Terry Gross just released Huge Improvement, an album of tunes based around their improvised jams. The band is a trio—bass player Donny Newenhouse, guitarist Phil Manley and drummer Phil Becker—of longtime veterans of the Bay Area music scene. They own and operate San Francisco’s El Studio, where they produce albums and record dozens of local bands, including their own.
“I got interested in recording in high school, after having an experience recording at someone’s home studio,” Newenhouse said. “The results were less than ideal. I thought, ‘Hey, I could do better than this.’ Plus, I was always fascinated with gear—the knobs, mics, tape machines; all of it.”
Manley said, “I’ve played in bands since junior high school. Production was just a natural byproduct of making music.” He hooked up with Newenhouse and started El Studio.
As Becker’s career progressed, he began recording the bands he was in. His interest in production snowballed from there. He joined El Studio in 2014, and the trio started jamming to test out their equipment. The band happened spontaneously.
“Our songwriting process is to jam, then arrange,” Newenhouse said. “The only jam on Huge Improvement, in its original form, is ‘Full Disclosure.’ The rest are compositions born from improvisations, ‘produced’ in the editing process, then added to, reworked and re-recorded. We leave room for the lyrics/melodies as the song evolves, but thematically, that has usually come later.”
The tunes on Huge Improvement pack a lot of musical expression. “Sheepskin City” protests the ongoing gentrification of San Francisco. It’s propelled by Manley’s shimmering guitar, crashing chords and a relentless pulse, driven by the rhythm section of Newenhouse and Becker. The lyrics are full of historical, political and sci-fi references. Manley and Newenhouse add a taste of country to their close harmonies. “I grew up listening to the Carter Family,” Manley said. “Those harmonies come naturally.”
“Full Disclosure” is an unedited slow jam, a showcase for Manley’s guitar, with melodies drifting in and out of phase-shifted chords, buzzing overtones and a hook played by Newenhouse’s bass, accented by Becker’s sizzling cymbals.
The lyrics of “Effective Control” describe life on Earth, from its beginnings to its current struggle with technology and possible extinction. A stuttering guitar pulse and measured beat offset verses that sound like a dystopian hit from the ’80s. Manley’s guitar is full of hissing echoes that slowly shift to short staccato chords, then come to a crashing end.
Before they formed Terry Gross, the partners played in other bands. Becker grew up in Rib Lake, Wisconsin. “There was always music playing in our house,” he said. “It was often a sister practicing piano. I had a drum kit made of pillows for a long time.
“When I was 12 or so, the high school band director let me take a snare drum home, but almost everything came from playing along to my favorite albums,” he added. “It was a slow, gradual, enjoyable grind. In Terry Gross, I play aggressive rock with experimental and noise influences, presented as a soundtrack to your evening commute.”
Manley grew up in Washington, DC. “My mom had a classical guitar hanging on the wall at home,” he said. “I picked it up and started figuring out Rolling Stones and CCR songs. I played in cover bands in high school. Eventually, it became more inspiring to write my own music.” After coming to San Francisco, he began learning production. “I consider guitar my main instrument, but I also play bass and keys,” he said.
Newenhouse grew up in Santa Cruz. “I played drums on my bed, with magic markers or pencils. I was adopted from birth. My parents weren’t musical, but I met my biological family in my early 20s; they all are musicians or artists,” he said.
“Going to see punk/thrash bands at Santa Cruz Vets Hall was formative,” he continued. “I kept playing in bands after moving to San Francisco and eventually started El Studio with Phil [Manley]. Phil Becker and I played in a band that was winding down. Since we were all buddies, we thought, ‘Well hey, maybe we should jam a bit?’ That was pretty much it.”
When Terry Gross plays live, they leave a lot of space to explore what’s happening in the moment. “Songs like ‘Full Disclosure’ are pretty open-ended,” Manley said. “Even the more composed songs have spaces which are open improvisation.”
Terry Gross will play their last show of 2024 on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7pm at the Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. 510.526.5888.
