"Groupie": A Talk With The Rectangle Club

This is the first of a regular installment called "Groupie," which is a series of random questions with a local artist or band.

Formed early in 2005, the Massachusetts band The Rectangle Club is a quartet that blends blues, rock, punk and folk. Led by singer/guitarist Shane Hall, the band – after a change from the original – also includes Austin Magnant on bass and vocals, Brian Delsignore on percussion and Jon Grey on guitars.

The Rectangle Club performs mostly originals, but also has a knack for pulling out obscure tunes and making them their own on stage. Their original material explores the negatives and positives of the human condition, from the rejection of a universal moral definite on “Enemy” from its upcoming debut called The Songs of Own Munee to calling into the question the nature of romance in “Dodo.” “This is the kind of rock and roll that seeks to get your brain working just as hard as your body.”

The band stems from a project Hall had started with close friend Owen Monet, writing folk songs, and figuring they could “rock them up a little and get a backing band.” After Monet could not finish the album, it had to be finished without him. “The album will have a book, which will explain these things,” says Hall. “A novella, if you will, where each track corresponds with a chapter in the book written in memoir style.”

Original guitarist Steve Brown-Boone recently left for Arizona, and Grey is currently working out the tunes. The show this Saturday will be done as a three-piece in the meantime, to let the public know The Rectangle Club is still alive.

“I like to describe The Rectangle Club as Guns ‘n’ Roses for the thinking man,” says Hall, “or if Leonard Cohen was a huge Led Zeppelin fan, perhaps. We pack a lot of influences into what we do – lots of blues, early rockabilly, ‘70s rock, early rock, a little bit of punk, some hip-hop even – I rapped for many years under the monikers ‘Jezuz’ and ‘MessiahCarey.’ People who come to our shows tend to make note of our energy as the high point of their evening.”

Weekly Shuffle: Christmas song bombardment is at an all time high. Everyone’s ready to crack. Has the Rectangle Club ever recorded a Christmas tune?

SH: I really personally despise Christmas songs, save maybe the big choral stuff that just sounds so epic. But Austin mentioned “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” and I have to say that it would be really a sadly appropriate song for the moment.

WS: You can go back in time 30 years. Who would you jam with?
SH: Brian Eno. There’s nothing quite like the way he approached music as an art and I’d love to see what madness we could come up with. If he wasn’t into it, I’d seek out Leonard Cohen and we’d make a rock album.
AM: John Lennon and/or John Paul Jones. John Lennon to jam with and John Paul Jones to share licks and ideas with.
SB-B: In no particular order: Mark Knopfler, Eddie Van Halen, Dave Mustaine, Gary Rossington, Alan Collins, Joe Walsh, George Thorogood, Ritchie Blackmore, Randy Rhoads, Toni Iommi, Jake Lee, Jeff Baxter, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray and Jimmy Page.
BD: Pink Floyd, pre and post-Sid, and The Beatles.

WS: Official band food?
SH: We all worship the altar of Thai….Mango in Milford is definitely our spot. People can feel free to email us recommendations. I’m somewhat obsessed with Asian food.

WS: Is there an activity the whole band enjoys together outside of playing music?
SH: Ha ha. Mom-jokes for the win. Besides, I like to watch everyone moan and groan (like your mother) and slowly leave when I put in my Golden Girls Season 2 DVD during breaks.

WS: Five years from now you will be….?
SH: Playing lounge songs in some Cheesy Hotel ™ in Vegas somewhere. Tip your waitress, and hey, how about those dancers, ladies and gentlemen? Don’t forget, we’ll be here all week bringing you the soothing sounds of molten chaos.

The Rectangle Club plays with The Sift, as well as a solo set by Shane Hall, at Ralph’s on Saturday.