Southern rockers Parallel is kick-ass offspring of early ’90s alt-rock

Written by Kit Burns

Hailing from the South, the rock & roll band Parallel probably would’ve have existed if it wasn’t for music from the North. The Pacific Northwest, that is. Parallel’s guitar-drenched style is third-generation grunge, the Seattle sounds of Nirvana and Pearl Jam seeding the likes of Matchbox 20 and Live and giving birth to a commercial yet still kick-ass offspring. And if you think Parallel have no indie cred for being similar to Rob Thomas or Tonic, you’re wrong; this is a band that actually performed at CBGB before it was torn down. Perhaps more importantly, Parallel’s fourth CD, Superhero Madness, is jam-packed with memorably catchy and definitely radio-friendly efforts. 

Kit Burns: Parallel has a definite kinship with commercial rock bands like Matchbox 20 and 3 Doors Down. Given that the group is still independent, but many indie-rock fans are pop-culture snobs, who makes up the band’s fanbase at the moment?

Wil Plyler [lead guitar]: That is a great question. Our fans are college kids to middle-aged rockers. Our appeal is that we sound so commercial, everyone is familiar with our sound. We have the Matchbox songs and we have the Foo Fighters songs. Our goal was to write hits and be marketable to a wide fan base. I love it when little kids come up and get an autograph and their soccer mom wants one to.

Burns: When and how did Parallel get together?

Plyler: Parallel was formed in 2000 by Jack Smith [vocals], John Cunningham [guitar], and [myself]. We formed to just write some songs and go do a demo for fun. It was just to do something fun and new that summer. We ended up writing songs that people seemed to enjoy. So here we are eight years later still writing music and for the most part; people still enjoy them.

Burns: Parallel played at the legendary punk club CBGB, which is now gone. What was that experience like?

Plyler: CBGB was great. We played there in 2004 for the Meany Fest. The odd thing was it was non-smoking. Clean air and tatoos. We met people from around the world who then emailed us back that they loved our music and were fans. That was a great experience. Driving in manhattan was a nightmare and parking a passenger van. How does UPS do it? Very unique experience considering a band from the Carolinas that had never played outside of North Carolina.

Burns: Why did you title the album Superhero Madness?

Plyler: We titled it that way because it sounds like superhero madness. The record was put together in a week. 19 hour days. Songs sound like Mellencamp to AC/DC. We even have a Gospel U2 kind of song. All that togerther gives you a superhero, the good, and the madness which is how different all the music is.

Burns: What rock groups had the most impact on you as you were growing up?

Plyler: All the guys have multitude of influences. Smith: Athenaeum, Matchbox, R.E.M., U2.
John: Dave Matthews, Bush.
Jason Puccio [drums]: Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine.
Plyler: Guns N’ Roses, Stone Temple Pilots.
Joe Hamilton [bass] – Hanson, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill. Oh, and New Kids on the Block.

http://www.parallelband.com

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The Cat House Dogs fondly recall Tom Petty’s ticked-off early work

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Cat House Dogs/That Was Now

The Cat House Dogs’ second album That Was Now opens with a thick layer of jangling guitars, raspy vocals, and the most guttural roots-rock since the heyday of Jason & the Scorchers. While many of today’s Americana acts play it twee and safe, the Cat House Dogs aren’t afraid to get drunk and burn the barn down. Pass the whiskey, please.

If you fondly recall Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in their ticked-off late ’70s/early ’80s period, before their midtempo numbers started creeping up the charts and followed by duets with Stevie Nicks, the Cat House Dogs are definitely bowling in your alley. The first track, “Fine Line,” is what the Jayhawks would’ve sounded like if they woke up with a hangover and then discovered that their tour bus was stolen. It is Americana delivered raw with brass knuckles. “Do It” marries the downward grunge of Soundgarden with the raunchy blues of Reverend Horton Heat. “Beautiful Rays,” “Far Away,” and “Never in a Million Years” are cut with Petty’s flannel but delivered without the watered-down studio gloss. Then, just when you think you have the Cat House Dogs pegged, they leave you with the reggae-inflected “Lost Again” just to mess you up. The uptight critics might pull their hair; that’s just too bad, ain’t it?

http://www.cathousedogs.com

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Throttlecaster produces ‘enjoyable, toe-tappingly good’ metal record

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Throttlecaster/Restless Journey

For a band that is obviously influenced by Alice in Chains, Metallica, and Nirvana, the ominously named Throttlecaster are actually quite fun to listen to. Throttlecaster are indebted not only to ’90s grunge and hard rock, but also to the spandex metal of the ’80s, especially Motley Crue and Poison. However, Throttlecaster leaves the cheese behind, gorging itself on the gloriously flamboyant pop hooks of those American bands while remaining true to their European rock roots, namely Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and the Scorpions.

The fuzz bomb “Deep Down” is ’80s metal with a post-millennial darkness in its undertow. You’ll hear the ferocious energy and torched riffs of Metallica in its explosive charge although the production doesn’t reach that group’s epic scope. “The Well” features a Middle Eastern tinge in its opening layers of guitars, and vocalist Erko Nomm somewhat resembles Kurt Cobain when he’s screaming. “Performer” is balls-to-the-wall glam rock. “Traffic” takes Alice in Chains’ chugging riffs and puts them in a decidedly upbeat context. This is an enjoyable, toe-tappingly good metalhead bonanza.

http://www.throttlecaster.com

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Singer/songwriter Tj Sherrill embodies real spirit of Seattle

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Tj Sherrill/High Horse

Seattle singer/songwriter Tj Sherrill deserves the “post-grunge” tag much more than wanna-be’s (and never-will-be’s) such as Nickelback and 3 Doors Down. The difference isn’t just about geographical location. Just because Sherrill is based in Seattle doesn’t instantly earn him street cred; after all, Candlebox, the first of the grunge poseurs, lived in the Emerald City, too (albeit transplants). In terms of his honest lyrical content and no-frills approach to music, I’d say he embodies the spirit of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder than most of today’s husky-voiced ’90s-washed rockers.

Considering that much of Sherrill’s work is acoustically based, comparing him to the grunge ancestry of his hometown may seem a little odd. But real fans of grunge know that it wasn’t just about the distortion and feedback. Relatively quiet moments such as Nirvana’s “Polly” and Pearl Jam’s “Immortality” struck as sharp a nerve as those bands’ loudest moments. “I need you to know all my pain,” Sherrill sings on “No Where,” and his raspy, wounded voice is refreshingly real in a landscape of bogus angst. The title track opens slowly the picks up speed with its deceptively upbeat keyboards as Sherrill spits out, “A long way down from the high horse/That you call your opinion.” The acoustic guitars are tuneful but spiky, and that’s how they’ve always brewed it in Seattle.

http://www.tjsherrill.com

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The Veins capture decades of rock styles on ‘The Price of Blood and Gold’

Reviewed by Kit Burns

The Veins/The Price of Blood and Gold

To the Veins, it sounds as if rock & roll was dead by the mid-’90s; considering the garbage that has emanated since then, we can bless them for that. The Veins, not to be confused with any garage-rock revivalists with a “the” in front of their name, are hopelessly devoted to several generations of rock, from the ’60s British Invasion to ’90s grunge. You’ll find elements of them all in various tracks. For example, the first cut, “Subway Queen,” strikes with the thunderous jolt of prime ’70s Blue Oyster Cult, complete with Godzilla-sized guitar solos. “Buried,” on the other hand, is reminiscent of Alice in Chains’ descent into the abyss with reptilian riffs that’ll coil around your neck.

But, as I had just mentioned, the Veins aren’t about just one or two styles. “Superstar” is pure pop sweetness with crisp playing that is as melodic as any Bon Jovi hit single from the ’80s (and minus the cheese). “Bitter Wind” recalls the Beatles with its glowing melodies. The song titles (“Buried,” “Surfin’ on Gasoline,” “Blood and Gold,” “Lonely as a Gun”) and sleeve art (skulls, the American flag hidden in splashes of blood) seem to be a statement against the war in Iraq; however, I’ll leave it to you to find the political subtext in rock & roll this energetic and fun.

http://www.theveins.com

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Blake Ian’s ‘Alchemist’ is a ‘keeper’

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Blake Ian/Alchemist

There’s a sense of mystery surrounding singer/songwriter Blake Ian. With an album cover quite similar to that of R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant (I’m showing both for all to see), Ian steers the college-rock scene away from the funky post-punk moves and into a decidedly folk-oriented approach. However, that doesn’t mean that Alchemist is a collection of whiny acoustic strummers. Ian knows how to - and does – rock. It’s just that there isn’t a band sound here; rather, Ian combines the breathless despair of the late Jeff Buckley with the grunge slam of Pearl Jam and the driving guitars of, yes, R.E.M.

The R.E.M. comparison goes beyond the jangling riffs and the CD cover; on “Car Radio,” Ian eeriely resembles Michael Stipe so much that I thought I had accidentally threw on, ahem, Lifes Rich Pageant instead. But on other tracks such as “In the Fires” and ‘A Little More,” Ian drinks to the memory of Buckley with a woeful yet somehow cathartic sensitive and wounded voice. Ian’s ability to shift from quiet to loud without losing any emotional impact whatsoever wows me every time I listen to Alchemist. It’s a keeper, one that you’ll return to for years to come.  

http://blakeian.com

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