by Laura Garber
It’s hard to pin down the modern soundtrack of the South Bay; a mix of smacked volleyballs, crashing whitewash and the electric whir of teenagers weaving by on e-bikes. But Pet Project, a group formed from South Bay staples Feed the Kitty and Pet the Dog, has managed to bottle that distinct beach cities sound in their recently released second album, “Same Old World, Different Me.”
SoCal Neo-retro would sound like a woman who “slept in her Corvette alone last night down by the beach,” said bassist Jed Mottley, quoting a lyric from their 2024 debut album, “Sidewalk to Nowhere.” It’s not hard to picture women swaying to a summer afternoon set at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach or H.T. Grill in Redondo—drawn to the music as if their memories of, or longing for such nights, are woven into the lyrics.
In 2000, Mottley relocated to Los Angeles from Arizona to advance Feed the Kitty. Original band members married or became firemen, leading Mottley to connect with Jack Maher Jr., who joined FTK as vocalist and guitarist.
Mottley remembers calling Maher in the spring of 2008, “Do you want to play every night? Because I don’t want to get a job, do you?” The duo headed for the South Bay determined to go all in.
Broke and living with a then-girlfriend, Mottley was dropped off at the Riviera Village in Redondo Beach where she told him, “Okay, you need to do something. Go book a show.” 26 years and 4,100 shows later, Mottley and his crew continue to play the South Bay circuit.
Playing for South Bay audiences has proved integral to the essence of the band. “The South Bay is so different from Hollywood because you come here and get into this circuit, you play all the
time,” said Mottley. “Hollywood’s more like you’re showcasing in front of executives who aren’t there. Once we built a community, it became something really special.”
Many of the band’s songs were inspired by South Bay people and places. “We really brought people into our world, but they brought us into their world. We have this family now,” Maher Jr. said.
Pet Project emerged from the two aptly named South Bay bands, Feed the Kitty and Pet the Dog in 2023. Mathieu Brousseau, lead singer of Pet the Dog, took on lead vocals for Pet Project, with Maher Jr. on guitar and Mottley continuing as bassist.
“Jack and I said, we’d never let anybody get in between us. But this isn’t just anybody,” Mottley said, referring to Brousseau who sings between them on stage.
Brousseau has a knack for lyrics that empathizes with his bandmates. “Cheap Perfume and Wine,” a song on the new album, came from an experience Mottley endured; a woman he loved showed up to his set with another man. “We’re really good friends, we can feel each other’s pain,” Mottley said.
The album showcases a diverse range of genres, from the optimistic yet contradictory romance of “I’m Leaving You Tonight,” which Mottley describes as “Talking Heads meets David Bowie type of blue-collar funk,” to the playfully haunting western tune “The Puppeteer,” about a traveling circus ventriloquist.
Brosseau says the boldness of Eminem interviews has even inspired songs like “Two is Too Sweet,” the ending album track about a man more preoccupied with how he takes his coffee than how he killed and buried two people.
Through themes of loss, life and love, “Same Old World, Different Me” explores how “The world never changes. It’s the same old story for centuries and centuries,” Maher Jr. said. “People are going to question their own marriages…I’m kidding.”
Mottley shared some of his favorite lyrics from the commercial-friendly title track; “Comfort is the killer of aspiration. Routine is the death of my soul. Stillness is the seed from my depression running from what I can’t control.”
“Whatever happens with this record, the only thing I want to do is keep creating and sharing because I listen to music all day,” Brosseau said. For Brosseau, music is heard during chores, exercising, making love. “[Music] soundtracks my whole life. If I could soundtrack somebody’s half hour. That’s it. That’s what it’s for.”
Pet Project’s past two albums were recorded at Studio 606 in Northridge, owned by rock band Foo Fighters alongside Dave Grohl, the frontman of the band. John Lousteau, known as “Lou,” a producer at the studio, helped Pet Project produce their latest album. Without a full-time drummer, Lou stepped up as the band’s permanent drummer. “He’s just amazing at melodies. And he’s there for the song, not himself,” Mottley said. “He wants the song to sound great for audiences.”
Studio 606 is home to the infamous Sound City Studio’s Neve soundboard, a piece of producing machinery that lends a distinct analog sound. The same Neve board that recorded music for artists Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana and more recorded Pet Project’s last two records.
Lou works closely with Dave Grohl at Studio 606. Mottley and Maher can remember times Grohl would come in during their sessions. “I can hear you laughing from outside,” Grohl told the band, a testament to their playful energy while making “Same Old World, Different Me.”
Between the laughs are the symptoms of passionate musicians with differing opinions. “You get a couple freewheeling, alternative lifestyle guys going for something, you’re going to have conflicting ideas.” Brosseau said. “But what’s great about this band getting together at this stage of our lives -a lot of the ego is out the door. That helps put the songs and creativity first.”
Pet Project’s “Same Old World, Different Me,” album release party will be held at Hermosa Beach’s Lighthouse Cafe on Saturday, July 19, at 12 p.m. ER
