The View Inside The Red Room

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The View Inside The Red Room

By Robert E. Martin

Experimentation is critical to the progression of all viable art forms, and
music is no exception.  Whether changing a note, re-writing lyrics, or
re-phrasing a stanza, the delight derived from mixing elements both tried &
true into something new is crucial for propelling the music forward.

Nick Andros and Pete Schaller

It is in this spirit of mixing talents and ingredients that The Red Room was formed. Consisting of former Poke front man Nick Andros, former Studiotone guitarist Pete Schaller, and drawing in a rhythm section consisting of current Lila Rasa percussionist Mike Crampton and Chris Fachting from The Swaggering Rogues, the result is a newly minted and sonically riveting concoction of musical energy and prowess.

"Pete and I have talked about playing music together for five or six years now," explains Nick. "This was before he was in Studiotone and I was in Poke, only it never materialized."

"Then Pete quit Studiotone and started with Almost Famous, but when that ended and Poke was on the outs we started about getting something together," he continues. "Mike and Chris were the first two guys we came up with to complete the band, but we weren't sure we could get them, especially with Mike working so steadily with Lila Rasa. But when it happened, we were very excited."

The alliance for The Red Room gelled largely because of the laid-back
approach Nick and Pete adopted in terms of forming a vision for the band.

"When we brought them into the mix," notes Andros, "we told them we wanted
to put a band together that would exist primarily for the fun of playing
music that would only perform in public one weekend a month. The last thing
we wanted to create was a stressful situation because I experienced that in
Poke and Pete had it in Studiotone.  So by throwing something fun together,
our idea is to be a cover band first, play a few songs I wrote for Poke,
and then look towards writing our own material in the future."

Indeed, over several months the newly formed collective defined their own pace both in learning songs and approaching material.

"We decided to focus on covering modern rock material," continues Andros, "and at first thought about working on all the songs that each of us knew together. However, it didn't turn out to be that many tunes. But when we nailed all the core songs that we all knew, we started selecting material that people recognize and can dance to - newer stuff by bands like The White Stripes, Coldplay, Three Doors Down, and even material by Sponge and Oasis."

Following their debut gig at The Hamilton Street Pub on the weekend of April 19th & 20th, the experiment met with both a warm and enthusiastic reception. Schaller's signature 'shades' and distinctive guitar style soared through the solid drum and bass work of Crampton & Fachting, while Andros appeared to be of strong voice and relaxed to the point where a newfound fluidity seemed to flow throughout the songs.

Chris Fachting

"The only reason I came into this project is because it was conceived as
being only an 'occasional' thing," explains Pete. "That's the only reason I
considered it and I think the lack of pressure makes the band better. It's
not the type of situation where you're playing every weekend and rehearsing
constantly in your spare time. You can get bogged down in that routine.
This way there is less stress and its more fun."

"When a band is having fun on-stage, people tend to rock out have more fun
as well," adds Chris. "It creates a better vibe. We may not be 'fresh
faces', but this is a fresh band with fresh music that is very current in
terms of material."

Nick and Pete both started in bands that were steadfast in pursuing
original material, so it seems ironic that now they are geared more towards
the cover approach. Why did that happen?

"This group is a flip-flop of what happened with Poke, laughs Andros. "In
Poke Dean Vanston and I started writing songs together and then we added a
series of other musicians so that we could play more live gigs. We began
playing just our originals and one-set shows."

"People at that time were complaining that there wasn't any original music
in Saginaw, but then a lot of bands came out around the same time as Poke
that were doing originals - groups such as Studiotone and The Haskels, for
example. It worked for awhile but then started to lose its luster. When
Poke started adding more covers to their set more people came to see us. In
fact, I think more people came to see Poke after our CD release party than
before it, so the tide swung that way. By the time we started evolving in
that direction, it was time to quit."

Mike Crampton

With strong vocals offered by Nick, Mike and Chris, the potential for evolution within the walls of The Red Room is immense. And Chris shares Nick's enthusiasm for the approach.

"Actually, my experience with The Swaggering Rogues is the exact opposite of Nick's experience with Poke," reflects Chris. "We were trying to get original music out there, but with the conflicting schedules in that band, it just didn't work out."

"I've been playing drums longer than bass, which was always a side project for me, so when the opportunity arose to play bass with a different band, I jumped on it. But the Rogues are still together and I jam with them and help them out in the recording studio from time to time. We just played a gig at the State Theatre in Bay City a few weeks ago with One Trick Ponies."

"I enjoy having a musical outlet again," comments Pete. "Studiotone is
doing well and they were doing really well when I was with them, but they
were traveling all over, my wife was pregnant, I had a lot of
responsibilities and it was too much for me to be on the road all the time.
As I say, I've wanted to play in a band with Nick for a long time."

"It's like anything in the sense that playing with new people brings new
excitement," concludes Nick. "We all ended on good terms with our
respective former bands, and Mike is still going strong with Lila Rasa."

"The biggest challenge for me is the fact that I don't know if my brain
works as well as it once did learning words to songs," jokes Nick. "Then
again, half the time it's hard to tell what is being sung, which also adds
to the surprise!"

The Red Room will be performing at The Hamilton St. Pub on May 9-10 and
June 14-15.

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