Rock is a Good, Good Thing
By Brian Murff

There are bands out there with a hint of retro in their sound, and there are tribute bands that try to copy another era’s groups. Somewhere in between is Underride. They’ve got a sound that is firmly based in ’80s metal, but also incorporates flirtation with glam rock of the same decade and occasional touches of ’90s grunge. It’s impossible to listen to their music without drawing similarities to the likes of Aerosmith or Guns-n-Roses.

The album opens with “Side By Side,” an energetic, driving number that lies on the harder side of their music. It quickly highlights the vocal strengths of the band with a roaring chorus from frontman Rev and smooth backups from the rest of the group. A wicked guitar solo seals the deal for this track.

Further into the album, the song “My Little Hell” stands out. Lyrics like “lower your body down/below the surface ground” and other dark references give it great character without devolving into death metal. “Riot Stick” was my favorite from the album. It’s that raucous, no-holds-barred kind of song that gets you out of your seat and rocking away with the music. Getting the listener involved is a great test for music, and Underride passed with flying colors.

One Of Us by Underride is rock, pure and simple. I had a blast listening to this album on a recent road trip. It isn’t what typically goes on my iPod, but change is a good thing, right? Is their particular brand of rock your cup of tea? Check them out and see for yourself.
 
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underride
Get the motors runnin'

Riding the resurgence of American hard rock, a new band has emerged from a familiar place: ....Seattle.., ..Washington..... Known as the birthplace of grunge, ....Seattle.... may be an unlikely place for a good-time, hard-rockin' party band , but that hasn't stopped the boys in Underride. Although they are currently unsigned, their new album, One Of Us has the sound and production of a high profile band on a major label. With a style that's equal parts Stone Temple Pilots, Buckcherry and Airbourne, the five-piece band features Rev on vocals, El Barto on bass, Double A on drums and Rex Nomad and Pondscum, both on guitar. ....

With this new influx of hard rockin' bands, now including Underride, the scene has certainly had a huge revival in the last couple of years. Live-Metal.net's Jeff Maki spoke to frontman, Rev to find out the roots of Underride's sound, influences and the current state of the ....Seattle.... music scene. A character in his own right, Rev was eager to share a few wild stories, including one with Jon Bon Jovi?

Live-Metal.net: Hey Rev. First off, give us a short history of how the band came to be. What about your influences?....

Rev: Underride formed in 2000 with a simple idea; to play straight up rock. ....Seattle.... was pretty entrenched in the whole indie scene and people just stood around in the clubs with horn rimmed glasses trying to look cool. It sucked. I’m from ....Cleveland..... We have enough to be depressed about back there. We don’t need to manufacture more and try to make it look trendy at some shit soaked club in ....Seattle..... ....

The harder ....Seattle.... stuff probably influenced the band a little bit, like Hendrix or the early Sub Pop and SST Soundgarden type releases. ..Alice.. in Chains, Gruntruck ... it’s all fine kick-ass rain soaked rock from the ....land.. of ..Starbucks..... A closer brother could be found in stardog Andrew Wood and Mother Love Bone. Pondscum (guitar) told me he saw Andrew pull up to the Central Saloon in a fucking limo for God sakes! He stepped out in a long white fur coat and was all pimped out. This was back in the day, mind you. You just didn’t do that shit in ....Seattle..... But Andrew didn’t care, he did his own thing and that’s what made him the man!

And just so we're clear here, are you guys currently signed to a label? If not, are there any potential record companies checking you guys out?

No label yet ... sign us and we’ll make you rich!....

You guys are definitely a hard rock band but I do hear a little bit of that '90s grunge/alternative influence. ....Maybe.. ..Stone.. ..Temple.... Pilots come to mind when listening in a few songs, "Candy Girl" in particular. Do you think this is accurate? ....

That’s accurate. “Candy Girl” seems to hit on all the things we feel like we do best. That mid to up tempo, driving rock with the killer guitar hook layered with a vocal melody. We never get too soft but we never go metal either. We tip toe around pop because our songs are pretty basic and short. It’s just a version of rock that you can’t really find much of these days. It feels like the purest version of rock because it falls somewhere between punk and metal but nobody really does it anymore.....

Velvet Revolver did it and you have Buckcherry, Hinder, Airbourne, Endeverafter and a few others, but shit man, that can’t be enough to fuel the whole world. These bands are starting to sell out big arenas again. Motley Crue is kicking some ass again too. It’s just odd that the big kids pulling the strings in the biz still avoid this scene like the plague. I guess we are sick! Fuck ‘em. ....

So how is the current scene in ....Seattle....? Are there any grunge bands still out there or has that time come and gone?....

The ....Seattle.... scene is cool enough. The clubs and the owners are for the most part, pretty cool people and the venues are nicer than most. If you avoid the high-brow indie fucks who think they’re above it all, you can have a pretty damn good time.....

Grunge has been dead for a while. It got stupid gay and finally died when everything turned indie/emo. It was fucking dreadful. A bunch of fucking spoiled cry baby fucks all pissy because their rich-ass Microsoft millionaire parents just got a divorce. Give me a break. Try growing up in a trailer on the Eastside of Cleveland eating frozen sausage and beer nutz for your first 12 years.....
The whole anti-glam thing came in vogue and before ya knew it, JC Penny was selling a goddamn line of grunge-wear. I remember the back to school radio tag line ... "because dressing like you don't care isn't easy." Whew ... I knew it was dead then and time to wear my guy-liner with pride.

To this day, we all still hear about Kurt Cobain all the time. But what about Layne Staley? I've barely heard anything about him since the day they found him dead. What is the feeling from rock fans about Layne in ....Seattle....? Is there a nice memorial or anything out there for him? ....
Every year they do a big benefit show for Layne. I’m not sure how he spends the money but it’s a huge event and it happens every year.

The lyrics on One of Us and your band's rock 'n roll flair are a direct contrast to what music fans have come to know out of ....Seattle..... Are your lyrics just for fun and partying, from personal experiences, or both?....

I try to put everything I can into my lyrics even though they’re not all deep and shit. I always read other people's stuff and it seems like an after thought to me. My stuff is about the real world and the shit going down in my life. “Riot Stick” is about getting arrested and going to jail.....

“Upstart” is about busting your balls at work every day for nothing. “Kink Into My Heart” is about the girl that got away and “She Gets Paid” is about the girl I had to pay to get laid. It’s life through “rock” colored glasses.....

It sounds like you guys could potentially be a wild bunch. Any stories you care to share? What about the women. Is it true what they say. Do rockers get all the girls?....

At the legendary Central Tavern we were doing shots on stage. They were going down easy that night so someone brought a whole tray of shots and set it on stage. As I slammed the shot in my hand I threw the glass down and shattered all the shot glasses on the tray.

Rather than ordering up a new round, I drank all the shots right off the tray. Glass included! That was about two years ago. Fans still hit me up on the street about that and I'm still shitting shards of glass. It's a dirty job but the Rev is glad to do it!

This is a dumb question, but how did you guys get your nicknames? ....

We were on tour with Bon Jovi during the winter months and it was cold as hell. Jon and I were freezing so I asked him if he would spoon me on the bus ride to the next town. He smiled with his super white teeth and well ... the rest is personal but you get the picture. He’s a funny guy who likes to make up nicknames for everyone. So you’ll have to ask sweet Jon next time you see him.

What shows does Underride have lined up in the near future and how else will you promote One of Us? ....

We’re taking the rock show to the streets in ‘09. We have some big plans in the works and we hope to get to ..Europe.. in the summer. For now, we’re slugging away in the clubs here state side.....

For the rest of the world, you’ll have to visit us on the web until we make it to your town. Updates, new tunes, show pics, merch and all that stuff can be had online at www.myspace.com/underrideseattle. Stop by and post something nasty on our page!

When or if you guys get signed, what's the first thing you'll do? ....

Declare war on the world wide music scene and begin to plot my diabolical plan to infest every country with the virus of rock!....
 

UNDERRIDE comes spilling onto the Alt-Rock scene from Seattle...., bringing with them a fast-paced, upbeat brand of Rock with a "live free, die hard" party atmosphere.  They can best be described as a combination of MÖTLEY CRÜE and current radio darlings BUCKCHERRY.  Fortunately, this interesting combination of the sex-fuelled Rock of the '80s and today seems to lead to a fairly enjoyable album.  What it lacks in depth it makes up in pure catchiness.

UNDERRIDE are a good deal more mature than BUCKCHERRY, however, relying more on melodies and catchy choruses to stick themselves in your head rather than shock value and "oh-I'm-so-tough-I-said-fuck-in-my-lead-single" attitudes.  The CRÜE comparison is still apt, though; just listen to the chorus of "Candy Girl" and marvel at how well Vince Neil's trademark whine/snarl is aped. 

The majority of the songs on "One Of Us" are pretty damn catchy; the aforementioned "Candy Girl" has an excellent chorus, if an underwhelming verse structure, and "On The Radio" is a spectacular summer driving song.  However, as the album progresses, it seems to drag on more and more, and the song quality takes a bit of a nosedive with mediocre tracks like "Shotgun Breakdown." Bear in mind that there are fourteen songs on "One Of Us," and none of them are longer than three and a half minutes; the band could've cut three or four songs and ended up with a half-hour long album that was more or less great all the way through. 

Despite a few flaws, "One Of Us" should readily appeal to fans of Alternative Rock who are looking for something a little more upbeat than the standard NICKELBACK and THREE DAYS GRACE fare.  The heavy CRÜE influence really helps UNDERRIDE distinguish themselves from the loads of PEARL JAM clones clogging up the radio waves of today.

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Maybe I'm reading too much into the vehicle imagery on the art work but I'm thinking this CD would sound pretty rockin' blasting through the Pioneers barreling through the Mohave in a 67′ Camaro dodging tumbleweeds and motor homes, the wind busting through the windows cooling down the vinyl interior because it's damn hot driving this hunk of Detroit's finest through the hot ass Mohave.

Surprisingly, this sound comes from a band out of Washington so I'm wondering if there's a hidden boost being served in those Starbucks double espressos. The songs remind me a little of Motley's "Too Fast For Love" record but with more balls in the vocals, grit in the guitars, and a hard and fast injection of pure octane.

Rating 4 (careful on those rain soaked curves of the Pacific Northwest)

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