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The CREAM OF THE CROP - First in a Series on the Area's Best New Young Bands By Randy Chandler Over the course of the last year there seems to have been an army of promising new groups springing up in the Tri-City area. Through working for a sound company, this paper, and a local music store, I have constantly been bombarded with more new bands than I've had a chance to write about, or even go see, which is a shame insofar as the music proffered by these groups is often more inventive (or at least on par with) what's currently on the airwaves. So in an effort to shed more light on the local original music scene's more promising up-and-comers, I've chosen to cover two artists per column until I'm caught up. This issue, we'll highlight the old-school metal of Untamed Addiction and the horn-laden ska of Stamp'd. Untamed Addiction I was first introduced to the members of Untamed Addiction in a working situation, having been hired to run sound for them at Hollywood Nights. I'd been hearing many positive reports about the band - that their original material was very well written and that they were easy to work with (which means they didn't whine about their monitors and understood not to overwhelm each other with stage volume) so I was greatly looking forward to the task of mixing them. In no way was I prepared for what they were about to unleash. Building from a solid rhythm section, their tandem guitar work (including solos, SOLOS!) was the first clue that this was not your typical bunch of Nu-metal meatheads out to cookie-monster me to death. But it was when vocalist Jason Cook opened his pipes that I realized just how 'old school' music these cats were. With a multi-octave range reminiscent of Todd Hall in the halcyon days of Harlet, he brought the band squarely into the realm of late-80s melodic metal, without the clownish posturing, daft lyrical content, or the embarrassing fashion statement; in short, everything that was good about the genre distilled into one working-class outfit. The funny thing is that the group's average age is scarcely 21, so how did these kids come to play a style of music that was in vogue when they were barely out of diapers? "Our influences are pretty diverse," says lead guitarist Steve Sherzer. "Alice in Chains 'Facelift' album was pretty influential in terms of the dynamics in our songs, but it's hard to point to just one thing. We like melody and we like a lot of light and shade." Untamed Addiction came together in an atypical fashion. Sherzer had worked with bassist Chris Winberg and guitarist Matt Bradley in two separate bands. A mutual friend introduced him to teenage drummer Mike Martin. Scherzer, Winberg and Martin formed the nucleus of the group and began gigging around the Midland/Gladwin area. "That's why we play such old 'classic' covers", comments Scherzer, "because the bars in Beaverton and Gladwin only want to hear that stuff." It was at a gig at Gladwin's Wooden Shoe that fate entered in the form of vocalist Jason Cook. "We were playing this benefit/jamboree and this guy comes up to me and says he's been working on his voice and really wants to try singing in a band," Scherzer recalls. "Up to that point we had only two original songs. After Jason joined, we started writing like crazy and ended up with the bulk of what's on the current CD." That disc, entitled Custom Metal Fabrication, showcases a young band with a promising future. But it is the group's current effort, a work in progress tentatively titled 8118 (apparently it's an inside joke) that has the guitarist psyched. "The songs are better, we're playing better, and Matt's playing on this one." Indeed, it is Bradley's rock-solid rhythm work and ethereal harmony that adds much to the sound. So if you yearn for the melodic metal of yore but wince at the thought of spandex and hairspray, do yourself a favor and check these guys out. STAMP'D It's not every day that you run into a young band in the tri-cities with a full horn section. And I mean four out of eight members in this hyperactive octet spend their stage time blowin' brass. Anchored by new drummer Casey Callison (who like most musicians in our area, plays in more than one band) and rallying around guitarist/vocalist/mastermind Phil Garno, STAMP'D were, for me, the highlight of the daylong Battle of the Bands at the new Wildwoods of Terror on Aug. 17th. In the midst of sets by such heavy-handed local luminaries as The Miscreants, Killshot, and Tres Putos (all excellent bands, don't get me wrong) STAMP'D laid out an uproarious and uplifting 30 minute set that brought a welcome dose of aural sunshine to the event. And it is nice to know that this style of music, reminiscent of ska-influenced artists such as No Doubt and Goldfinger, is being well represented locally. "We decided to go in the Ska direction," laughs Garno, "after we realized we sucked at everything else." The group, which also includes bassist Jim Garno, guitarist Matt Wessener, saxophonist Seth Payton, trumpeter Justin Comerford, and the trombone tandem of Tim Horenziak and Mark Sally, formed in their senior year of high school five years ago and began the slow and steady climb through the ranks of the local original scene. "We don't take ourselves or our music too seriously, but what we do value is the ethic of having fun above all else. If it wasn't fun, we wouldn't do it," observes Garno. Thus far, 2002 has been the best year for the group. Two moderately successful tours to Wisconsin and back and a new CD to push have made this a banner year for STAMP'D. "The new disc has eight tracks on it and is called As Good as It's Gonna Get," says Phil. "It's actually our third recording. The first one, which we don't like to talk about, was just a quick recording of our live set. We went in and played 30 minutes straight and walked out with no mastering, no nothing." "Our second experience was with this intern for a bigger recording studio called The Soundcamp. He cut us a deal, but later he got canned for not logging in our studio time. Plus, it didn't turn out very well. This time we gave The Soundcamp another chance, but the studio owner did it himself and it sounds much better." You can get more information on these two bands by visiting their websites: www.stampd.com and www.untamedaddiction.com. See ya' next time. Turn off the radio and go to a show, dittoheads!
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