San Geronimo.

SAN GERONIMO'S SELF-TITLED EP ON COLDFRONT Records is causing quite a stir in the underground. While initial interest was caused by Peter Martin's previous work with Lifetime and Jets to Brazil, the content of the CD itself soon became what all of the talk was about. Almost 18 minutes of post-hardcore melodic hook rock with brilliant guitar work that instantly drew comparisons to the better works of Samiam, Texas is the Reason, and even Lifetime. I recently had a chance to catch up with Peter, and here is what was on his mind that day...

What caused the untimely demise of Lifetime?

That's some ancient history, but basically I got burned out playing hardcore. We had been on tour for almost three years straight going away for a month or two at a time, coming home for a month or two, then going back out. Being in a touring band can get pretty stressful, and I guess I just needed a break. Our last two shows were really amazing at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, and then at the Melody. in New Brunswick. Both places were packed, kids were crying, and we're all like "Where the hell were you all when we were on tour playing to 10 people every night?" I don't think I was the only one who was unhappy in the band at that point, but once I decided to stop doing it the rest of them decided to pack it in too.

After Lifetime, you worked with Blake on the formation of Jets to Brazil. How was that whole experience?

Well, I wasn't quite there from the beginning. They had already recorded a demo before I started playing with them. I got the call from Tim at Jade Tree telling me that they were looking for a guitarist. I was a Jawbreaker fan so I called Chris (drummer). The first shows I played with them were cool and a lot of fun but when we went to Europe on tour, it became pretty clear that it wasn't the best match up. It had only been a couple months after I left Lifetime and I don't think I was ready for that kind of full-on band commitment so soon. I was kind of lost after Lifetime broke up and hadn't really decided what I was going to do or if I even wanted to play music at all. Being on tour with Jets brought back some of the negative stuff that I quit Lifetime over in the first place.

What brought you to the Bay Area?

After I left Jets, I didn't pick up the guitar for six months. I stayed in New York the rest of that year and decided I needed a change of scenery. I had some friends who lived in Berkeley, so I decided to give California a shot. I'm actually surprised at the lack of any kind of "scene" here. It's really different--pretty much the opposite of the East Coast. It's a cool challenge to try and build a local following, despite a lack of scene.

How did all of the San Geronimos get together?

Actually, Todd Tomlinson and I are the only original San Geronimos left. Todd came from the depths of the Vermont hardcore rock show Drowningman. Dave Link, our new bassist, has been in Boston area bands like Slapshot and Give. SG formed after a frustrating search; everything from classifieds to friends that played instruments. We converged through the commonality of East Coast hardcore coupled with a drive to create a sound that was not too obviously based in punk and emo. We wanted to find melodies and rhythms that retained the heaviness and distortion of hard rock, while leaving space for melodic sensitivity and complex time signatures. A couple songs on that first EP hint at that, but it's more obvious sounding than what we sound like now. We've all been in heavy sounding bands, but also all share a love of pop music. Anyone can write a really heavy song. It's another thing to write a really heavy song that's hooky.

How did you hook up with Coldfront?

One of the 400 drummers we tried out was friends with Brett, the Coldfront owner, and told me that he was a big Lifetime fan. After Brett saw San Geronimo's first show, he didn't waste time in drafting up one of those multi-million dollar record deals. Things with the EP are going well I think; people seem to like it and are buying it in mass quantities. At least that's what Brett's been telling us. He wouldn't lie to us, would he? The checks Would have more of a rubber feel to them if he was.