The band name TrueVines may not immediately ring a bell. But if you know the local scene and have a thing for great songwriting, the name of frontman Dennis Brennan certainly should.
Taking its name from a Biblical reference that roughly means “the real thing,” TrueVines began as a side project, with Brennan and some musical friends (drummer Chris Anzalone, bassist Jim Haggerty and guitarist Andrew Stern) paying homage to ‘60s garage rock and soul. Over the past year it’s become Brennan’s main band, and the originals are replacing the covers in TrueVines sets — though you may still hear a nugget like the old Boston classic, Barry & the Remains “Why Do I Cry.” And ’60s garage is still their guiding light.
“We’re more into the spirit than the actual ethos of that music,” Brennan says. “And the spirit is that you do whatever you want, if it comes out raw that’s okay. The way I look at it, I’ve always rocked out; but this time there’s a little more electric guitar playing on my part. We were aiming for a rougher attitude, and I think we’ve achieved that.”
TrueVines play at Sally O’Brien’s on Somerville Jan 24. And in the meantime the blues band White Owls, which also includes Brennan and Haggerty, plays the same club every Monday.
Playing it rough is a bit of a change for Brennan, who’s been known to obsess over getting his songs exactly right — his last regular album “Into This World” included one tune that he carried around for 20 years. TrueVines are a departure in other ways as well: Aside from not putting his own name upfront, he’s sharing songwriting with the other band members. “The marching order here was that I was getting a little sick of being the boss. The other guys have ideas to contribute, so I can put my own lyrical slant on them.”
The regular Dennis Brennan Band is currently on hold because its members are in such high demand; guitarists Duke Levine and Kevin Barry have respectively been touring with Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne. “I always say that the good thing about being in a band with other people (instead of using your own name) is that when things mess up, you can always blame somebody else.”
The new band has a six-song EP that they’re planning to release shortly. And while Brennan’s songwriting craft is still evident, the songs are quicker and more raunchy than what he might do on his own, with soulful struts and shout-along choruses. His rootsy side is still represented on a country number, but the rocking “Have a Little Fun” evinces this band’s attitude.
TrueVines are also one of the select group of bands, with the Monkees and Bad Company, who have their own theme song; it will be included on the forthcoming EP. And that lighthearted gesture may be the best indication that Brennan, after 40 years as a local MVP, hasn’t gotten old and jaded just yet. “You can never be super-serious in this kind of game; if you are, you’re bound to get shot down sooner or later. And if you’re not having fun, there’s no sense in doing it.”
And he says he learned to avoid music-biz bitterness early on. “Even when I was coming up I’d see people in other bands saying things like, ‘Ah, this guy did this or that to me.’ And I swore that if I ever got like that, I would just stop. But I never got like that.”