bass and electronic synth modules, keyboards and electric percussion. You couldn’t ask for a better renaissance man/player – I begged him for months to join us and then, I finally got him!
Kyle joined us a little later after we put a call out for bassists to audition – I had a couple of people set up to jam but honestly, from night one of meeting him, Kyle was clearly the musician for us. I canceled the other auditions as soon as he left. As a bassist, he’s totally on the beat and learns new material quickly, but he also has a wonderful whimsy and lightness to him that evens out (probably) what I would call the severity of this band – that largely comes from me, because TTT is a heavy band that addresses serious issues through emotional, heart-on-your-sleeve music.
It’s feminist and angry – there’s a lot to be angry about in this world, especially as a woman in rock music. The songs address tough issues and I write the cores of them from a very dark and demonstrative place. Tysk Tysk Task is the only place I really feel I can let my guard down and really be myself – I’m not ashamed or embarrassed in this space to speak my mind and to get deep with it. I think you can get that from the music. So having light-hearted yet committed and empathetic players like Rick and Kyle, I believe, really evens out the entire process.
Then Matt is this incredible drummer who happens to be my next-door neighbor. He’s an incredibly evocative and emotive performer who hits hard as hell. His dynamics and variations remind me of Brian Viglione from the Dresden Dolls and I’ve been looking for a drummer like him basically my entire life, since forming my little middle school band called “The Painted” (We had a screamo singer alongside my vocals and we were very Evanescence-influenced, if you can imagine that). Today, in 2024, I feel we have a very powerful combination of people right now and there’s no one else I would want to play this incredible festival with.”
Speaking of stage and studio, watching TTT perform on stage is an all around magical experience from the stage set up down to the merch display. What do you hope fans take away from seeing the band live, do you prefer stage or studio, and how do you maintain that dynamic vocal approach in both?
“Oh, thank you! That’s a wicked kind thing to say. We play out live as often as we can because we love it – we love the energy and the theatrics and to connect with people after the shows. Building community is important. But there is something about being in the studio (meaning our DIY-clandestine cabin in the woods spot we call Treehaus), with collaborators who make you feel safe, that is especially powerful. Rick is an incredible person to record with. He has an amazing understanding of our music and sound as well as a vision for how to push it forward. He brings a refinement as well as a direction to my songwriting process that I am so grateful for.
As for my singing, that’s a nice way to put it and thank you for that! I fell in love with musicals and chorus at my public middle school and high school, you know, while I was fronting The Painted. I grew out of my youthful adoration for theater but I kept volunteering in chamber choirs throughout my life (And listening to “Bring Me To Life” as a pump-up song still, let’s be honest) and I think those almost operatic singing techniques have never left me.
I had a wonderful music teacher from age 11 to 18 who followed us from grade to grade – Mr. Tom Walters – who really encouraged me to keep my voice up. He taught me how to stand tall, how to use my diaphragm when breathing, and made me a soprano section leader. He also played piano in the school plays and helped me learn my parts. So with extra hours after school for the parts of Nancy in “Oliver!” and Dolly in “Hello Dolly!”, he helped me find my strength as a lead singer. Mr. Walters knew I had terrible stage fright and really, I still do. I’m so grateful to him forever for all the time and attention he gave me because he taught me when you’re nervous to just look right above people in the crowd, look to the back of the room, and push harder with your stomach. I think that’s why my vocal patterns are “dynamic.” It’s that “like-riding-a-bicycle” singing approach for me – I sing louder and harder to power through the nerves. And our drummer Matt is an elementary music school teacher (and gives private drum and piano lessons) – I know that he gives his kids the same kind of care my teachers gave to me. It’s all cyclic.”
Tysk Tysk Task was relatively quiet recording-wise in 2023 but you just began 2024 with “Intolerable” and already have more new music in the works for later in the new year. While the track is definitely TTT through and through it’s very much a departure from You’re Sorry More. That said, is “Intolerable” a fair indication of what’s next for TTT sonically?
“You’re Sorry More” was an incredibly gritty and lo-fi recording we intentionally made that way, in the style of when Steve Albini worked on PJ Harvey’s sophomore album “Rid of Me.” That album was a major inspiration for us and I have to call out the person who introduced me to that record – Sean O’Brien, who has done sound all over the Boston scene and used to be in Curious Ritual, also did sound for us Night 2 of the Rumble at Sonia. He was another after-school mentor at the local public access channel – he taught me how to use a camera and how to set up mics to record a live event. While doing that in my teen years, he learned I played music and then recorded my first band, The Painted, and told me my voice kinda reminded him of PJ Harvey’s. He bought me a CD of “Rid of Me” and I’ve been getting compared to her ever since.
As for “Rid of Me” and “You’re Sorry More,” I noticed how all of PJ’s records since that 1993 record all had a little more luster, too. I believe Tysk Tysk Task will follow a similar path. From here, we’ll bring a more mid-fi to hi-fi (yet still DIY) sound that is still us and still has those dirty, grungy distorted guitar tones I know people love as much as I do. Sure, PJ’s “This Mess We’re In” and “To Bring You My Love” are so different from “Man-Sized,” but you can hear how the latter inspired the former. I think with time, people will listen back to our 2022 record and hear how we evolved while still honoring those same vibes.”
The song was recorded at your own recording studio called Treehaus. What inspired you to create your own space like that and why should other artists take advantage of what you have to offer there?
“I think leaders of the City of Boston, and surrounding leaders of smaller cities that follow Boston’s lead, should be ashamed of themselves for not doing more to make “making art” in the city affordable and accessible for all. It’s like overnight, it became a biotech hub with micro-apartments at $2500 plus a month all over the place. I give a lot of credit to places like SUM.Studios for keeping larger spaces available to artists in need, when they could convert them into storage units or worse, parking lots and condos, like everyone else. But I’ve seen my friend’s drum kit thrown into a Dumpster during an eviction and cleared out of a practice space to make way for a development. It’s a horrible thing, and it really violates and disrupts the songwriting process to be forced to gather up what was supposed to be a sanctuary quickly and find another place.
We formed Treehaus (@treehausrecordings on Instagram) in the woods of Lowell, Mass. to offer safe haven for other musicians who have struggled like we have – we offer it affordably, with the option for trades or labor instead of payment, because we don’t want anyone to feel like they’re out on the street, so to speak. Everyone should be able to make music in this day and age, not just those with money or private music college degrees. If you need a place to practice (or to even record because we can help you do it, in a very DIY fashion), we will help you.”
Samantha, you ended 2023 on a rather somber note personally. How, if at all, has music helped with your own personal healing process and in turn has there been any inspiration to be found throughout this time leading to new music for Tysk Tysk Task or elsewhere?
“My father, who was a wonderful writer and musician, died in October at home, yes. Thank you for bringing him up. I don’t often get to talk about him in the music space – people can talk about exes and heartbreak easily, but death and dying is a frontier not many of us address openly. I understand why: it is hard and it is scary. It is an unknown. My dad, Chris, had been very sick with a rare neurodegenerative disorder for years; he was completely immobilized and bedridden for the last three and I acted as his caregiving assistant with my mother, his primary caretaker, who really never left his side. He never got to see TTT play out because he was paralyzed and unwell but he did see me in 2018 as a solo acoustic artist in the basement of the Cantab.
Everyone banded together to help carry him down those stairs to his wheelchair. I did a cover of a Steve Goodman song (his favorite). I’ll never forget that time.
Although my father was not the biggest fan of my louder style of music, he loved to see me learn guitar on my own. He tried to teach me like he taught himself, but I was too sensitive and it hurt my fingertips when I was 8 and 9. So, I got frustrated and gave up. I put his handsome Yamaha in the corner for a while – I’d listen to him play for us around the holidays and just be mystified at how he could hold the strings so well. He loved Paul Simon – my dad always remarked at how wonderfully he glided across the strings so they didn’t make sounds as he moved around the fretboard. I remember he even bought me a hand strengthener device at one point in the hopes it would encourage me to pick it up. You gotta tone up those youthful little finger muscles!
I ended up packing up his spare guitar when I went off to college and I remember he was very happy to see me bringing it along. I found videos on YouTube and studied tab covers. I played him some Christmas carols over the holidays – it’s history from there. His encouragement inspired me to write my own songs, to play out at open mics. When I think about it, really, my father has inspired every bit of my musical creativity.
I started TTT to deal with the horribleness of my divorce five years ago – so many of the songs were about that. When it eventually finalized after a long drawn-out legal fight, I switched right over into survival mode, amid the pandemic, to care for my father and focus on him. Weekly practice was the only thing that got me out of that traumatic mindset of being in home hospice with a parent, watching him take a step down almost daily through palliative care. He was a beautiful poet and storyteller – it pained me to watch him try to speak and form words only to grow silent because he couldn’t express himself. He got sick so young and I am the first of my friends to really experience a parent’s decline like this. It was all extremely isolating and difficult and upsetting to witness. The band was my safe place, my place to feel alive, while I was watching someone I knew so well, who I loved so deeply, deteriorate and slip away from me.
He died on a Saturday and my bandmates were shocked I wanted to continue with our practice on Monday. I needed it; I needed to escape my sadness and I knew my dad would have wanted me to do something healthy like play music to soothe my soul.
Answering this question brings tears to my eyes, Jesse – seriously, thank you for asking – because it just happened so recently and I know I am not done processing it. I don’t know how my grief will evolve and come forward in a way that I can write about it and make it into a song – I don’t know if I ever will. Can you ever really harness that true feeling of loss? I know musicians try. It is excruciating. Losing someone who loves you romantically is painful enough – losing someone who was such a wonderful parent, who was my best friend and there with me my whole life, who taught me my instrument, that’s a whole other kind of heartache.
Dad did know about Boston Calling before he died and I know he was very proud. I hope someday to really write him a song he would have loved, with Tysk Tysk Task. He loved The Beatles and Bowie and Pretenders, The Who and Fiona Apple, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, U2, The Police, Leon Russell, Zeppelin and King Crimson – he really had an eclectic taste in music (I’m not even naming all the jazz he got me into, but Coltrane was always number one for him, of course). He had a massive record collection all alphabetized with a handwritten binder index and introduced me to so many greats. We used to take long road trips for his work and I would come along to help him stay awake on the long stretches. I would bring a burned a CD of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Beck, which he actually dug. Then we’d listen to his collection from an actual crate of CDs we kept in the front of the family van for him. I’m sure there’s something I can derive from those influences in his honor someday.”
And to wrap it all up: Boston Calling! New single! More new songs! What else can we expect from Tysk Tysk Task in 2024 and where else can we see you live?
“Thank you so much for these wonderfully personal and thought-provoking questions, Jesse! This was a very deep interview. I wanted to add we are grateful to you for your coverage over the years because it’s surely helped us get to where we are today.
There is much more on the way for us. We have a whole slate of shows around New England coming up – to Maine, NH, Rhode Island all over Mass. before Sunday, May 26 at BC opening for The Killers. We’ll also play The Town & The City Festival at the end of April in Lowell.
We post all of our upcoming shows in our Instagram bio. That’s the best place to keep up with us (@tysktysktask). The plan is to release another single next month as a follow-up to “Intolerable”, with Cutty still on drums, produced by Rick. Then we’ll record more songs with our permanent drummer Matt, probably for an upcoming EP in the fall. We have some new songs including “Shrine,” “Unhappy” and “Picture Perfect” which we’re planning to track as soon as Boston Calling wraps in the summer at Treehaus. We have about six newly-written songs and we will be playing them out so if you’re interested in new material, please get one of our gigs!
“Intolerable” is out now and available to stream and/or download and can be found along with a variety of reviews (Including ours!) when you head here. For a list of those upcoming shows that include an appearance at Alchemy in Providence on 1/20, Auspicious Brew in Dover, NH on 2/3, and Notch Brewery in Brighton on 2/22 to name just a few, head to those aforementioned Instagram stories here and then FB for more when you click here.
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