By Danielle Rines
People might be unaware of the underground music scene, but it's going on right underneath their nose.
It's a genre all its own — with ever-changing sounds and unique compilations of beats and rhythms that vary with each musician who performs it.
Longtime Newburyport singer-songwriter and guitarist Dylan Metrano has been part of the underground music scene locally for the past decade with his band, the indie-pop collective Tiger Saw.
During those years, Metrano kept diaries about his experiences and the people he met while rehearsing at home and performing out on tour. Now, he's turned his music memories and personal reflections into a book that he hopes will increase people's understanding of the genre Tiger Saw has been proud of furthering.
The book, "All My Friends Are Right Here With Me: A Decade in the Indie Rock Underground," was a year and a half in the making.
"I had been keeping tour diaries since the beginning, and when I started transcribing them onto the computer, I noticed there was a narrative in there. And once the interviews started coming together, there was an apparent story, and it was something I wanted to share," Metrano said.
Described by Metrano as part travelogue, part studio diary and part oral history, "All My Friends Are Right Here With Me" is the story of Tiger Saw and a look at those who have played with the band. Incorporating dozens of interviews with musicians and creative people who have crossed paths with Tiger Saw, it tells of a community of bands in the do-it-yourself, post-Nirvana era and features first-person accounts of tours with Kimya Dawson, Castanets, Jason Anderson, Viking Moses, The Hotel Alexis and more.
"When we tour with others, it's very collaborative and a mutually inspiring way to exist," he said. "A major part of what I write about is how other people have inspired me and how we do it in turn together."
Tiger Saw's history has been marked by an ever-rotating cast of band members, which is what Metrano said helps keep its sound different and constantly evolving. The band's fourth CD, "Tigers on Fire," released in 2007, had as many as 21 musicians performing on it, and featured horns and a R&B section as opposed to the slower, more quiet sounds Tiger Saw has showcased in the past.
Over the past decade, Tiger Saw has played more than 700 shows and taken its music on tour to more than a dozen countries. Metrano recently finished a tour with six members of the band last month and will be playing in Boston tonight with two friends — Chris Holt of Amesbury on bass and Mandy Sabine on drums.
Metrano comes from a musical family. His father wrote music, and Metrano said both his parents instilled music in him from a young age. Growing up, there were always records around, and music was a typical subject of conversation.
"(My parents) were always very supportive in my pursuit of what I wanted to do creatively," he said. "I had done theater before, but music was special."
Metrano formed Tiger Saw in 1999 after returning to his hometown of Newburyport following a stint in Los Angeles. He believes the band has stayed together because it grew out of a mutual appreciation and love for the music it performs.
"It's a work ethic, never giving up, facing a lot," he said. "We aren't tied to fads or trends. We're doing it for reasons that I think are pure. It's a way to be with friends and express ourselves. There are no ties to certain amounts of money; it's just natural."
Metrano, who now lives in Portland, Maine, will share some of his Tiger Saw memories at a reading and performance for "All My Friends Are Right Here With Me" tomorrow night at Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport. There are so many firsthand accounts in the book, Metrano is bringing along some puppets to help highlight parts of the story and will even perform some acoustic guitar.
"All My Friends Are Right Here With Me" has been a chance for him and his bandmates to look back on old times, Metrano said. Saying the book's appeal goes beyond Tiger Saw's fans, Metrano ultimately hopes it helps people learn a little bit more about the underground music world and also encourages those interested in music to pursue their craft.
"I hope that people can find inspiration in that we have managed to last this long and travel the world and that we've done what we wanted to do with limited means," he said. "It's kind of the message of the book that if you are together with people and there is something you want to accomplish, nothing can stop you."
IF YOU GO
What: Book release celebration for "All My Friends Are Right Here With Me: A Decade in the Indie Rock Underground" by Tiger Saw band founder and longtime Newburyport resident Dylan Metrano,
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: Jabberwocky Bookshop, The Tannery, 50 Water St., Newburyport
How: Free admission. Call Jabberwocky at 978-465-9359 or visit http://jabberwocky.booksense.com.
