Bleach
The men of Bleach should really be described as eager. Newly signed to Tooth & Nail Records, and with their new album, "Again for the First Time," they are eager to work hard, eager to connect with their fans, and eager to create consistently better All- American rock. Even after amassing three releases on Forefront, several charting singles, featured songs in several television series, and an average of 150 shows per year, Bleach suddenly found that it was time for a subtle shift, in order to ‘blur the lines’ between different music markets. As is often the case, the shift from one label to another was a change that the band willingly met with. "It was just a difference of vision, and it was time to move on. Once that started happening, we started sending out demos. Tooth & Nail is the one that seemed to ‘get it.’ They have the same kind of vision that we do, and they were excited about it", says guitarist Sam Barnhart.
"Again for the First Time" is their first since their self-titled 1999 release. Making such a metaphoric statement with their album title, the band explains that the theme encourages a renewed focus in life. As part of this theme, lead singer Dave Baysinger explains that several of the songs deal with how often we seem to face huge battles in life. "A lot of times you get beat down, but you never really lose . . . we won’t lose the war."
The drive to keep improving on their sound is so strong that they’ve even begun to record their concerts, in order to fix their weak spots. While their live show is constantly getting stronger, the band also saw a need to represent their performance skills on their recording, instead of just coming across as a slick and hyped-up band. Thus, going for a more raw feeling, the motivation to put out a staunch rock album was guided along in the studio by the helping hand of engineer and musician Oran Thornton (Flick, Johnny Q. Public.) "We really wanted our live sound to come across on this record. We wanted it to be this huge rock-n-roll record. Tooth & Nail gave us the freedom to do that," states guitarist Milam Byers. Thornton seemed to have the magic touch, as the band is very excited about this release, and hope that their fans will embrace this more gritty sound.
Bleach’s upbeat rock, positive energy, and undaunted morality have provided them with the ingredients for a likeable musical formula. They have been pleased to hear many stories of how their songs have often inspired their fans to keep going in tough times. "We just want to be a great rock band, and wherever that can go or whatever that can do. We just want to be a great rock band, and sing about what we believe,"states bassist Jerry Morrison. Add to the previous list that they are most definitely eager to please. |
