The Infrereds
Sounds From The Darkroom
2004
About The Infrareds
The Infrareds are known across the globe, except for South America, Africa, and Asia, but it's surf, and as far as I know, nobody on those continents has ever even seen a guitar, let alone understands how one should be played. The Infrareds play music the correct way. Highly acclaimed, their second album, "Recorded on Microfilm," was regarded by critics as the best surf rock album of 2003, as well as receiving numerous other rave reviews for their intense live performances.
The Infrareds have toured extensively, traveling across Europe in 2005 and countless clubs and theatres within the continental U.S., including the mid west, the Eastern Seaboard & the Deep South. Audiences everywhere love their fast, intense, yet methodical tunes, except for Texas. The fact that they received poor feedback from their southern audiences is something I attribute to Southerners' generally poor taste in music as apposed to the bands musical ability. The Infrareds ROCK, plain and simple. People accustomed to listening to slow country music and really bad hip-hop just arent going to get it.
There can be no denying that The Infrareds play the fastest, most aggressive surf music in the nation. They grew up in the late seventies early eighties, listening to bands such as Agent Orange, Minor Threat, and Bad Brains, among others; which lead them to eventually discovering the origins of teenage angst and rebellion as embodied and expressed through the early sixties surf bands such as The Avengers VI, The Fender IV, (pretty much any band with a roman numerals), The Lively Ones, and Eddie and the Showmen.
Despite their current fame and fortune, The Infrareds had humble beginnings. Formed in 1999, they cut their teeth playing smaller venues in northern California, such as the Lucky 13 Club in San Francisco, Fernwood in Big Sur, U.C. Santa Cruz, and clubs all over their original hometown of Monterey, including the last show ever at the famous Dream Theatre.
Their members include Rory Fortune, embattled front man and lead guitarist. Raised on the mean streets of Fresno, California , Rory grew up a small time hustler before finding salvation in the form of an electric guitar. Escaping Fresno was a turning point for Rory, who now has developed his own brand of vegetarianism, which includes nothing but coffee and cigarettes indeed; nobody has ever witnessed him consuming anything else.
Bass guitar is handled by Kiegan Skydecker --possibly a stage name-- who can effectively be termed the "bad boy" of this group, in that Rory is saintly and their volatile former drummer, known only as "new Matt," has left to pursue a solo project. Kiegan hails from the sleepy town of Monterey, California, where he grew up hanging around the National Steinbeck Center. His bass styling's and personal appearance have been said to take after the immortal Billy Cox best known for his work with The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Few people dispute this.
New to the band is rhythm guitarist Benny Hammond. Even though he spent most of his adult life pretending to be Buddy Holly, enjoys playing volleyball, and makes a living in Los Angeles as an "artist," be assured that Benny is all man. Picture General George S. Patton Jr. standing, in full uniform, in front of the United States flag. Now picture him playing rhythm guitar in front of said flag.. That's Benny.
Also new is the drummer, Clinton Cameron. Clinton grew up in the massive shadow of older brother, "Brush Master" Clayton Cameron, drummer for such stars as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Frank Sinatra. Eager to distinguish himself from him, Clinton does his best to stay as far away as possible from the easy-listening pop music "wuss rock" -- that earned his brother such fame. Formerly of the band Fishbone, Clinton is new to the Surf genre, but he is so immensely talented that it makes little difference.
The future looks bright as The Infrareds prepare to release their fourth album, and be sure to check them out on their next tour.
Rick Britton, July 2006
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1 The Rambo Kid
2 Kli
3 Change In The Water
4 Matte Blood
5 Pictures Of Your Girlfriend
6 The Lost Air
7 Third Star To The Left
8 Deluxe Images
9 Half Moon Bay
10 Sounds From The Darkroom
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1 comments:
Sounds interesting, thx Trustar :-)
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