The Telephone Numbers began playing together just before the pandemic lockdown. The quartet—Thomas Rubenstein and Morgan Stanley, who play guitar and sing; bass player Charlie Ertola; and drummer and percussionist Phil Lantz—are all veterans of San Francisco’s indie-music scene.
“Our first album, The Ballad Of Doug, was more of a solo project,” Rubenstein said. They started recording the songs with the full band; then the Covid shutdown happened.
“I recorded most of it at home, during lockdown,” Rubenstein said. “I’d been laid off of my day job and had some money from unemployment. I had guitars and some mics at home, and sent ideas to Charlie. He recorded his bass parts at his place and sent them back. Glenn mixed everything.”
When clubs opened up, Rubenstein and the Telephone Numbers began playing live, their current lineup evolving over time. “I don’t write very fast,” Rubenstein said. “But once we had a solid quartet, we started thinking about making a real band record.”
Alicia Vanden Heuvel, owner of Speakeasy Studios, asked the band if they’d like to record with her. “We all loved Alicia’s band, the Aislers Set, so recording with her and having our music become part of the lineage of San Francisco’s pop-music history was an honor,” Rubenstein said.
The arrangements for the songs on the album Scarecrow II had been worked out during live performances. The band, and a few musician friends, went into the studio producing themselves, with the help of Vanden Heuvel.
“It was all done live in the studio, with no click track. After we had the basic tracks down, we spent a couple months at Speakeasy doing overdubs,” Rubenstein said. “It was a smooth collaboration, it just took a while to come together since we’re all in several bands.”
Rubenstein plays in the Reds, Pink & Purples and True Companion. Stanley plays in the Umbrellas and the Kitchenettes. Lantz plays in Chime School and Neutrals, and Charlie plays in the Beau Wiley Band, Never Bored and the live band of Slow Motion Cowboys.
After a couple of months of overdubbing, Vanden Heuvel sent the tracks to Rubenstein who finished them up at home.
The music blends rock, pop and Americana, anchored by Rubenstein’s poetic, introspective lyrics and the band’s subtle musical interplay. The overall ambience suggests a soundtrack for the everyday duties of life in a band.
“Goodbye Rock and Roll” is powered by Rubenstein’s 12-string guitar and the interplay between Rubenstein’s vocal and Stanley’s harmonies. The song describes the frustrations of being in a band that’s slowly falling apart.
That theme continues on “This Job is Killing Me,” an ambient ballad portraying the tension between the joy of making music at night and the stress of a day job. Rubenstein and Stanley blend their voices in a soothing tone with a sorrowful edge. Somber organ tones, supplied by Andy Pastalaniec, intensify the track’s melancholy feel.
“I’ve been an avid music fan from the time I could make decisions for myself,” Rubenstein said. “It started with the Beatles and B-52s, and went on from there.”
At the age of 10 he obtained a guitar. By high school, Rubenstein was in the jazz band, learning a bit about reading music, but he plays and composes by ear and feel.
“I began to record in middle school, using GarageBand and a USB mic,” he said. “I’ve been in a lot of bands over the years. The Telephone Numbers came together when my last band, the Love-Birds, fell apart. Charlie played bass in that band and helped anchor us as members came and went.”
Everyone in the band has day jobs, but music has always been Rubenstein’s passion. “I’m not 20 years old anymore and the realities of the world can get in the way, but I hope to continue being creative with my friends,” he said.
Listen to tracks from ‘Scarecrow II’ at: thetelephonenumbers.bandcamp.com.