“When we started, there really wasn’t a dedicated scene for what we were doing specifically,” says guitarist Nick Hamm, via phone from a mall parking lot in Albuquerque, NM where the group had just started its fall tour. Citizen performs at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, at the Roxy at Mahall’s in Lakewood. “We had to carve out our own little lane. That mean playing shows with hardcore and punk bands because that was what was available. That informed a cool, unique ethos to the band that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.”
While growing up, Hamm listened to what his parents listened to.
“[It was] a lot of ’70s rock and Creedence [Clearwater Revival] and things like that and then ’90s alt-rock and grunge and stuff like Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden and Nirvana,” he says. “My parents weren’t musicians, but we did grow up listening to music, and we were never driving around in a silent car. Early on, I was informed by their taste. Later, I got into Green Day. That was an early punk rock element that made me wanna play guitar and music because I felt like I could play those songs.”
Hamm met singer-songwriter Mat Kerekes when they were just teenagers. They played together in high school, and that group would eventually become Citizen after adding Hamm’s brother, bassist Eric Hamm. The band recently expanded by adding touring members Ben Russin (drums) and Mason Mercer (guitar) to the fold.
The songs for the band’s new album, Calling the Dogs, started coming together about a year-and-a-half ago.
“The difference would be that Mat [Kerekes] started ones these a lot more raw,” says Hamm. “He wanted to bring the bare minimum and let everyone’s imagination really turn it into a full-fledged song rather than giving us the keys. He wanted to hear what everyone’s take would be.”
When it came time to pick a producer, the group put a number of hats into the ring. It wound up selecting Rob Schnapf (Beck, the Vines, Elliott Smith).
“We had a phone call with him, and we clicked,” says Hamm. “He really liked the songs. And we liked the idea of doing an album in California. We were used to recording in Pennsylvania and Ohio. We thought this would produce a totally different vibe. He’s done some early stuff with the Foo Fighters, and he was Elliott Smith’s guy. We are all big Elliott Smith fans. We also liked his work with Tokyo Police Club. That made it a no-brainer. His studio is this tiny little space. We expected to walk into this huge studio. It’s this tiny little space, and that is what we’re used to. It felt like doing a record with your friend and had a really cool vibe.”
Songs such as the Cars-like “Can’t Take It Slow,” a song with a snappy bass riff, reverberating guitars and urgent vocals, bring out the band’s pop sensibilities.
“Mat has always been really into pop music,” explains Hamm. “One of his favorite bands is Third Eye Blind. He has a sense of melody and pop sensibilities that I struggle to bring to the table. It’s a good meeting of the minds when we go to write. I bring more of a noisy, punky vibe. He makes the songs really come to life.”
The music video for “If You’re Lonely,” a song with lurching, Strokes-like guitars and hiccupping vocals, captures the band’s Midwestern ethos.
“That was a blast,” says Hamm. “Our friend Rachel Rinehardt directed it. She came to us with the idea. She wanted to do this one-take thing of a day in the life in the neighborhood. That is at our childhood home. That was really cool. We’re immortalizing the house that has been such an important part of our lives. It was just a blast. We got all these actors and friends to help. It felt like the spirit of this record was keeping things in house and with friends, and the video captures that.”
Though guitar-based rock n’ roll doesn’t top the charts these days like it once did, Hamm still feels like there’s a market for the music.
“It felt like a harder sell a few years ago,” he says. “Post-pandemic, people were ready for loud, energetic music. There’s a lot nostalgia for guitar-based music whether it’s indie rock or even nü-metal. It gives me hope. A few years ago, I thought it was on its way to the grave. Now, I think there’s a lot of hope. We keep playing bigger and bigger shows. That’s the biggest testament or the biggest thing I can go off.”
And though Citizen had only played one show on its fall tour at the time of this interview, Hamm says the new songs should fit well with older tunes from the band’s back catalog.
“And if I can go off the one show, it’s such a cool energy, and the new songs sound so good,” he says. “Everyone is playing off each other. They just sound awesome. It feels right when we get to those parts of the set. We do songs across every era of the band, and we always like to do it that way. I think the shows will be awesome.”
This article appears in Oct 25 – Nov 7, 2023.
