By Sean Maldjian, Contributor

Meet Docents

A self-portrait by, Docents

Would you rather…

have an enormous set of antlers or seven-foot-tall stilts for legs?

Kabir: Stilts so I can finally dunk

Noah: Do all seven stilts have to be attached to my legs?

Will: Stilts so my 5’11 ass will finally get some respect… and for the views

Matthew: Going to respectfully opt for the antlers for their occult value

Some questions with Docents

Thanks for putting this together with us. Can you tell me a little more about the project? Who is Docents?

Matthew: Docents are voluntary guides typically found in museums or galleries. Docents is a four piece band of rock and rollers making music we want to listen to that we aren’t hearing a lot elsewhere. And also just hanging out. Being in a band is an excellent excuse to hang out with your friends at least once a week.

What is the nicest compliment you have ever received about your music?

Noah: After a show once someone told us we don’t sound like anyone else.

Matthew: That was nice because when writing songs we sometimes name sections after the band it sort of sounds like we’re ripping off of…

I found you guys when I came across your 2021 s/t album. Can you tell me a little more about it? What was the inspiration behind the release?

Matthew: Nothing too sexy here. We needed something to prove to promoters that we really exist in order to play shows once things started opening back up. Those tracks are rough demo cuts we recorded and mixed at our rehearsal space in Ridgewood, Queens.

How do you stay creatively fulfilled?

Matthew: We are able to stay creatively fulfilled as a result of the generosity of our sponsors: Vita Coco Brand Coconut Water, White Label Mate, and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Not really. But we do hydrate often, eat pickles regularly, and practice constantly (on Mondays).

How long had the album been in the works?

Matthew: Commit to Bits and To Know Him is to Love Him were started during by-the-hour practice room jams as far back as late 2018, early 2019. It wasn’t until Kabir joined up last summer that songs began to actually get finished as a band. Docents needed his solid, reliable, low end presence to put a period on things.

If you could go to a bowling alley with any three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why.

Kabir: Genghis Khan, Odagai Khan, Kublai Khan.

Will: Jerry Butler, Jerry Butler, Jerry Butler.

Noah: Whoever’s free, scheduling is tough these days.

Matthew: Kabir Kumar-Hardy, Will Scott, Noah Sider. Alive.

“To Know Him is to Love Him” and “Buried Alive” both take the listener through descriptive narrative stories. What was the inspiration behind each of these?

Matthew: To Know Him (and also Bits) were written as little character studies about two notorious men of influence and the circumstances through which they fell from power and grace. Buried Alive was written as a series of vignettes about characters in crisis in New York.

Do you drink Coffee or Tea? How do you take it?

Matthew: Both, a lot. No sugar please. I have a pretty serious caffeine dependency. Sometimes that’s a bummer, sometimes it’s very exhilarating!

Kabir: Coffee with half and half because I’m luxurious

Noah: Tea with milk, black coffee

Will: Usually tea, on rare occasion coffee, nothing added to either

The album closes with a terrific and lush droning ambient sendoff. Can you pinpoint anything that brought this on?

Matthew: The cassettes we bought had nine-minute sides but we only wrote 15 minutes of music to put on them.

Will: In addition to Matt’s proclivity for crafting terrific and lush droning ambient sendoffs.

Matthew: It could happen to you!

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Matthew: We have a full-length album recorded that we are going to be releasing soon. Other than that, maybe wear a helmet when riding your bike?