In 1997, Philadelphia quartet, The Three 4 Tens exploded onto the local scene after scoring an opening slot for the visiting Who, on their Quadrophenia World Tour. Voted "Best Rookie Rockers" by the Philadelphia Weekly (March 19, 1997), T4T began selling out venues across the Delaware Valley. "Skillful revisionism rarely sounds this joyous" wrote Alternative Press Magazine (Feb. '97) about Throw-Back Move With The Three 4 Tens (Lounge), the debut EP. Tours through the south followed playing with such acts as Rocket From The Crypt, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Man Or Astroman. After several recordings on various compilations and 45's, T4T released 2000's Change Is On It's Way on File 13, later picked up by Rainbow Quartz Records for world-wide distribution. Touring began in Europe, playing on Spanish television and radio, ending a year later with shows along the eastern U.S. and Canada. A few shows in Europe and Canada were the extent of touring for 2003's Taking Northern Liberties, as the band felt the need to regroup to write and record newer material, and push away from the old. Now, a new album, Down The Way, hopes to pave the way for a revitalized Three 4 Tens.
"Down The Way, their third full-length, is a quietly breathtaking disc: an amalgam of Nuggets-style garage rockers, space and drone-pop a la Saucerful Of Secrets, and raucous new wave. Guitarist Joe Tagg and bassist Jamie Mahon somehow manage to write tight, catchy songs that also serve as platforms for wigged-out improvisation and instrumental wizardry. Years of fine-tuning the live show in clubs up and down the Eastern Seaboard has turned the band into champions of the psychedelic rave-up, and on Down The Way, they don't disappoint"-Andy Gesner, HIP Video Promo (June, 2007).
The Three 4 Tens "Throw-back Move" (Lounge) "Throw Back Move With the Three 4 Tens, the band's debut EP for Lounge Records, is a musical kaleidoscope by four kids weaned on their parents records who came of age skateboarding on Frankford playgrounds to '80s synth-pop hits. There are backwards loops borrowed from Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced, 'Hello, I Love You' vocals and secrets from Pink Floyd's saucerful - lyrics like 'When you see the trees in threes then you'll know me and where I'll be.'" -Sara Sherr, Earshot Magazine 1997
The Three 4 Tens "Change Is on Its Way" (File 13/Rainbow Quartz) "This numerically minded Philadelphia group has a serious '60s fetish and they're not the least bit ashamed. They admit to being deeply influenced by early Barrett-era Pink Floyd and fellow Philadelphian Todd Rundgren's pre-prog Nazzdays, which they clearly are, but you might also detect hints of 5th Dimension-era Byrds and shades of their British Invasion counterparts (The Animals, The Who). However they derived their rock formula, The Three 4 Tens clearly got it right, because their classic blend of spacey psych and bouncy garage rock rarely fails to satisfy and entertain. " -Jesse Ashlock, Epitonic 11/20/01.
The Three 4 Tens "Taking Northern Liberties" (Rainbow Quartz) "The Three 4 Tens must have gotten trapped in a time warp, because they play '60s psychedelic garage rock like it's, well, the '60s. Lucky for them, the second full-length (named after the neighborhood where the Philadelphia band lives) finds them with an appropriate home on Rainbow Quartz. Joining guitarist/vocalist Joe Tagg and bassist/vocalist Jamie Mahon, is returning member Brian McNamara on guitar, and Burning Brides alumnus Mike Ambs on drums. They have all the right quirks, borrowing harmonies, guitar riffs and 'woo hoos' from old-school rock. That works out great for those gigs with the Strokes, the Warlocks, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The harmonica in 'Jack The Tripper' delivers some edgy blues, while the eight-minute 'My Stoned Ass' attempts to sodden '60s garage with bizarro prog. The latter journeys off into a psychedelic improv which seems to blast into outer space before landing back in the Three 4 Tens' free-spirited recreation." -Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Group 2004 ,
The Three 4 Tens "Down The Way" (Rainbow Quartz) "Ten years after their first EP the Three 4 Tens’ third album reaffirms their status as choice plunderers of ’60s psych-garage, despite a newly laidback vibe that could be attributed to years spent on hiatus. “Gold Medal Moment” and “I Am the King” assay the trippy expanse between Pink Floyd and Spacemen 3, with tinges of Byrds jangle and Brian Jonestown Massacre cool. The record’s out next week on Rainbow Quartz, home to fellow Philly time-travelers the Asteroid No. 4 and the Get Quick. To boot, the band’s release show will go down at DJ Deejay’s blow-out Beatles & Stones DJ night, an ideal setting for their heavy-lidded hits." (Doug Wallen) The Philadelphia Weekly.
