miniaturized
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Album: Self-titled, out now via Self-Release
RIYL: Tom Petty. Experiments. New Inspiration.
I love the idea of things that take on a mind of their own. Sci-fi horror stories about technology that naturally spirals out of control. Body horror about parts of you that grow into their own entity. Hell, the recent crazy of fungal fantasy is as much about something that just does what it wants to. All of those things are scary in their own right, but are they as terrifying as a Tom Petty cover band? Kidding of course, but what most surprised me about both the story of miniaturized in theory and in sound is how much I underestimated his work. Petty ruled, actually, so it only makes sense that a band that began as a charity tribute act – featuring some of San Diego’s premiere alternative musicians, no less – spiraled into maybe my favorite discovery of 2023. miniaturized have crafted the catchiest brand of roots rock this side of Springsteen (and I live in Jersey, so I know a thing or two about The Boss). Art finds the right souls at the right time, and guitarist/vocalist Timothy Joseph came around just when I needed them. So how did the band come together?
“We’re a new band but we’ve been friends a while now. Everyone in the band is connected one way or another, through music. Although I’ve never been in a dedicated project with any of them until now, all of our previous bands have played or been out on the road together. We’re all friends and supporters of each other’s music and creative endeavors, so the chemistry was already built in when we started. As far as how this whole thing happened, The Tom Petty tribute was a one-off show to benefit the Grammy Associations’ charity, MusiCares. I called a bunch of my friends around town who I knew dug Petty’s stuff and could pull it off with style, so we could do him justice. We learned about 25 songs and ended up playing two shows to great success. It was so fun seeing how those timeless rock anthems affected people in a live setting. Young and old, it’s like those songs had the ability to peel away all the bullshit and get right to what makes you feel something visceral. That was a lightning bolt moment for me. So, I wrote the songs that would eventually become miniaturized at home pretty quickly after the tribute. Taking apart all of those classic rock songs really sparked an inspiration to try some new angles with my own writing. As the songs came together, I thought it would be fun to go into the studio and just record them live as a band with my friends from the Petty tribute. As the demos developed and got passed around a bit, things evolved.”
Photo courtesy of Becky DiGliglio.
