The band SUMMERCAMP has already toured with "Failure" and "Poster Children" through the end of May, almost a month before their Maverick Records debut album is released on June 17th. On June 18th, they hit the road for the first leg of the "Lollapalooza Tour," featured on the Second Stage in the slot before the headlining Eels. Meanwhile, the band (Tim Cullen-vocals, guitar; Sean McCue-vocals, guitar; Misha Feldmann-bass; Tony Sevener-drums) got a jump on the summer touring season by perforing at an Earth Day benefit in April at the County Bowl in their hometown of Santa Barbara, CA, then set out on a round of U.S. Tour Dates with the above mentioned bands. Now that's what I call a DEBUT!! Their first single, released to Radio and Video is "Drawer," described by Cullen as "One of our darker, moodier songs." M
Among the thriving music community of Santa Barbara, well known for its lively college scene, SUMMERCAMP got together and honed their art playing with local favorites like "Dishwalla," "Toad The Wet Sprocket" and "Nerf Herder" to mention a few. Tim Cullen and Sean McCue (they share singing and songwriting duties for the band) hooked up in hight school, and later recruited bass player Misha Feldmann. In 1994, they completed their line up with drummer Tony Sevener. "The cool thing about Santa Barbara is the diversity of music going on." says Feldmann. "There is a big music scene, but there's not just one sound. Everybody's going with their own thing and the musicians are all supportive of - not competitive with - each other."
All the members had played in a number of bands previously - and at times simultaneously - and finally the foursome recognized their chemistry together and focused on their own group then called "Old Man." Late in 1995 they changed the name to SUMMERCAMP (the name of a one-time local jam with members of Old Man, Silver Jet and Popsicko) and signed with Maverick in 1996. Sean explains "Tim and I have always been actively recording as we would write. After self-producing our demos at home, it just seemed the next logical step was to co-produce our album with somebody who had experience in a big studio." They hooked up with producer Chris Shaw (Weezer, Bad Brains, The Meices) who helped SUMMERCAMP capture the sounds of the band. "Chris helped us nail exactly what we wanted, and when we didn't know what we wanted, we worked it out together," says Sean.
The themes on "Pure Juice" are not what happy thoughts are made from - loss, betrayal, romantic torture and inner conflicts, but the music itself is pretty upbeat rock 'n roll. This seems to be the latest trend amongst the music I've been reviewing lately - the lyrics are at odds with the musical portions of the album. I guess there's nothing wrong with that, but it gives music that "herd quality" that keeps popping up. One band comes up with an original idea, and then everybody else is doing the same thing. Sorta like those dead air spaces before a final track on just about every album you pick up these days. Very irritating to put it mildly. Who thought that up anyway?
Well, I didn't intend to put SUMMERCAMP down for sticking with what seems to be working for a lot of other bands right now. They did put together a very respectable debut, and it's a good listen. The opening track on the album is also the first single and video, "Drawer." It has a pretty mid-range measured rock beat, and a sample of the lyrics to this song about temptaion are: You don't care who lies to you/ You finally found something to do/Don't it make your black eyes blue/Kills you if you want it to/It's at your door today/It's just a drawer away, away.
The next track, Nowhere Near, has a real 60's pop British Invasion sound to it, but the lyrics belie the upbeat sound of the music as in "I don't want to waste your time. . . I'm nowhere near what you want, what you're looking for." Almost like a Beatles imitation minus the happy-go-lucky lyrics. "The Bright Side" is another slow-paced number that's basically telling "the significant other" to get lost. Some "bright side," huh? Sounds like a downer, but for listening purposes this is really a pretty good song.
This particular album alternates slow and fast numbers pretty much. "Pure Juice" is another movin' number with some good instrumental bridges and down in the dumps lyrics. "Should I Walk Away" is also an upbeat musical number asking the question Is there something I should do/Is there something I should say/Or should I walk away? Nice harmonies on this one too. Back to a slow pace again is "Keep An Eye On You" - I'm looking over big brother's shoulder/Now until this over/I can't keep alive/But I can keep an eye on you. "Play It By Ear" is another fast number with that 60's sound, good instrumentals and vocals.
"Ninety-Nine" is a change of pace from the previous songs on the album, with a bit of an edge to it musically, lyrics Niney-nine bottles of beer/Won't tell you what you need to hear. . .For your information/I find it hard to feel for you. . . This tune has a great wailing guitar bridge, and that edge really adds something to the album. More edge music shows up on "Mountain Size" with some tricky little key changes and harmonies that add to the effect. Of course the lyrics are still in that moody vein - . . .I shoulda known better than to depend on you. . ., but there's some great instrumentals on this number. "Two Shades Of Grey" has kind of a tone all it's own. Good rockin' beat, more special effects - both voice and guitar, and this one makes you want to MOVE.
The last two tracks on the album, "With Your Blessing" and "Thing Of The Past," pretty much follow the theme of the album, both musically and lyrically. Overall, this is a good debut album. Good ol' rock 'n roll as far as the musical portions are concerned, although the lyrics are definitely 90's. The instrumental bridges are all pretty great, the lead singer has a good voice, harmonies work well when they're used, and as I said earlier it's definitely a good listen. In my opinion SUMMERCAMP will be a good draw at the Second Stage on the Lollapalooza tour, and their album will definitely be hitting the charts with the exposure they get from the tour.
