Megan from Work: An Unassuming Name for an Unabashed Band

Written By Nina Kremer | Photos By Faith Nguyen & Brittany Rose Queen

Photo By Faith Nguyen

Q and A disclaimer: Responses have been lightly edited for grammar, clarity, and length.

Megan From Work is an indie rock band based in New England featuring singer/songwriter Megan Simon, bassist Joey Martin, guitarist Quintin Surina, lead guitarist Luis Hernandez and drummer Alex Ruscansky. Upbeat, yet still honest, Megan From Work blends the energetic and the earnest. After taking the stage at Boston Calling performing songs from their debut album, “Girl Suit,” the band recently released their latest single, “Back on the Saddle.” In this interview, the band discussed the story behind the song, what it’s like to play a music festival, and shared a look behind the scenes of shooting a music video.

Q: Who would you guys say is one of your greatest inspirations or someone that you like to emulate in your sound?

Simon: Oh yeah, definitely. Everyone laughs preemptively because The Killers is number one by so much for me. The obsession runs really deeply here. And aside from that, I really love just big anthemic rock bands with synth undertones — Phoenix, Metric, Blink 182 — anything that's like energetic but still has that emotional depth to it. Like I'm dancing, but I'm singing about being bummed out. I love that stuff. 

Surina: I mean, I feel like I kind of snuck myself into this band, because I'm also a huge Killers and Strokes fan. So, you know, that was the big driving factor. Like, “Oh, my God, that's what I want to sound like.” But yeah, I would say the number of times when they're trying to figure out a part, or we're just, you know, playing something new that Megan’s like, “Yeah, you know that Brandon Flowers bit, I want to kind of do that here,” or “Let's do that little Rilo Kiley guitar part.” So, I feel like those two are probably the ones I see us emulating the most.

Simon: I always forget to say Rilo Kiley, and they're so important to me. Thank you for that. 

Martin: Yeah, I've gotten that a few times, like, kind of out of the blue, and I was just like, “I don't know who that band is. I'm sorry.” I've only recently heard some songs.

Surina: They sound like Megan from Work. 

Martin: I think my biggest influences would probably just be like the bassist for Dillinger Four, Patty Costello. He's kind of just been like to me, like one of the pinnacle bass players in my life, which probably sounds silly for a punk band, but I feel like he can do no wrong. And yeah, I appreciate that. Trying to go for stuff like that. But I actually — I really try to emulate my tone off of isolated Cliff Burton bass tracks. And I know he was like, you know, thunder fingers, and I'm playing with a pick, but same idea. Just try to be a little aggressive with it.

Playing Boston Calling

Q: Can you tell me what that experience was like, and maybe how the energy of a bigger crowd compares to a smaller crowd, or and how that affects your energy on stage?

Martin: I thought I was going to be a lot more scared than I actually was. And I think it's honestly because there was a lot of positivity from the crowd, like, pretty immediately, and that made it super comfy, and not even that scary at all.

Simon: Well, people show up to have a good time. You know, they come to the festival because they want to hear fun music and maybe dance, and especially if you're at the Orange Stage, if you're at the local stage, you want to see somebody new, and you're there to be supportive, just by your presence being there. And it was just so exciting to see the crowd of people, and getting to perform these songs. We did a cover of “American Girl” by Tom Petty, because I was like, “I want to play one that people can sing along with and know.” And I just remember seeing this one guy in the crowd who was like, red in the face from getting emotional. And I was like, “Yes! If I've touched one person today, then we did it.” So yeah, it was a lot less scary than I thought it was going to be, also because I think that we prepared really hard for it. We were practicing twice a week for two months leading up to it. And yeah, the energy is incredible, like when you have a real back and forth with the audience. It's a conversation, and a call and response, even if it's not a literal one. It was the coolest day ever.

Surina: Yeah, there was a great vibe in that crowd too because it was just starting to rain, but you could see everyone was just so excited to see the set, which, yeah, just immediately quelled any fears I think any of us had. We were all bouncing around.

Songwriting Process

Q: [Megan,] I know, as you just said, you're the primary songwriter, but I also heard that you guys also do add your own instrumental parts, so I was wondering if you could give me sort of a rundown of what that collaborative process looks like, and maybe how you guys build off of each other's creativity?

Martin: Yeah, so since Megan's coming with, at the very least, the big idea of the song to us and saying, like, now it's time to put, you know, your part to it, what I would like to do is pull whatever the bass part is out of Megan's head and put it in the song. And so I don't try to write just one part. Like when we're writing it, like, say, the first time we play the verse, I'll play it one way. The second time I’ll play something different just to give something to compare it to, and then we — I don't want to say it's a democracy — but we all kind of weigh in. Like, which one do we think sounds the best here, you know, what works better? Like, you know, I'm always trying to not write to step on anybody else's parts either. And so what works the best with all that?

Simon: Louis specifically just has such good taste. I'm always going to shout him for that. Whenever we're torn between two or three ideas, you know, Joey being like, “This is bass line one. This is two and three,” whatever Luis says I'm typically like, “Yeah, that's a good call.” And then Alex, Alex is awesome to work with on drums, because that's definitely the thing that I hear most in my head. And so he says that I'm good at drummer speak, where I’m like, “You know, I’m thinking like [pretends to play drums].” Good luck writing that in your written article. 

Martin: “Does drum onomatopoeia.”

Surina: Just put an audio clip in. 

Simon: Exactly. Just one little note. But that's how we communicate for that. He’ll be like “Something like this?” And I'm like, “Ooo no, but I like what you're doing.”

Back on the Saddle

Q: I know I read on your Instagram Megan, that you said it was about your time living in LA, so I was wondering if you could give a little bit more of a backstory, if possible, to the song, and maybe what you hope listeners take away from it?

Simon: For songwriting, I can never just sit down at a guitar and be like, “Okay, time to write a song.” It typically comes to me while I'm driving, or in the shower, or in this case, to be a little “woo” with it, I had cleaned my room on the new moon in Aquarius to make space. In that process, whether it was because I was just like, kind of zoning out from just cleaning or whatever, that whole chorus just kind of came to me, melody and words. It just felt like a gift. Then I could take it to guitar, and just the whole thing came out. 

So I didn't sit down and say, like, “I'm going to write a song about living in LA,” but just the way that it was going I was able to kind of trace it back to that. And when I was living out there I was pursuing comedy, and I was going to crappy open mics, and I didn't know anybody. I knew, like one person, and that one person knew a person that took me in, into their friend group, and into their comedy show as a producer, just fully embraced me, and set me up with a support system. Even though I was subletting for the first nine months of living there and living in — oh my gosh, I think I moved five times in that nine months, like place to place, because I was waiting for my friend to move out there with me, all my stuff in my car in a storage unit. Even though my life was very unstable, multiple jobs, the whole thing of trying to make it in the city, I had this base group of people that I could rely on to, you know, smoke weed and watch movies, go to karaoke rooms, that kind of a thing. So if there's anything to take away from the song, it's just lean on your group of people and rally and go out. If you don't feel like going out, go out with your friends.

Q: I noticed that you teased a “Back on the Saddle” music video potentially on the way, so I was wondering how you guys go about creating visuals to enhance the messages of your songs?

Simon: I feel like I got really lucky with the last two singles. “Life into a Movie” and “Back on the Saddle” are just clear themes. So for “Life into a Movie,” that song is almost entirely references to being on set, which is something that I have some experience with. So I tend to take the reins on the visual identity and the production. And Joey was instrumental in helping that one come together.

Martin: Shout out to Kate too.

Simon: Yes. Shout out. So many shout outs. You’ll have to find our post and tag everyone who we shouted out. 

Martin: Yeah, because everyone helped. It was really sick. 

Simon: So, that was a really clear one. I knew I wanted to do a video where there was a director who was micromanaging and overstepping, and to the point that we all just want to break up and quit. “Back on the Saddle” is not a country song. It has nothing to do with cowboys. But I said the word “saddle,” so I was like, “I need to do something low budget and easy to execute.” And so we played cowboys in some parks. And, yeah, that'll be coming soon. I edit all the videos as well. So we have a tour coming up, and I need to — I 've been saying this for months — I have a lot going on right now.

Surina: Hell of an undertaking to decide to write the song, come up with the idea of the music video, record it, edit it yourself... 

Simon: Direct it, tell my friends how to act — which is very funny. It's just because everyone has so much fun that I have to be like, “Joey, you're not happy in the scene. You can't be smiling.”

Martin: Too bad.

Simon: “This is a fight scene, you can’t laugh.”

Surina: “Put the squirt guns down. We need those for later.”

Q: My next question kind of goes back to something that you mentioned earlier, Megan, when I was listening to your music, what I really loved about it was that I feel like your lyrics are super vulnerable, but the music is super powerful and really punchy and upbeat. So yeah, this is not just a question for you, but also for the whole band. But what do you think it is about that pop rock genre that allows you to express yourself so authentically?

Simon: There's such a power in loud music, it drowns out the thoughts. And I just love anything anthemic, anything that you can sing your heart out too. I like to write music that you drive with all the windows down and it's 100 degrees and you're sweating your ass off, but it's so loud that you can't help it. Yeah, I just think that the human ear likes the human voice, and people like to sing and that's just such a—I like expressing myself loudly and taking up a lot of space there, because I feel like I don't really get to do that in my day to day, either. 

Q: Quintin and Joey, do you guys have anything to add about, when you're doing the songwriting, how you maybe take the lyrics into consideration, or anything about why you like to play the way you like to play?

Surina: I think there's definitely something to be said — like Megan was saying — obviously I'm not singing, but you turn an amp up and you just have that sound shaking the room. And it really just — I feel like you feel like you can do anything when you're up on stage and you are just putting that power out into the room. Which can be really cool, because I'm a very shy person, but you know, the second you crank the amp up a little, you're just like, “All right, I can be a little funny. I can be a little silly. I'm a goofy little guy.” 

Martin: Yeah, I don't know, I just like playing loud with my friends.

Simon: Joey likes to rock. We all like to. I think the common denominator is we all just really like to rock.

Surina:  Yeah, I think about that “Simpsons” episode where Homer tries the bass and he jiggles it and his whole body jiggles. And he's just like, “All right, yeah.” 

Martin: I don't play that loud… but I could. 

Simon: But you do help drive the bus. You and Alex both drive. 

Upcoming Tours (Both Real and Aspirational)

Q: I know you guys have a tour coming up, so I'm just wondering what are you most looking forward to about that?

Martin: Want me to say it? 

Simon: You can say it.

Martin: The Bruce Springsteen Museum! If it’s open.

Simon: Oh, it's the summertime. I think it has to be open. 

Martin: I want to go.

Simon: I’m also really excited for Asbury Park. Specifically because I am a little Cancer crab, and I’m so drawn to the ocean. And last time we played there was October, and so we were right on the boardwalk, and it was a beautiful day, but we couldn't really go touch that big blue. So I'm excited to have — I think that that day of tour is going to feel kind of like a beach day vacation as well. 

Surina: I didn't get this week off work, so Megan's playing guitar for this little tour. So you know, they're back on the saddle.

Simon: Yep, it's a real heartbreaker. It is. 

Surina: So I'm deeply jealous to find out you guys are hitting the Bruce Springsteen Museum. 

Martin: Yeah, sorry. 

Simon: We’ll FaceTime. 

Martin: I wasn't trying to keep it from you.

Surina: No, it's okay. You probably should have.

Q: What would you say is maybe a hope that you have for the band in the future, like a next step, or just a way that you'd like to continue to grow, maybe in your career, maybe in your sound, anyway that you'd like to progress in the next couple of years, months, however long you'd like?

Simon: To open for the Killers on a world tour.

Surina: I knew that would be the answer.

Simon: You know I had to do it. No, genuinely, I just, more than anything, want to see the music that I've written recorded and put out into the world. And however that is, is fine with me. We have a lot of stuff in the tank right now, so our focus for the next few months is going to be to get all those songs in the room together, flesh out parts and do some demoing and try to see if maybe a label would like to release our second album … Mainly world tour!

Martin: We have a little running bit in the band where our next tour is going to be Japan. Let's make it happen. I don't know how that happens.

Surina: I’d quit my job for that one.

Martin: I'd have to tell work, “Listen, yeah, I gotta go live my life.”

Surina: “I’m taking a month off. Sorry, make it work.” 

Martin: “You'll be alright without me. I won’t be alright without this.”

Photo By Brittany Rose Queen

Megan from Work are making a name for themselves in the local scene. Most recently they embarked on an east coast tour with fellow New Englanders, Hell Beach. Next up, the band will be continuing to play around Manchester, NH, and Megan will also be playing as a solo act. While they dream of one day taking their talents to the world stage, Megan From Work continues to hone their craft and bring emotional depth to their pop punk tracks.