Beautiful Tuesday: Folk with pop edge

By GEORGE AUSTIN

Since Theresa Andrewski has taken over the lead singing role for Beautiful Tuesday, the sound of the band has changed from a more folk style to folk with a pop edge. The combination seems to have worked well thus far for the Cape Cod based band.

“The songs that we are playing now are a little bit more upbeat, a little bit more fun, but still staying with that folky sound with the acoustic guitar and keyboards,” Matt Almquist, who plays guitar and provides backup vocals for the band, said.

Almquist knew Andrewski could sing because he was in chorus with her for four years in high school.

“She’s been a huge addition to the band,” Almquist said of Andrewski who is now a preschool teacher.

Andrewski, who also plays guitar, said she has been singing for a long time, but she said a lot of people did not know what her singing was like, because she always sang with a group of people who were singing together.

“I was always very quiet about my music, so it’s kind of ironic that I’m the frontman of a band,” Andrewski said.

Andrewski said when she joined the band, she thought it would just be a fun thing to do, but said it has turned into so much more, as all of the members of Beautiful Tuesday have grown both musically and in their friendships.

“I think I fit right in,” Andrewski said. “I think we all have really reached a new level. We bring out the best in each other.”

Beautiful Tuesday was formed in May of 2009. The other members of the band include drummer Jayk Watson and keyboardist Eric Cheever.

“We’ve all been friends for years now,” said Almquist who is studying audio production at the New England Institute of Art. “Our common interest in music started it all.”

The band spent a year writing music and with about 10 original songs, Beautiful Tuesday played its first show in June of 2010.

Almquist has been playing guitar for 10 years. When he was in sixth grade, he took a short, semester long class in which the teacher had every student play guitar.

“Since that time, I haven’t put it down,” Almquist said.

Watson only learned to play the drums for the band. There was an old drum kit hanging around, so he started playing and has come a long way for someone who just picked up the drum sticks.

“He’s all self-taught,” Almquist said. “He’s already gotten an endorsement from SJC Custom Drums and Saluda Cymbals.”

But Almquist said the band has varied influences from Mozart, which is an influence on the keyboard player, to Spill Canvas and City and Colour. He said those three kind of sum up the music of Beautiful Tuesday.

“They have a lot of traits that we look to achieve in our music, such as quality lyrics in their songs, emotion in their music and things people can relate to,” Almquist said.

Beautiful Tuesday released a full length album in March that the band recorded at MGW Audio in Falmouth.

The three songs that Beautiful Tuesday has released from its album have included “Beauty in the Breakdown,” “Rain” and “Crash.” “Beauty in the Breakdown” is a typical love story about a relationship and looking back at memories from that time together. “Crash” is about a car accident. “Rain” is about a misguided person who is lost and trying to find her way. The lyrics in that song start out mello and somber, but the bridge of the song brings new light and hope and sends a message not to let the world bring you down.

“We always emphasize the bridge as being the most important part of the song because you can’t give up hope,” Almquist said.

The band made a video for “Rain” that was taped in Sandwich by Justyn Moro who did all the filming and editing. Almquist said the video pretty much just sticks to the story of the song. The video can be found on YouTube.

Almquist said Beautiful Tuesday plays out as much as it can, usually one or two shows a week. Almquist said the music scene on Cape Cod varies. He said there is a lot of pop/punk and hardcore and not a lot of pop/folk. He said the band wants to branch out over the next couple of months, playing out of state and spreading its music to as many places as possible. Beautiful Tuesday has played a variety of venues from Knights of Columbus and Veterans of Foreign War halls to The Central Mass Expo Center and The Colosseum in Rhode Island.

“I think it’s good,” Almquist said of playing with the other bands. “I’ve had people tell me our band is a refreshing difference when we’re at a show with a bunch of hardcore and metal bands.”

The music of Beautiful Tuesday has been played on college radio stations and WCOD, 101.9 FM, which Almquist said helps support a lot of local bands on the Cape with its Sunday night show called The Cheap Seats. Beautiful Tuesday recently co-hosted that show with Cat Wilson. The members of the band were allowed to bring in songs from other local bands that they like to listen to so they could be played on the show.

“It was cool to see how much Cat does for the music scene and how much she does at her radio show and to get a look behind the scenes at a local radio station was a good experience,” Almquist said.