Some good feedback

In response to my review of The New Nervous' album, Frantic Is The New Nervous, a couple members of the band have stated how much they liked it and appreciated it. Apparently so much so that they decided to feature it as a blog entry on their MySpace page.

The positive response from the band is excellent, more bands (especially local ones) could take a lesson from these guys. They're good fellows.

--Chad

The New Nervous gets frantic on debut EP

Local band's first album makes social issues listenable and danceable

The local music scene in Utah Valley is hit or miss most times. One of those times when a direct hit occurred was when The New Nervous formed in late 2005. Another direct hit was when The New Nervous released their debut EP, Frantic Is The New Nervous, earlier this year.

Frantic is a solid seven-song effort accompanied by a couple of bonus tracks (practically making it a full-length release). According to the band, the idea of the record stems from the fact that “In a world overwhelmed by sensationalism, being nervous is no longer enough.”

Being nervous may not be enough to get a point across, but Frantic gets its message across loud and clear. An album full of social commentary on hot issues and fresh takes on often abused thematic elements, Frantic is sure to strike a fancy with listeners from all walks of life.

Opening the album is the catchy, fast-paced “Hum.” This track appears to be chronicling the ups and downs in a relationship packaged in a symphonic vocabulary full of new catch phrases and one-liners that could easily grace an infinite number of MySpace profiles. “Hum” also hits some of those bumps and smooth spots in the music as well. As the song opens with a pounding introduction, it immediately slows down as it begins the first verse. Then it speeds up again and takes several twists and turns that weave a beautiful story, punctuated by phrases like “I hear my heart in the stereo, rhythmically repeating.”

Into the middle of the album, “Our Mission Statement” and “Collapse Your Lungs” stand out as tracks that make bold statements about social trends. “Our Mission Statement” feels like a social deconstruction on the entertainment industry's stranglehold on the American public at large ,and how the public sits back and soaks it all in (“Hollywood dictates, you take the notes, on the very paper designed to slit our throats”).

“Collapse Your Lungs” takes on the issue of obsessing over body images as they are portrayed in the media. This story of someone chasing a “perfect” body image is noted in phrases like “pain is pretty,” “your enchantment with enhancement leaves you inadequate” and a line from the title of the track, “collapse your lungs, not enough room in your body.”

Scott Shepard's (vocals, guitar) lyrics are so thought provoking and immediately relevant to today's society while maintaining a sort of timeless quality that gives it staying power. And he takes one last jab at a hot social issue in the last track (not counting the bonus tracks) of the EP with “Pharmacadia.” Most easily The New Nervous' most danceable song, “Pharmacadia” addresses the topic of a societal dependence on prescription medications, as the title implies.

The song sets up a scene where the town of Pharmacadia everyone “thrives on what the doctors prescribe.” But then the song turns to the chant of “let's burn this temple down” and “I've got this body full of chemicals and I want out,” which seems to reference a desire to escape the dependency of drugs and live life without that chemical attachment.

Rounding out the Frantic experience, The New Nervous toss listeners a couple bonus goodies starting with a bare-bones, guitar-and-piano version of “Hum,” which superbly showcases the actual talent that stands at the core of The New Nervous. The other bonus track, “Deathcare Industry” feels like it is deserving of only being a bonus feature on the album. The bass-heavy, Deftones-esque song feels very forced and cliché. It definitely doesn't fit with the rest of Frantic and doesn't really seem to fit in with what anyone would expect from these local dynamos.

No matter the spin you take on Shepard's points of view purveyed in his songwriting, Frantic is a unique and experience with each and every listen. Each song envelopes the overall idea of “being frantic” to attack social issues in a manner that makes people want to hear about them. It addresses what people often choose to overlook without shoving it in your face. Frantic Is The New Nervous is one of the most impressive and powerful debut releases I've ever encountered. It's highly recommended for anyone interested in or a fan of the local Utah Valley music scene.

The revival of The Rentals

'90s alternative rockers hit the road with Copeland and Goldenboy

A newly revived and revamped lineup for Matt Sharp's The Rentals blew through Salt Lake City Wednesday, Aug.8, on the first part of their current national tour with Copeland and Goldenboy. Putting on a somewhat intimate show at In The Venue, the former bassist for Weezer's project is making a comeback. The Rentals are touring in support of their first release in over eight years, The Last Little Life EP, which is due out Aug. 14.

Doors at the venue opened at 7 p.m., but the line to get in was less than impressive. With not much waiting time for entrance, and not too many people gathering for the show, it seemed that the show may be over before it really began. Then Goldenboy took the stage. Driven by Shon Sullivan's deep, soothing vocals, listening to Goldenboy perform their set, comprised primarily of songs from their release Underneath The Radio, was like taking a nice relaxing drive on an open highway at sunset. Most of the tunes were melodic, low tempo and easy on the ears. Their performance was pleasantly inspiring.

Even perhaps more inspirational was the crucial middle set performed by Florida-based Copeland. Aaron Marsh's swinging piano melodies and the repetition of “You would break your neck just to keep your chin up,” from the song “Chin Up,” was a perfect beginning to what would be the best performance of the evening.

Playing a good selection of songs from Eat, Sleep, Repeat, including "Control Freak," and filling in the rest of the set with classics from Beneath Medecine Tree and In Motion, including "Pin Your Wings" and "Testing The Strong Ones,"Marsh and company dispelled the often thrown around notion that their live shows are lacking (see his response to these rumors in the previous post when I interviewed him about this very thing). Copeland brought an energy which, though not accompanied by any acrobatic feats, is undeniably moving.

Between Copeland's performance and The Rentals taking the stage it seemed the venue switched up the audience a bit. Many of the younger persons that huddled around the stage during Goldenboy and Copeland seemed to fade into the background and some of them even calling it a night. In their place came many of a more mature persuasion, some of them it seemed had come straight from the office as they were still dressed up with suit coats and loosened ties. A new group that obviously had been fans of The Rentals when they first began rocking in the late '90s.

Matt Sharp and the new crew, which includes Rachel Haden from the original lineup and Ben Pringle of Nerf Herder, took the tempo of the evening up a few notches more. What Sharp brought with him to The Rentals from Weezer was easily recognizable, but The Rentals really do bring their own vibe on stage with them. It's like a party all the time. A geekfest of a party, but a party nonetheless. Sharp's quirky personality mixed with a menagerie of instruments (keyboards, guitars, Moogs and much more), alternating male and female vocals and plenty of dancing made for a very entertaining performance.

Each band brought their own style of what they do best to the stage, and each had their own profound influence on those in attendance.

An exchanging of words with Copeland's Aaron Marsh

The following interview appears in The College Times' Aug. 13 issue. The interview appearing in that issue of the newspaper contained only a portion of the entire interview, due to a limited amount of space for the article to appear.

Prior to Copeland's Aug. 8 performance at In The Venue in Salt Lake City with The Rentals and Goldenboy, I had the opportunity to correspond with lead singer Aaron Marsh. Aaron kindly entertained my lengthy questions and here is the unedited Q and A that came forth as a result:

You're on tour with The Rentals in August and September. What should people look forward to on this visit? Will there be anything extra special about this tour?
We're playing a few songs on this tour that we haven't played out before. That's not as exciting for the audience as it is for us. It's fun to play some new material.

What is the best part about coming to Utah? Do you have a favorite stop you make when you come through Utah?
I think my favorite thing about Utah is the landscape. The drive in and out of SLC is so beautiful. Those moments are quite memorable.

During May and June you toured Japan, Australia and Singapore with Anberlin. How receptive were the fans in Japan and Australia? What city was your favorite to play on that tour? Had you played any of these places previously?
It was a great trip. All of the audiences were fantastic. This was our third time to Japan and second time to Singapore. We get a little bit more comfortable and a little more fascinated with the culture every time we go. The Singapore audience was easily my favorite audience ever. They're pretty hip to western culture there. They know lots of music, but it's so rare that anyone comes to play for them. Australia was awesome. We'd never been there before. We got to play for lots of new people and made loads of new friends.

Some critics have said that Copeland's live performances are kind of boring. What is your response to people who feel your live performances are a bit stale?
Maybe next time I'll bring my tap shoes. I don't know. I think calling a performer boring is a pretty stock criticism. Anything can be boring if you don't want to enjoy it. We're definitely not doing back flips on stage; so if you're looking have your senses electrified, a Copeland show might not be your thing.

After releasing Eat, Sleep, Repeat in last October you were picked up by Columbia Records. What has been the biggest change switching over from The Militia Group? How has the switch affected your fan base? What kind of affect has it had on Copeland as a band?
Columbia hasn't done anything. The only change has been the fact that we have no media presence now. I don't know why. Maybe our time hasn't come yet?

How would you describe the overall message Copeland is trying to achieve as a band? With Eat, Sleep, Repeat?
People ask us this type of thing all the time. When it comes down to it, I'm just a musician and "Eat, Sleep, Repeat" is just a record. There are a million musicians just like me and just as many records out there just like ours. They all have the same platform to convey some message. It's a powerful platform for a moment, but the message is here today, gone tomorrow. We're just trying to enjoy the chance to create something beautiful while we can.

Recently it was mentioned that songs are in the process of being written for the next album. When should fans look forward to a new release? What, in your opinion, should fans look for in a future Copeland release?
Yeah, we'd love to do another record. We have a couple promising little tunes in the oven. Right now we're at the mercy of label politics for our future plans. For now, we'll just write some songs and whenever we get the chance to record, we'll do it.

Copeland has a very distinct sound. What have been the biggest influences in achieving that particular sound that is Copeland?
I'm not sure. I think it's the blend of the playing style, taste, and personalities of the band members, just like any other band. We pay great attention to detail in our recording process and great attention to melody during our writing process. We take influence from artists like the Beatles, Radiohead, and The Cardigans.

In your opinion, what has been the biggest change that's taken place with Copeland since the band formed?
I think the biggest shift came when our drummer, Jon joined the band. He really has a distinct feel and it changed the way we approached lots of stuff in terms of writing and recording.


How do you all get along as a band? What other bands do you consider close?
We get along very well. We've really perfected the blend of professionalism and friendship after 6 years of touring. As for other bands, we really hit it off with Lovedrug, The Working Title, Pilot Speed, and Mae.

What other projects are members in the band currently involved in? What have been some of the past projects that members were involved in before joining Copeland?
Bryan had a bunch of solo songs before he joined Copeland. He hasn't really worked on them in a while though. Jon was in a band called Denison Marrs in his younger days. I have been in bands since I was high school age and have been writing songs since I was even younger.

As for other projects, I have a studio in my home and I produce when we're off tour. I've been working on a project called Anchor & Braille for a while, and I have a few more projects lined up as well when I get home from this tour. Bryan is a real good mix engineer so he does that whenever he has the chance.

What is your involvement in the non-profit organization To Write Love On Her Arms? What is it about the project that has drawn your support? Why did you pick this project of all the non-profit organizations out there?
I don't know that we've picked that project over any others. I think that project might hit close to home to some of our fans though.

What's the next big step for the band?
Getting through this tour. It's a long one. 2 months. That's a long time to be away from home.

Quoted on local bands MySpace

Local indie band The Brobecks posted a blog on their MySpace a while back with quotes from press articles about them. A quote from an article I wrote for The College Times back in November of 2006 was the first listed. To check it out, if you haven't uncovered the link already, click the picture at the right.

Also, click the "NetXNews" link on the Brobecks blog to read the full story and explore some of my past writing for The College Times in the news archive.