Knowing that the first listen to their debut will foster a "name that sound" debate, the four members of 10 Cents decided to be one step ahead of the critics and created a new genre to describe their wacky, breezy, and funky musical mix pop hop. "It's pop hop; part pop, part hip hop." Sean says. "Yeah. We have songy songs and rap/beat oriented songs. They have an ironic cuteness to them, with some clever humor hidden in the lyrics," adds Tina.

10 Cents will make you shake your groove thing and contemplate the lyrical message. It is easily liked by both high school cool kids and soccer moms who dig the Teletubbies. It's the kind of record that will find a home at indie record stores as well as corporate radio. After all, 10 Cents has been working toward this perfected pop-confection for almost five years. Sean who finds inspiration in the work of beatnik poets and authors, met Tina (who was just beginning to play bass) at a club in Silver Lake. They decided to start a band, got Phil E. from another act, and played a few shows, including one seen by Blair. He waxes nostalgic about the hook up. "I pushed myself in there and told them they needed a new drummer. They gave in and let me give it a go."

10 Cents recorded a 45 and an LP, Everybody Wins, for local label Angel Dust and enjoyed a load of live work including shows at last year's CMJ Convention. A temporary line-up change, personal growth, and a desire to work with the ultra-busy Dust Brothers delayed the recording schedule several times. "

All the time-outs ended up working in our favor because they forced us to write more tracks' and to better the songs we already had," Sean says. "So this album represents a broad spectrum of 10 Cents. Working with the Dust Brothers is like science, we're talking major schooling."

That's not to say they aren't a little concerned with the superstar connection. Tina explains, "I think they helped produce a tighter record. It makes people skeptical of the product though - as in 'Oh, you worked with the Dust Brothers. Well then that album better be the shit.' I guess we'll just have to prove ourselves."

The band hopes to reach that goal when they come to a town near you. They hope to be touring well into the millennium- Although excited to interact with fans and experiment with songs like "Blow It Up Y'all" and "Die On The Ranch," Blair admits the idea of being on stage is making the band nervous. "We haven't been playing live very much since we started the recording process. We get butterflies, but we are super supportive to each other."

Album Review 

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