A Beautiful Start for Beautiful Tuesday

By: Johnny Gwynn, March 29, 2012

VERALY PHOTOGRAPHY - Beautiful Tuesday is: Theresa Andrewski, vocals, Matt Almquist, guitar/vocals, Eric Cheever, keyboard and Jayk Watson, drums.

The music scene on the Cape can be a touchy subject. The assumption that most Cape bands are cover bands or aging rock n’ rollers can be discouraging to those trying to do their own thing. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Enter the Forestdale/Mashpee-based band Beautiful Tuesday. Its members, Theresa Andrewski (vocals), Matt Almquist (guitar), Eric Cheever (keyboard) and Jayk Watson (drums), aren’t old enough to sit at the bar yet, but their original tunes with a folk-pop edge have earned them a prominent place in the local music scene.

But this wasn’t their plan from the outset.

“When we first met in the basement, we had this idea for a heavy sound because that’s what all the bands we listened to had,” Watson told me.

“We sat in the basement for 7 hours that first practice and we let our natural music ability shape the songs,” Almquist elaborated. That session would lead to the mellow “Carry On.”

Beyond the bar scene

But on bar-band Cape Cod, where is a young band to play?

“Actually, we lucked out early on,” Andrewski told me. “[Wareham’s] 3065 Live was just starting up and really wanted local bands.”

One of their first shows was at a gig set up with Cool 102’s local radio show, The Cheap Seats, followed by a gig with another popular Mashpee act, Phone Calls From Home.

The band’s reputation was been further solidified with big wins in Limelight Magazine’s 2012 music awards for Best Live Artist and Band of the Year, and runner up for Album/EP of the year.

That’s a lot of pressure to live up to, but the band takes it in stride.

“It’s been a lot of trial and error,” Andrewski notes, “but it’s all about having a good time and giving the audience a good show.”

An ideal show

And that show may be tailored to the venue. At a recent gig at Stone L’Oven Pizza in Falmouth, the band played a semi-acoustic set.  The band was fully at ease with the bar and restaurant crowd, taking requests from family and friends while joking around with the audience.

Originals flowed seamlessly with the covers, which showed the strength of the bands repertoire. Playing original songs is not easy, but to play eight in the first set alone is just plain ballsy. 

Taking her role as lead singer in stride, Andrewski seemed perfectly comfortable belting out tunes and dancing around in 6-inch heels. Almquist’s harmonies added to the vocal melodies as his guitar playing drove the songs. Cheever, a seemingly quiet piano player, gave the songs texture, while Watson effortlessly anchored the band’s sound.

When asked about their ideal show on the Cape, the band quickly jumped to the dream of selling out the Melody Tent. While Beautiful Tuesday is still a young band to some onlookers, I have a feeling it might not be too long for that pipedream to become a reality.