Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Knob-man

Often overlooked in our efforts to keep up-to-date on the doings of local musicians are the men behind the knobs—the producers who help turn local and not-so-local releases alike into something worth hearing. One especially noteworthy local knob-twiddler is Travis Wyrick, owner of West Knoxville's Lakeside Studios.

Formerly the lead guitarist for Knoxville hair-metal standard-bearers Sage, Wyrick works with artists across the spectrum of musics, although about half of his projects involve bands from the increasingly-fruitful Christian rock scene. Wyrick received a 'Dub' award—Christian music's equivalent of a Grammy—for his work with the band Pillar, and a Christian People's Choice Award for his production work with Knoxville's own Disciple, a favorite on the Christian Loud Rock charts. "I got lots of business off (the awards)," Wyrick says. "I've been very blessed."

Though many of Wyrick's projects now center on out-of-town bands, he still works with several Knoxville acts, both Christian and secular. His website at www.wyrickmusic.com contains MP3 samples of some of the bands he's worked with locally, as well as links to all of the bands' individual websites. A list of his local "clients" includes Jag Star, the aforementioned Disciple, Louise Mosrie, Christian metal band Nailed, and alternative rockers Copper. MPEG internet video clips are available for some of the bands, online "films" of the groups at work in the studio.

Wyrick's suggestion: "Check out the local band Ten Years, which we just recorded. They're the newest tons-of-people-at-the-gig kind of band around here."

Local CD Review I

Solid Earth Collective
Sacred Styles

One of the great things about hip hop and sampling is that just about anyone can create beautiful art. Borrow a computer for sampling and come up with some lyrics and you can craft something truly unique.

Like the early days of rock 'n' roll or punk rock in the late '70s, hip hop has spawned thousands of kids who opted to create their own sounds, rather than passively receive them. Knoxville is no exception, as it would be difficult to chronicle all the homemade hip-hop and electronica discs floating around out there.

Solid Earth Collective has created one of them, and the results are mostly impressive.

Solid Earth Collective is the work of one MC, Ill Shaman, who seems to know he operates in this vast grassroots artistic landscape, as he raps on "Living Under Illusions": "I'm an underground detective/ I'm selective about which style I'm using, microphones I'm abusing/ cause some things I say just will not be heard/ I represent the crew that's known as Spread the Word/ And our only mission is to free you from this prison/ Open up your eyes to some shit you might be missing."

The sampling and production are not complex, but sound exceptionally good—strong grooves to move along. There's no scratching, but it's hardly missed. The lyrics are at turns stern and funny, reflecting humor and urban life every step of the way, and focusing on hip hop as a culture and means to social change. On "Sacred Styles" he sings, "It's like I'm an addict/ it's so sad it's almost an obsession/ without the force of a weapon/ just my mentals/ study the essentials/ eating fresh veggies and lentils/ hit the city bumming every night/ write my thoughts down with broken pencils."

Ill Shaman's delivery is at times a bit subdued, but that's a minor quibble. This disc won't cause any widescale revolution, but it's creative and smart, and might just inspire some kid to pick up a microphone. No small feat.

Local CD Review II

Flesh Vehicle
Flesh Vehicle

Nashville's Flesh Vehicle rock with abandon and a sense of humor on this new six-song EP, the second release from former Knoxvillian and ex-Superdrag bassist Tom Pappas's current project.

Pappas departed Superdrag some three years ago in large part because his own punkish, high-energy songwriting chops needed an outlet not provided in the fetching, sweetly melodic context of the latter band. The resulting Flesh Vehicle has been too long in releasing its wares, but the songs Pappas and co. have given us are both refreshing and infectiously charged.

Channeling the weirdo fuzz-pop sensibilities of the Flaming Lips with the wanton rawness of the Stooges, F.V. retools and re-records older gems such as "Perfect State of Grace" as well as newer numbers like "Cupie Doll Disguise" and "Mix N Match", infusing all of them with a sense of immediacy that well nigh tears its way out of your speakers. Pappas' vocals in particular sound rejuvenated, stronger, more tenor-inflected and more direct than in days of yore when his distinctively high-pitched nasal braying often irritated as much as it pleased.

New band members Darin Karnes (drums) and Mark Robertson (bass and backing vox) add just the right level of rhythmic elasticity to Pappas' squalling axes and goofy, good-rockin' charms. Serious music that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Local CD Review III

The American Plague
The American Plague

Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the American Plague's new local CD release is that it impacts with all the raw-throated and hurtling fury of the band's live show—which is as highly charged and visceral as that of any band in town nowadays.

Birthed by guitarist Jaw, formerly of local roughhouse punkers the Malignmen, the Plague exhibit plenty of punk attitude, with sounds and moves snatched from the Misfits, the Clash, even metal-era solo Danzig—the latter especially in singer-guitarist Jaw's hoarsely anguished vocals. Mostly, though, their surging anthems of discontent come off as straight-rock-no-chaser, harsh and direct and stripped of any floridness or pretense. From the headlong pummel of the opener "Past the Machine" to the epic build-up-and-release catharsis of the disc-closing "The World Is Doomed" (the feel-good song, natch), the Plague's bawling intensity abates nada.

—Emma "Too tired from New Year's to Go." Poptart with Joe Tarr and Mike Gibson