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All in the Family: Magic Numbers Lead
04/06/2006 3:51 PM, AP
Jake Coyle
For an increasing number of bands, music is a family affair.
Many current acts are either partly or entirely composed of brothers, sisters, wives and husbands. The White Stripes have been all four.
The British seem to specialize in bands of brothers. A few of their exports: Radiohead (Jonny and Colin Greenwood), Oasis (Liam and Noel Gallagher), the Futureheads (David and Barry Hyde) and Field Music (Peter and David Brewis).
Brothers and sisters are touring together as well. Fiery Furnaces is a duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, who even brought their grandmother, Olga Sarantos, in on their 2005 album, "Rehearsing My Choir."
Twin sisters? How about Tegan and Sara. Half of the Swedish rock band Sahara Hotnights is also made up of sisters (Jennie and Johanna Asplund).
Husbands and wives, too, are carrying their relationships into the workplace. Among them: Arcade Fire (Win Butler and Regine Chassagne), Viva Voce (Kevin and Anita Robinson), Mates of State (Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel) and Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon).
It is not an entirely new development, of course. A few obvious predecessors include the Jackson Five, the Allman Brothers Band (Duane and Gregg), Van Halen (Eddie and Alex), the Kinks (Ray and Dave Davies) and, um, Hanson.
"Recently I think the trend has been a lot more prevalent," says Doug Brod, executive editor of Spin magazine. "It has a lot to do with people growing up under the same roof. You tend to have similar influences and fewer creative differences."
Though not to the extent of the Partridge Family, the identity of many of these current bands is inseparable from their family ties. Tegan and Sara are renown for their sisterly on-stage banter. The quirky, experimental pop of the Fiery Furnaces seems as though it could only be the product of a shared childhood playroom.
"A lot of these bands also obviously try to capitalize on (their relations)," Brod says. "With Oasis, it was all about the Gallagher brothers. For good or bad, it made for great copy."
Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes took a different route by hiding their former marriage, and instead claimed to be brother and sister — which resulted in a provocative (and slightly deranged) sense of mystery.
But perhaps the poster family band is the Magic Numbers. The British quartet is made up of not one, but two pairs of siblings. Smiling, they proudly claim to be the first such rock group ever.
"We used to joke that we'd be like the White Stripes times two," says Angela Gannon, who plays the melodica and sings backup for the band. Her brother, Sean, plays drums.
The Magic Numbers are led by singer and guitarist Romeo Stodart, a bearded 28-year-old whose genial nature is shared by his bandmates. His 22-year-old sister, Michele, plays bass.
Their 2005 self-titled debut has won raves for its fun-loving, swooning melodies and shifting, lovelorn harmonies. Comparisons to the radiant `60s pop of the Mamas & the Papas have been rife; Mojo magazine also called them the best new band of last year.
The Stodarts grew up, Romeo says, "surrounded by music." They were raised in Trinidad, where their mother once sang opera on a TV talent show. The family moved to New York when Romeo was in his early teens, and a few years later moved to London.
Romeo soon became friends with Sean Gannon, 29; the two played in bands together for ten years before the Magic Numbers. Romeo says with a gulp, "You almost have to swallow those ten years."
"It was a nightmare," he says. "We never had the right lineup, we never had the right people."
In the end, the solution was right in front of them — or, more precisely, upstairs.
Michele was steadily practicing her bass playing, and Romeo and Sean had played with Angela, 21, a few times before. So the two friends, out of other options, invited their sisters to join them.
"For the first six months, I just kind of told myself that we were just filing in for the real band members," Michele says.
"It was a little like that," responds Romeo, prompting a burst of laughter.
Angela remembers going with Michele to their older brothers' concerts when they were 13-year-old fans.
"They'd be down in front," says Romeo.
Before playing their first show together, Angela says, "Me and Michele were down in the (bathroom) and we were like, `We used to watch these guys! Now we're playing with them!"
The Magic Numbers turned out a good fit, and were signed almost immediately. Touring with siblings, they say, includes the inevitable fights, but their intimate frankness means less tension. The average band can suffer from anger that boils below the surface.
"And then three years down the line, you'll be doing `Some Kind of Monster,' like Metallica," jokes Romeo, alluding to the documentary that chronicles the heavy-metal band's infighting and subsequent therapy.
Romeo says he feels more comfortable revealing new songs to the band, which can be a sensitive moment for any songwriter. Life on the road, also, can be a little less arduous.
"You miss home," he says, "so you have a part of your home with you."
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