LITTLE ROCK — Aaron Sarlo had given up on music. The former member of Little Rock’s beloved ’90s alt-rockers Technosquid Eats Parliament had just spent five years in Boston playing in the more experimental Slept, a band that produced one album.
But Sarlo had had enough of the music business and other stresses, so he headed back home to Arkansas, eventually selling his musical gear and marrying his “best friend,” Sarah.
His self-imposed exile, however, did not last.
Sarlo, 39, had been playing guitar since he was 13. He was 16 when he had written enough songs for his first album. Making music wasn’t something he could just shrug off like a bad habit. So in 2004 he dipped his toe back in the musical waters with a ukulele.
“It was like an alcoholic taking that first drink,” Sarlo laughs — something he does quite often. Soon he had an entire album’s worth of songs written, and eventually he became a Dangerous Idiot.
Teaming with former Technosquid mate Shayne Gray and Paul Bowling, formerly of Little Rock punk legends Trusty, Sarlo formed the Idiots and set about recording.
The self-titled result, which was released on Mostar Records of England last month, is a thoroughly enjoyable rock collection that ranges from the ’70s FM rock vibe of “Amerijuana”; to the impossibly catchy alt-pop of “Can I Get a Role Model”; and the moving, acoustic “Sad,” which is about the 2007 death of Sarlo’s mother.
“The whole album is the most autobiographical I’ve ever done,” he says.
It didn’t take the folks at Mostar long to realize that Sarlo, who was born in Chicago and moved to Little Rock at 13, was a unique talent.
“[The album] has a rawness about it; a compelling, stripped-back sound that feels like you’re simply discovering a great, great band,” says Luke Manning, the Idiots’ Artist and Repertoire representative at the label. “Dangerous Idiots are a clever band — and lyrically and musically they’re as sharp as a button.”
That cleverness is perfectly displayed on “Can I Get A Role Model,” a song that at first seems a bit cheeky and sarcastic but upon further listen opens up to reveal something much deeper.
The song begins with Sarlo bemoaning the lack of good examples to live by, whether it be parents (“Daddy’s a mom/ and Mommy’s a dad,” goes the first line), teachers, friends or some similarly traditional figure, then finally arrives at the cathartic conclusion that, to heck with this mess, I’ll be my own dang role model.
“It took about 30 minutes to write,” Sarlo, who graduated from Little Rock Central High, says, “I wrote it as an instruction manual to myself.”
It’s a perfect mix of goosebumps-inducing sincerity and pure pop-rock ear candy, roaring from a simple introduction to become a gloriously loud and ballistic anthem.
There’s even a video that was filmed in Little Rock and Levy.
Helping director Christy Ward on the video was longtime Sarlo pal and documentary filmmaker Mike Poe (Voices for Justice).
“It was Aaron’s idea from the get-go,” Poe says of the video, which intersperses shots of the band and Sarlo with those of a chubby, tattooed, bearded fellow (musician Jonathan Dodson, actually) getting ready for his day and then drinking liquor and popping pills while running through the streets and, finally, in a cemetery in slacks, a button-down shirt and a tie.
Check it out in all its giddiness at Mostarrecords.com or YouTube.
“Aaron is one of the smartest, funniest people I’ve ever known,” Poe says. “He’s like, half musician, half comedian.”
Manning writes that the Idiots have received radio airplay in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and even Indonesia.
Dangerous Idiots, he says, “deserves to be heard by as many people as possible so we’re promoting it everywhere we possibly can.”
And Sarlo says he’s happy with Mostar’s help. “I really like the label and we’ve got a good contract.”
In the meantime, Sarlo is practicing with new drummer Leewood Thomas after Gray and Bowling left to play in the “very cool band” Glittercore.
Thomas “is an incredible drummer. His timing is flawless and he’s made me a better guitar player,” Sarlo says.
The search is on for a bass player, and whoever gets the job will be in for a surprise. Sarlo has at least another album’s worth of material written.
The guy just can’t quit.
Style, Pages 29 on 08/09/2011