"We're confident something good will come out of this," says Jason Irwin, front man of the Glens Falls band Phillips Head. Mr. Irwin describes the band's sound as "post-punk power-pop high-energy original rock." He pauses for effect and concludes with a laugh, "I made that one up."
Phillips Head - Mr. Irwin on guitar and vocals, Steve Graves on bass and vocals, and the singularly named Benny on drums - hosts a no-holds-barred CD release party for II, their second recording, on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. in Heritage Hall of the Glens Falls Civic Center.
If the Heritage Hall party for their first Cd release four years ago was "a circus," jokes the trio, "this one will be a zoo."
The all-ages show is to feature the "Phillips Head Dancers," free copies of the new CD for all guests, a light show and an electric guitar giveaway sponsored by The Only Guitar Shop in Clifton Park. Acoustic guitarist Shawn Kelly opens.
Admission: $7, $5 advance. Get tickets at 798-0202 or 476-1000.
This second recording more accurately reflects the band's sound, said the threesome, particularly as the fist Phillips Head CD included a fourth player who left shortly after the recording.
"It's a little punchier," said Benny.
"It's faster, louder, and harder," adds Mr. Irwin. The sound, which Mr. Irwin compares to The Clash or Green Day, has a retro feeling achieved in part by the recording process, which used old-fashioned analog tape rather than modern digital methods.
The sound is as raw as they promise, appropriate for punk attitude tunes like "You're So Ugly" about dating an unattractive woman or "Old Enough For Me," a bothersome number about dating a much younger girl, and "Casually" about dating - er - breaking up with a girl. The lyrics, like the music, are raw. "It's all meant in good humor," says Mr. Irwin, who wrote all the songs on this album. "They're actually pretty deep," says Benny, which elicits a chucle from Mr. Irwin. Mr Graves, the band's straight man, explains, "Anybody who's done the club scene knows what it means. It's all symbolism."
What they're proudest of is how they play together. "We're very tight. We've been together five years," says Benny. "It's like a good marriage."
Mr. Graves said the sound is a combination of the trio's various musical influences. "I like songs that have 30 bass notes in one measure, the virtuoso stuff." Mr. Irwin counters: "I like two- or three-chord songs. Steve says they're too boring. We meet somewhere in the middle and it turns out to be a good song."
Reprinted from The Chronicle, Thursday, September 6, 2001