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STUDIOTONE:
Reshaping the Potential of Modern Rock
By Robert E. Martin

It's a brand spanking New Year and the members of Studiotone are in
good spirits as they take to the stage at the Hamilton St. Pub.
Apart from running through a tightly wound set of original new material
with precision, flare, passion and spontaneity, the group is excited about
strides made on their newly released 'sophomore' CD, a remarkable
collection of new songs entitled Where You Left Off.

It's been three years since the Lansing based band made their debut with
the critically acclaimed release of Digital Radio, and since that time
founding members Brent Nuffer (vocals) and Bryan Mauro (guitar/vocals) have
added three new members to the fold - drummer David Saxton, bassist Brock
Elsesser, and the latest member to the line-up, guitarist/vocalist Jeff
Graham.

Any personnel change can serve as a double-edged sword that can threaten
the purity of one's original vision at the same time it opens new musical
avenues, but if change is axiomatic to growth, both Brent and Bryan are
excited about the way Studiotone has blossomed.

"We've been around a few years now and I view this latest line-up as a
'Mach II' incarnation of the band," explains Brent. "In fact, with Jeff &
Brock in the band we thought of calling the new CD 'Roman Numeral II', but
that seemed a bit too obvious."

One thing that does not seem obvious to refined ears is the seamless manner
in which the new members have augmented the Studiotone sound, staying true
to their 'signature' quality of showcasing strong songwriting by broadening
the musical spectrum that frames the expanding topical themes of their
material.

"One thing that I feel does distinguish this line-up from prior
incarnations of the band is the sense of seriousness that we share about
the music," continues Brent. "Everybody is on the same page in terms of
presenting the material and we have a nice chemistry now."

Indeed, the topical content on their new CD is a welcome respite from the
angry metallic edges that have pre-empted so much of what is labeled
'alternative music' on the airwaves, and while the melodic and lyrical
backbone of the band is still present in new songs such as Better On the
Inside and The Best of a Bad Year, the group has made a conscious effort to
explore softer and more poignant musical nuances in ballads such as I
Remember Falling and the expansive Everything She Wanted.

In fact, newest members Brock and Jeff both agree that it was the strength
of Brent and Bryan's songwriting that drew them into the fold.

"When I first saw Studiotone it was the quality of the songwriting that
struck me most," notes Brock. "If you're playing music in a band that's an
important quality to have, along with good stage presence.  Their attitude
was the polar opposite from the previous band I was in. This group is tight
and doesn't need to mess around."

New guitarist Jeff Graham echoes this sense of fortune in terms of hooking
up with Studiotone. "My prior band was falling apart and a lot of the guys
were graduating college and joining the real world," he explains. "I wasn't
ready to do that, so started talking to Bryan at the bar one night.  I
thought they could improve with different people, so offered my services.
They were doing what I wanted to do, so this was more like a 'life choice.'

"You can hear that sense of commitment from the new members in the new CD,"

echoes Bryan.

"I think we've evolved through the lineup changes and just by being
different guys than from when we started. Obviously, different influences
will lead to creating something new out of the mix.  We have a new sound,
now. Our former guitarist (Pete Schaller) was a great guitarist, but not
the same person as Jeff, so it only makes sense that different stuff will
come out in the writing. Jeff's influences may be different, but really
it's just an evolution."

At age 31, David Saxton is the oldest members of Studiotone and the "third
oldest or newest member, however you phrase it," he quips.

"I've noticed an evolution in the sound since joining the band," he
continues. "The songwriting is more evolved. Digital Radio is the album I
auditioned to, but I'm excited about this new release because I feel it
truly showcases the diversity of the band."

So let's talk a moment about that 'diversity'.  A sad fact of Modern Rock
today is that much of the crop of music being played and promoted by radio
stations & rock journalists seems to follow some type of 'agenda' that is
predicated more upon fashion &  'product' than musicianship and songwriting
ability.  I mean, let's face it. How else can one explain bands like The
Strokes and The White Stripes?

"I think what's happened is that a huge gap has been created between Indie
& Major Label rock," comments Jeff. "Even five years ago you had many more
major labels than you do now, because a lot of them have consolidated.
Consequently, a good 'indie' band that crosses over into major label status
like The Foo Fighters is hard to find nowadays."

So where do the member of Studiotone find themselves in this contemporary
mix? "We tend to go wherever the winds take us," states Brent. "I think
this situation makes the music more urgent, and we've found that when we
hit the clubs and do live shows and meet people, showcasing the material in
a live setting is where we get the true 'feedback'. Our live performing
ability is one of our proudest features."

"Everything comes in circles," adds Bryan. "I firmly believe that if we
continue to play and put out records, our day will come. It's inevitable as
you move up to a professional level that new doors will open, and I think
the best thing we can do is expose ourselves through our diversity."

For the new CD the group worked on the project for close to a year,
recording the material between September, 2002 and June, 2003 with producer
Michael Crittenden at his Mackinaw Harvest Studios in Grand Rapids.

"We started with a couple of songs to see where we went with them, and they
came out nice so we said 'let's do the whole thing right here at this
studio," explains Brent. "It's a nice facility and Mike is a very smart
producer. He taught us a lot of things and is very good at mixing. Probably
the most important thing we learned is the need to be open to things. And
this project also taught us patience in terms of songwriting, of developing
ideas that reflect the kind of record we wanted to write.  So basically, we
decided to write songs for this record and see what we could achieve."

Regardless of the strength on their new release, the group is in agreement
that wider exposure to audiences is their key objective. "At this point,
exposing more people to the band is more important than turning profits,"
states Bryan. "We've got about $15 grand stuck into the CD, so we'd like to
break even; but when we went to record the material we agreed that we
wanted to do it right it at all - there was that kind of urgency around it."

"Musically, I feel the new material has really solid tempos and is raunchy
and heavier than anything we've done to date, yet it's also tender," notes
Brent. "The main thing was to explore different dynamics. Who knows-in the
future we may explore heavier angles to the sound, but right now I feel
we're becoming 'ourselves' and finding our sound."

"Essentially, the idea behind the whole project grew out of us saying to
ourselves 'Let's write a great pop song!' We're into more serious topics
now but mainly are being honest with ourselves. In that process, the
boundaries loosened up a bit as to what a Studiotone song can be. Whether
by choice or coincidence, there's more variety to our sound now, which will
continue no matter what direction we take."

Another common element shared by the members of Studiotone is their love of
the college market. "We always have a great experience performing in front
of college kids," notes David. "When we played Grand Valley recently the
kids formed a b-line right to our merchandise, and it's like that whenever
we play somewhere for the first time. The first time we played Kalamazoo we
had the same reaction, which is encouraging."

"I think kids' minds are really open right now," interjects Jeff. "If we
play a high school or something you can tell the kids are looking for
something new. I think program directors are limiting audiences and selling
the music short. When kids see live shows with the band they all say, 'Wow,
why haven't I heard you guys? What are you doing here?"

"Rock is different than it was 20 years ago," he continues. "When we get up
to play and I look to my right and see a big smile on somebody's face,
that's where the payoff enters into the mix."

"The only thing I notice is that the whole music scene, especially the
college scene and radio with Alt Rock, is that too many people seem to have
'given up' on hoping to hear anything fresh because things have gotten so
bad over the last few years,' comments Brock.

"Fountains of Wayne I like, for example, but there are so many bands out
now that you could put along side to a group like The Cars and it would
sound the same. Why? Because The Cars worked.  But who wants to relive the
past?  That's why I think so many radio stations are going downhill."

"With us, we'll never be pigeon-holed into a trap," concludes Brent. "We're
never totally grunge, pop, heavy metal, or folk. There aren't a lot of
bands I can name that fit into one narrow genre and are still around.
Frankly, it's nice not to be in a trap."

"We have a strong live show, a great new CD, and the future is an open
book.  Honestly, the hardest thing right now is that everybody in this
pseudo industry talks so much crap. To get somebody to actually help you is
hard, because there aren't a lot of honest people out there. You find a lot
of business people out there, but not very good ones.

"We can make the music and pursue our vision, but we can't to it all by
ourselves."

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