Stripes and Lines w/ Helen Earth Band and The Howls
Price:
$10.00 / $12.00
11/21/09
It’s been a long road to the beginning for San Diego indie rockers Stripes and Lines.
With years of touring already behind them in former bands Government Grown and Yovee, Jeremy Moss (drums and lead vocals), Anthony Sanudo (lead guitar and lead vocals), Evan Polselli (rhythm guitar, keys, and vocals) and Harley Orion (bass and vocals), are, in a way, back where they started: packing local venues with enthusiastic fans who can’t wait to hear what’s next for these relentlessly creative, searching artists.
Stripes and Lines brings the old and new together with hints of Built To Spill, cemented with a driving rhythm section reminiscent of U2 or The Police, adds a touch of Velvet Underground; and tops it all off with three and four part vocal harmonies that suggest the great vocalists of the 60s. It’s a potent combination of high energy with musicality and subtlety that perhaps only could have been achieved after years on the road.
Their live debut was a bit of a surprise for everyone. “Honestly, I just hoped some people would come out to see what we were up to. We were having a good time playing together again, and I figured there were still a few fans of our old projects out there that would at least be curious,” says Orion.
What happened instead was a line around the block, some very overwhelmed ticket-takers and a buzzing crowd that has been building ever since.
But the first priority for Stripes and Lines is making every song new and inventive. “We’ve never been content to just think in one genre, or just do what comes easily,” says Orion. “We’ll take a typical modern-rock style and turn it on it’s head – add some kind of seventies Hammond or some bizarre chord progression or a big vocal part or whatever – we’re always sort of pushing for something that breaks the boundaries of the style and challenges people just enough to keep things interesting.”
Judging from the buzz they’ve been drawing in San Diego with just a handful of shows under their belt, Stripes and Lines has been achieving that goal.
On their first self-titled EP, just released in February 2008, Stripes and Lines tackle the indie-rock genre with subtlety and creativity, blending thumping, up-tempo rockers with hints of the past that draw the audience in and keep them listening.
“When we got this group together, our one vision was that we would create music that every one of us was 100% excited about, all the time, and if anyone else likes it, then that’s just a bonus,” says Orion. “We’re back to doing what we love and it turns out people want to hear it. What’s better than that?”
Abounding with complex rhythms, textured guitar melodies, intertwining harmonies, and atmospheric undertones, San Diego-based Helen Earth Band chase symmetry, pushing moments to their pinnacle, while also using space and restraint to broaden the dynamics within each song. They possess a wealth of experience in the music industry, having played in bands ranging from the Jon Rauhouse Sextet to Finch, and have spent countless hours composing a vast trove of material that is adequate to supply album upon album, the first of which is to be completed this summer.
Comprised of brothers Marc and Adam Allen (guitars and vocals), Jeff Livingston (keyboards, vocals, percussion), Brian Evans (drums, samples), and Trevor Vieweg (bass, height), the quintet creates music that is in turns powerful and ambient, minimal and tastefully complex. Helen Earth Band combines memorable melodies with musical depth to make them a band dear to both the musician and the music listener. Also, two of them are brothers, so if you want them to get that whole Oasis, Gallagher brothers “rivalry thing” going, they can totally do that. With rock culture in it’s current state, it is a rare thing to find a band that takes its craft as seriously as does Helen Earth Band, much less a band with the ability, experience, and integrity to back it up. Upon hearing what they have to offer, I would be shocked if the first thing out of your mouth wasn’t, “Hey, that guy who wrote their bio was right on!”
The Howls out of Encinitas have been hitting it hard over the last six months consistently playing some of San Diego’s finest venues and receiving play on local radio stations. Singer John Cooper was invited to play a few songs at teh Belly Up this last June as a part of the Switchfoot Bro-Am after party, involving SwitchFoot, Nickel Creek and more!
