I have no idea how to start this thing. I’m not an entertainment writer. I would like to call myself a writer, but I haven’t written anything in so long that I think the title might have out grown me. Even if I was a writer, even if I wrote daily and had published articles and a book or two, none of them would be about rock stars, or pop stars, or death metal. I usually stick to Science fiction or fantasy.
So what am I doing starting a blog about a band the world has yet to meet? Well I’ll tell you. I’m dating the bassist. That’s right, Walter Drake “Grizzly” Mclennan is my boyfriend.
Oh no, I see the red flags going up all around me. This is the part where you stop reading because you’re afraid that I’m going to tell you this is the greatest band in history because I’m dating the sex appeal. I promise you right here right now that IS NOT going to be the case. The painful truth about VK and me, the truth that I have yet to tell my main squeeze but he probably already knows, is that the type of music they play is not the type of music I usually go for.
Ok now that I’ve said that I see more red flags going up. “So wait,” you’re saying, “you’re writing a blog about a band that you don’t even like because your boyfriend is the bassist?” and what is that I see in the back? Yep, it’s Walter right along with the rest of the band with big hurt eyes and pouty lips asking “what do you mean you don’t like us?”
Well hold your horses guy’s (and general public), I never said I didn’t like the Voltage Knights. I just said that VK doesn’t fit in with my normal music selection. I like a lot of different stuff. One of my favorite bands is called the Old 97’s, they’re kinda an alt-country band. They’re the type of music you put on in the car and scream at the top of your lungs and nearly all their songs are about a girl they like or one that’s screwed them over. But I also like Regina Spektor, Ben Folds, and Mika. I also like some of the more popular stuff like Beyonce and Michael Buble, though I’m kinda limited on my specific facts on all of these people. I’m just saying, I know what I like and my likes are all over the place. However, if you listen to all these bands you’ll see similarities in my tastes. All of these artists write songs you can belt out in the shower, or on car trips. These artists usually write songs with interesting lyrics. All of them usually have you focusing on the vocals. I’m not saying that they don’t have very skilled guitarist/keyboardist/whatever, I’m just saying when I’m lessoning to You don’t know me, or Haven’t met you yet, or All the single Ladies I’m singing the words, not playing the cords. Over all, they make me feel one way or another. If you listen to the Voltage Knights it’s a different story.
Ok, so what were the things my favorite bands had in common again? Oh right: 1) they all passed the shower singing test, 2) they all have distinctive lyrics and vocals, and the thing that really ties them all together, 3) they all embody and project emotion. So why don’t the Voltage Knights follow these rules? Well to tell you the truth, they kinda do, just not directly.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I sing Submariner wail I’m rinsing shampoo out of my hair. These aren’t the type of songs that get stuck in your head and burst out your lips when you’re by yourself. But these are the type of songs that you’ll be listening to and then you’ll find yourself swaying back and forth with the music. The next thing you’ll notice is your head nodding with each beat. Before you know it you’re trying to play air guitar, bass, drums, and key board all at the same time and you’re scaring the poor old lady that’s sitting next to you on the bus. You don’t even notice it at first. Hell, you don’t even think you like it at first. It’s not that you dislike it, it’s just that you don’t even know you have an opinion until someone is asking you for one and then you surprise yourself by saying something like “it’s fantastic, the lyrics of Identity Crisis really spoke to me.” or “the key board solo in Submariner made me feel like I was sitting out in the middle of the ocean.” Or maybe even “they’ve really grown, I’m impressed. You can really see a different in their newer stuff.” Their songs snake their way in to your brain and hold on like subliminal messaging. You don’t even know you like it until about the fourth time you’ve heard the song or until someone asks and by then it’s too late. You’re hooked and you’re pissed off that they only have five songs on their web site.
On to my second point, distinctive lyrics and/or vocals. The Voltage Knights have this in spades, but you don’t see it at first glance. This is probably due to the fact that they are by no means a band that focuses on vocals alone. All five of these guys have their own personal and artistic short comings and limitations, but they are all also EXTREAMLY talented, and they all try to share the spotlight. So it’s not that the lyrics and vocals are not spectacular in their own way, it’s just they’re not always shoved in your ears, face and down your throat. But once you do hear them you will notice every song does one of three things. It ether paints a picture, tells a story, or asks a question. Many times it does all three. For example, in their song Legend the band talks about being stuck in a relationship with someone who puts their own wants above the other’s needs using the characters Link and Zelda from the Legend of Zelda game series and asking the question, “is this really fair”. Everything they write is wrapped in metaphors and deeper meanings and honestly it can be a bit exhausting to listen to and unravel. But the weirdest thing is once you do unravel it nine times out of ten you’ll find that you’ve thought the same thing, asked the same question, felt the same way and sometimes you didn’t even know there were words for it.
My third and final qualification for my favorite bands is the ability to convey and project emotion. When I first heard the Voltage Knights, all the way back in ninth grade, I thought they were doomed because I thought they just couldn’t do this. I was wrong and I’m not too proud to admit it. The fact is the type of emotion I’m usually looking for is something loud that makes me jump up and down and I’ll be straight with you, VK has yet to really do that for me. But that’s not really their style. With the exception of the drummer, Carpenter, these aren’t really loud guys. They aren’t the type of guys to vomit puppies and sunshine on you when they’re happy or start a bar room brawl when they’re pissed off. But you know when they’re sad, confused, overjoyed or scared sometimes just by looking at them or stepping into the same room. The same can be said for their music. It’s not loud, it’s not in your face, it’s not over powering, but it IS moving. The pictures they paint and the stories they tell you can’t help but listen to. They draw you in and then spit you out leaving you walking around for the rest of the day feeling like you just stepped out of a dream you can’t quite remember.
I guess the best way for you to understand what I mean is by you going to their site and listening to them for yourselves, http://www.myspace.com/voltageknights. I hope you’ll see what I mean and I promise to keep posting and documenting the struggles and battles of the Voltage Knights.
This is Kayte. Over and out.
No comments:
Post a Comment