- Fresh Find: Introducing Pharmacy Keys - April 8, 2020
- My First Bellwether Music Festival Experience - August 15, 2019
- Why the Nelsonville Music Festival is a unique experience - June 18, 2019
In the ‘90s, four Cleveland-area musicians and life-long friends–Dave Moran (songwriter/singer/guitar), Nathan Thompson (bass), Justin Waite (drums/back-up vocals), and Jeremy Newton-Smith (guitar/back-up vocals)–started separate bands such as Civil Funk, The Earmuffs, Firestone Elementary, The Trim, and Diamonds and Pearls. Though all have been friends and all were in different bands, this is the first time they are all playing in the same band. In 2017, the guys reunited and formed Pharmacy Keys. This year, they released their first album, Conjuress.
The early days
All of the members of Pharmacy Keys graduated from the same high school. Back in those days, all four guys would hang out like typical teenagers, and one day Dave brought his guitar. Jeremy was impressed, so Dave started to teach Jeremy how to play. Jeremy said, “Dave taught me a ton. I was always amazed at the Smashing Pumpkins songs he would play.”
Around the same time, Nate started to learn how to play bass, and Justin had already learned how to play drums in fifth grade.
Years went by, but they still remained friends. They also had lives of their own: some got married, divorced, had kids, got professional jobs, moved out of state for a bit. But they always kept in touch. They all still played music when time let them. Also during this time, Dave was writing lyrics and music for a band yet to be found.
Many years later
When Justin caught up with Dave after almost 20 years, he let Dave know that he was playing again and invited him over to jam. A week or two later, Dave showed up with all his vintage Fender guitar gear, plugged in and started playing a song he wrote called “Every Note, a Symphony.” Dave told Justin: “If we can play this together, we can play everything in my catalog right now.” After 3 months, Justin and Dave approached Jeremy to play guitar, and he fit right in.
When the original bass player Justy respectfully quit the band to play in another, the remaining guys from Pharmacy Keys knew the exact person to recruit to play bass. Nathan had just moved back to Cleveland and couldn’t say no to joining three musicians and friends who he had played with in the past. Nathan stepped right in, and within a matter of a couple months was ready to play shows.
Nate says, “When Pharmacy Keys first started out, I was still in contact with Justin and Dave. We’d all talk about how it would be amazing if I could be in the band somehow, but I lived in Illinois at the time. As luck would have it, though, my wife Amy was able to transfer to Cleveland in 2019. By that time, Pharmacy Keys already had a bass player, and it looked like I’d just have to enjoy their music as a fan. But when Justy decided to leave to focus more time with another band, the stars aligned. As soon as we moved back to Cleveland, the boys and I were lining up times to practice. I’m ecstatic that it all worked out. We have so much history and a connection that it felt like I had been in the band from the start.”
The music
Dave is the mastermind behind the lyrics and the music. As Justin says, “These are Dave’s songs. Dave brought them to us, and from the very beginning begged us to be candid with him. He’d ask questions like ‘please tell me if this sucks, if you’re not feeling it, let’s not waste time on it.’ That spirit allowed for an incredible writing experience. As long as this project has been alive, Dave has always been very receptive of suggestions. We’ve definitely massaged a composition here or there, but these are his songs.”
Dave writes a simple version of the songs with his guitar, which he says “typically involves screwing around on a guitar until I come up with something that picks up my ears.” Once he brings the songs to practice, the magic begins. “We don’t just add our parts, like drums and other guitars. We also spend an absurd amount of time nit-picking every last detail of the songs themselves, playing through multiple renditions. Eventually, we have a version that feels exactly right. We explored every single option we could for all 12 songs on the album, so you are hearing our absolute best,” Jeremy said.
The lyrics
Frontman Dave develops a verse, and then shares it with the band. If the bandmates are on board, Dave writes the rest of the song. “Why waste time writing an entire verse if the people you’re playing with aren’t into the song, right?” As for his writing process, he claims there is no real science to it. “Sometimes I’ll sit down and everything will just come out and make sense like a story. Or there are times when I come up with a melody and just use ‘scratch’ lyrics as placeholders and then put thought to getting some real stuff in there later. Sometimes it is just a collection of ideas about completely unrelated things.”
The album: Conjuress
You know when you’re shuffling songs on your favorite streaming platform, and you hear a new song, listen to it for a minute, and then realize you have to know who sings it? Pharmacy Keys is that band. It’s the band that comes up on shuffle when you’re working out, mowing the lawn, taking a walk, cleaning the house, working, etc., and you have to check out their entire catalog and listen to more. The music is catchy, mature and familiar, but unique. Pharmacy Keys has been compared to Dinosaur Jr., the Breeders, and Spoon. There’s a vintage quality to the music. You can tell the band has many ‘90s influences, but also influences like T. Rex from the ‘60s. Each song has strong bass lines, clear melodic lyrics, powerful yet subtle drums, and engaging guitar hooks.
The album’s lyrics are relatable, and they make you think. For example, a line from “Every Note, a Symphony,” Dave sings, “She’s figured out how to weave herself into my favorite tunes.” It’s so powerful and true. I’m sure most people can relate to listening to music and always thinking of that certain someone, even though they would rather not.
In the song “Take the Cake,” a part of the song is: “Well I came here for the sunshine, baby. But I’ll stay through the rain. And if I ever needed someone, darlin.’ Well you know you take the cake.” What a compliment to whoever the song recipient is. The singer is a nice guy who is willing to take the good with the bad.
Listen to the album if you’re ready to hear something that’s a mixture of fresh and vintage rock!
What’s next
Pharmacy Keys is in the album promotion phase and currently booking shows in Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. All of the members are enjoying their achievements on the album, but they are still creating, writing and thinking about future releases.
They are also already collaborating on a second album, but, as Justin says, “We worked hard to put Conjuress together, so we’re gonna enjoy that for a minute!”
Fun facts
The band’s first name was Joyce, Dave’s mom’s middle name, but when she found out, she asked why? Why would you do that? She is a nurse, so they came up with Pharmacy Keys, a song lyric from “The Nurse Who Loved Me” by the band Failure–still a shout out to Dave’s mom.
The band recorded the album on their own with the help of long-time friend and engineer Mat Whipple. Mat, a former musician (they played with him in other bands) has done both live sound and music recording over the past decade. They rented a cabin in Southern Ohio, moved all the furniture around, set up a full-blown recording studio, using their own gear, as well as some borrowed gear and tracked all instrumentation in one week. The spirit of Conjuress, the “shine,” came from that environment where the band didn’t owe anyone anything.
Brian Westfall, another life-long friend, also contributed to the album. He played bass and also laid down some of the guitar and organ tracks.
Follow Pharmacy Keys
Conjuress is available on all major streaming platforms.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PharmacyKeysMusic/
Instagram: @pharmacykeysmusic
