(MENAFN- Gulf Times) You could certainly be forgiven for failing to realise there are
six members of The War On Drugs. There are few photos of the American indie-rock band as a whole. Their album covers and most tours posters only feature singer, songwriter, guitarist, front-man and founder member Adam Granduciel.
However, it would be unfair to suggest this concentration on Adam is anything to do with his being self-centred or narcissistic. It is more a case of the other members being happier to stand out of the spotlight and let Adam be responsible for the band's promotional work.
'Things seem to work pretty well as they are, remarked 38-year-old Adam, real name Adam Granofsky. 'The others are happy for most of the attention to fall on me. Somebody has to promote the band. I write the songs so it's fair enough that I should be there to answer any questions that might be asked about them.
He was not always exclusively the main man in The War on Drugs. A native of Dover, Massachusetts, Adam spent some time living in Oakland, California, before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he met Kurt Vile.
They became firm friends with Adam joining Kurt's backing band, The Violators. When he began working on his own music, Kurt returned the favour and became Adam's backing musician. They worked so well together, co-writing a number of songs, that Adam and Kurt jointly founded The War on Drugs.
'I loved working with Kurt and he is still my best friend. But he already had his own solo career and basically put that on hold to work with me. We wrote, recorded and played together as The War On Drugs for about three years. We got a record deal with Secretly Canadian and released our debut album, Wagonwheel Blues in 2008.
'Around this time, Kurt got a solo deal with Gulcher Records. We did a European concert tour where Kurt opened the show with his solo stuff before he joined the rest of us in The War On Drugs.
But he really wanted to concentrate on his solo work so quit the band and left me as the only founder member. Some people have suggested there was trouble between us when Kurt left. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Wagonwheel Blues, the 2011 follow-up, Slave Ambient and their two EPs, Barrel of Batteries and Future Weather, all received
generally positive reviews. These records made little impact on chart listings but attracted a cult following for the band. It was their 2014 album, Lost in the Dream which propelled The War on Drugs to chart stardom.
They suddenly found themselves selling albums in unbelievable quantities. Lost in the Dream was number three in Belgium and sold well throughout Europe. It hit number 18 in Britain and reached number 26 on the Billboard 200.
'The reviews for Lost in the Dream were amazing. We streamed it on National Public Radio's First Listen website for a week before the album was released. I think this was a big help in getting more people interested in our music.
The album was born from a difficult period in Adam's life. After spending virtually all of 2011 on tour, he had trouble adjusting to an everyday existence.
'I went home to Philadelphia and felt totally isolated, emotionally and physically, from both myself and my community. It started to spiral into emotional distress and physical manifestations of depression and paranoia. The songs on ‘Lost in the Dream' emerged from these emotions. That's why the album took so long. I suffered from anxiety and kept second-guessing myself. Some tracks went through several versions.
Although other band members appeared on the album, the end result was very much a solo record. This is part of the reason only Adam was pictured on the cover even though it was officially a War On Drugs album. He was genuinely surprised by the response to his work.
'Shows started selling out. At first, I thought it was a fluke. But things kept building. The summer after Lost in the Dream came out, we played to 70,000 people in Belgium. It was crazy.
The concert and chart numbers attracted the interest of major labels. The band signed with Atlantic Records.
'I knew we'd done the right thing when I was talking to a guy from the label about an 11-minute track on the new album. I said I'd been able to edit it down from the original length of 14 minutes and he said he preferred the longer version. I knew then the people at Atlantic didn't care about songs fitting an expected pattern. They gave us the freedom to make the album we wanted.
That album, A Deeper Understanding, has become the band's biggest hit to date. It peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200, number three in Britain, went top ten in numerous other countries and gave The War On Drugs their first number one in Belgium.
'In some ways, I followed a similar path to writing the songs on Lost in the Dream. I'd had cognitive therapy to help with the
problems I was having at that time. Instead of Philadelphia, I went to Los Angeles to write and record A Deeper Understanding. I again felt isolated and lonely. I briefly saw a new therapist but stopped after a bad experience. I think the feeling of isolation and being a little lost was actually a big source of inspiration.
Many of the songs again progressed through numerous versions. But the changes this time were simply attempts to improve the tracks rather than the effects of paranoia.
'I'm very happy with the album and pleased that it is being enjoyed by so many people. But I don't necessarily think our future albums will feature more of the same. I always want to keep experimenting with our music so I hope a fair number of fans will want to come along for the ride.
Metallica
It was March, 1986, when American heavy metal quartet Metallica issued their third studio album, Master of Puppets. Nearly two years late but supposedly marking the 30th anniversary, the band will release a massive box set on November 10 via their own Blackened Recordings label.
The package includes a newly remastered edition of the album, demos, live recordings, alternative mixes and two CDs of interviews. There is also a 108-page hardback book of photos and essays, two DVDs, a concert on cassette tape, six badges, a lithograph and a folder with handwritten lyrics.
One of the ten CDs features Jason Newsted's auditions. This is particularly poignant because Jason replaced bassist Cliff Burton who was killed in Sweden during the band's concert tour promoting Master of Puppets. Their tour bus skidded off the road and overturned several times. Cliff was initially thrown from the vehicle before the bus landed on top of him.
Full details of the 30th anniversary package can be found at
www.metallica.com/blog/news/448715/obey-your-re-master The original album is posted in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PNxO_jM_ck
Dualtone Sampler
A few record labels occasionally release free downloads showcasing tracks by some of the artists on their roster. One such company is Dualtone. They are currently offering songs by ten of their artists on what has been titled the Dualtone Records Summer Sampler.
The tracks are a mix of country, indie, rock and good old fashioned
rock ‘n' roll. The latter is in the form of Big Boys, a track from the late Chuck Berry's recently released album. Other genres are provided by acts such as Wild Child, Delta Spirit and Langhorne Slim. Look out too for Real Love by BNQT, a supergroup drawn from members of Midlake, Band of Horses, Franz Ferdinand, Grandaddy andTravis.
The Summer Sampler can be heard and downloaded at
www.noisetrade.com/dualtonerecords/dualtone-summer-sampler-
2017/?download=1 The songs are given in exchange for your email address and postal code.
Chk Chk Chk
It is 21 years since the formation of dance-punk outfit !!! (Chk
Chk Chk). But the New York-based group shows no signs of slowing
down. Their seventh studio album, Shake The Shudder, was released this past May. But they are back again now with a new EP, Shake The Shut Up.
At present, the EP is only available to fans attending concerts on the band's current U.S. tour. However, lead single, The Long Walk, can be heard by everyone. An audio posting is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezkgQX-yFkw
More of their promos are available from
www.youtube.com/user/chkchkchkmusic/videos
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