In the past few weeks, I learned that 2 of the bands that are a major influence on my songwriting, are releasing new albums in the next few months. One of them I kinda knew about, while the other was a complete surprise. These 2 bands are "Our Lady Peace" and "Creed"
While Our Lady Peace is probably my favorite band, I have to say I'm more excited about Creed, merely because I thought they were done forever. Late last night, while watching Family Guy, I see a commercial for a Creed reunion tour. After I look it up online, I also find out they are putting out a new record. I'm seriously psyched for it.
Creed came out around the same time I learned to play the guitar, and I remember at one point I knew how to play the entire "My Own Prison" album start to finish. As a guitarist, their songs are great because they are recognizable without any lyrics. Mark Tremonti (Creed guitarist) has an incredibly unique style, and is probably the single biggest influence on how I write/play the guitar. When he's got the distortion on his riffs are nasty, then he switches over to clean and you'd think you are listening to a classical guitarist.
Guitar parts aside, I always thought they wrote some incredible songs, and while Alter Bridge (Creed w/ a different singer) was good, they were missing that "epic" quality that defined a great Creed song. Say what you will about Scott Stapp's personality (he comes of pretty douchey in interviews), but his vocals combined with Tremonti's riffs make for great music. Not to mention they weren't afraid to release a 5+ min song. Most people probably only remember them for songs like "With Arms Wide Open" or "Higher" (which are still great songs), but their non "hits" and b-sides are pretty solid. Here are some of my faves, from a songwriters and also a guitarists perspective.
1. To Whom It May Concern (B-side)
2. Young Grow Old (B-side)
3. Is This The End? (Scream 3 Soundtrack)
4. Ode (My Own Prison)
5. Pity For A Dime (My Own Prison)
6. One Last Breath (Weathered)
Onto the other band I mentioned - Our Lady Peace. They are set to release their 7th studio album, entitled "Burn Burn," sometime this summer. This will be their 1st album without the label in their ear. It should be a nice departure from their last 2, which were produced by Captain Commercial himself, Bob Rock. It supposedly goes back to the hard rock roots of their earlier albums (though I've heard that from many other bands before), so I'm looking forward to it.
While Mark Tremonti is probably the biggest influence on my guitar style, I'd say Raine Maida (the creative force behind OLP) is the biggest influence on my songwriting as a whole. From the way he puts a song together, to his lyrics, to his unique vocal style - I love it.
As for things you can hear directly in our music, Raine's use of falsetto is probably the most noticeable. As a vocalist, I am definitely a baritone (ironically enough, some people have said I sound like Scott Stapp). To compensate for the fact that I can't really hit higher notes, I use falsetto to mix it up. This is 100% attributed to the fact I've listened to OLP for years. Raine uses falsetto in a way I've never really heard any vocalist use it before, and I've always been a fan of it.
In addition, Raine's lyrics and the meanings behind his songs are always incredible. They generally aren't the type of songs you can read and immediately understand the meaning, but there is a certain poetic substance to them. Once you do find out the meaning, you appreciate them even more. For instance, these lyrics from their song "Big Dumb Rocket"
Ive never been this sad before
But Im disgusted by my fingertips and what theyve done
If I look into your eyes
If it must be true you must believe
Ive never held such violent things
I dont want to find
The big dumb rocket on your mind
Its mostly you and mostly me
And a tired gun thats not empty
Just reading those, it's tough to tell what he's going for. Then I heard him describe this being about a time when he was a kid. Him and his friends were playing around with one of their parent's guns, which they thought was unloaded. Raine fired it at one of his friends, and while it didn't fire, he found out later it had a bullet in the secret chamber ("a tired gun that's not empty"). Basically, he could have killed one of his friends. Knowing that, you read these lyrics in an entirely different light.
Great lyrics, unique vocals, and just an overall knack for a hook - that's what puts OLP at the top of my list. Here are just a few of my fave tracks by them (seriously too many to list em all).
1. Superman's Dead
2. Happiness and The Fish
3. 4AM
4. All My Friends
5. Big Dumb Rocket
6. One Man Army
In sum, I'm pumped for both these new releases. I'm getting flashbacks to 1999! haha. I know our fans come from varying age groups, so some may be aware of these bands, while our younger fans may have never heard of them. If nothing else, you got some insight on the band's sound (even though we don't really sound like either), or maybe we turned you onto a "new" band.
-Chris