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Blenderhead
Biography
Blenderhead
With Firgureheads on the Forefront of Pop Culture, this tradition-shattering punk band has re-formed, bringing back their innovative, intelligent songwriting and expressive playing for a new generation of fans. With a new second guitarist, Blenderhead holed up in a basement of a church for almost 2 years, writing and recording a heart-wrenching third album fans of bands like Fugazi, Burning Airlines, and No Knife will certainly love. But where have they been for five years? "After we recorded our second album Muchacho Vivo we started writing another record," vocalist/bassist Bill Power explains. "But then (guitarist) Eben Haas left to go to Africa and for whatever reason, and our other guitarist Ed Carrigan decided he didn't want to continue on without Eben. So after a long weird hiatus we broke up. Drummer Matt Johnson went on to play drums on record and tour with Roadside Monument. Ed played bass with Damien Jurado's band and I got busy with my full-time job at Tooth & Nail. "After several years passed T&N's owner Brandon Ebel kept encouraging me to do another Blenderhead record," Bill continues. "I said that I wouldn't do it without at least Matt. When Roadside Monument broke up Matt said he was into it. Then surprisingly Ed came back. So we started writing for the new record and did a new deal with T&N." New guitarist Tyler Vander Ploeg now fills out the new line-up. "Tyler played guitar in a local band called Ten Times Fast that was named after a Jawbox song," Bill says. "He was a friend of a friend and I knew he was into the same kind of bands and music we were. And he was a great guitar player. Then I ran into him at Warped Tour and he told me his band broke up. "A while later I got a hold of him and asked him to come audition. He just fit right in. We had a couple of other guys lined up to try out and we told them to forget it." Bill adds, "He got married this last year and we all went to the wedding and everything. Great guy, great guitar player, great friend." The ease with which this new line-up came together can be heard in the seemingly endless creative juxtapositions on the album, as the band hammers out great rock riffs with pure pop refrains within experimental playing and frantic time signatures. It utterly resonates with discovery -- the kind that's mutually enjoyable for the listener, as well as the musicians involved. "It feels like our first album to me," Bill admits. "Just because it took so long to create, and we really worked on it for nearly two years straight. I thought it would never get done. And with us taking a break, and Matt and Ed playing with different people, and then Tyler coming in ... I think we call came back fresh and just started over. Bill adds, "We also weren't afraid to stay true to who we are as a band, but try to expand the 'Blenderhead sound' a bit." Assisting Blenderhead in the production of this record is Kip Beelman. "Kip used to work at Avast (a renowned Seattle studio) where we did our first 2 records," Bill explains. "He's a really cool guy who engineered the second one. Since then he also worked on Damien Jurado's Waters Ave South record, so Ed knew him. He's also worked on records for Maktub, Sleater Kinney, Unwound, Juno, and others." Regarding the content of the album, the title Firgureheads on the Forefront of Pop Culture "was just something that a person we know once said," Bill explains. "'We're just figureheads on the forefront of pop culture' was how he put it, and I thought it was unbelievable how cocky and pretentious that sounded. Then it kind of transitioned into a basic concept of the theme of the record. All of these characters -- the objectivist, the true original, the ex, the man in power, etc. "We figured people might misconstrue the title and think we were talking about ourselves -- that we were the figureheads, but that's not the case," Bill asserts. "It's about other people. Our songs are about real life. Art imitating life, I guess. And it sounds cool, right? Ha, ha." Who will enjoy this album? Ask Bill. "I guess anybody who enjoys rock music with a punk rock/post-punk aesthetic to it," he surmises. "Noisy guitars, crazy drums, and pop vocals." While there are no touring plans, Northwest and West Coast Weekend dates and the big festivals are on the horizon, "if they invite us. All ages shows, definitely. Quality over quantity!" |
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