rock*a*teens
rock*a*teens are:
Chris Lopez - vocals, guitar
Justin Hughes - guitar, vocals
Ballard Lesemann - drums
William Joiner - bass
discography:
The Rock*A*Teens [cd] (Daemon) 1996
Cry [cd] (Daemon) 1997
"Leave What's Left Of Me" b/w "Bloodhound" [7"] (Merge) 1997
Baby, A Little Rain Must Fall [cd] (Merge) 1998
Golden Time [cd] (Merge) 1999
"What Took You So Long" on Oh, Merge comp. [cd] (Merge) 1999
Sweet Bird of Youth [cd] (Merge) 2000
biography:
There is a definite mystique to the South. It is a place of sultry summer evenings, deep spooky woods, small town scandal, and dark secrets. There is an air of mystery and expectancy. In the past century the South has undergone radical shifts in its culture as it has transformed from a largely rural society to one of cities and industry. The short history of rock and roll has its subplot in these shifts, and the modern music of the South, while having its roots in the region’s history, has evolved into a truly modern sound. In 1923, Cabbagetown Ga produced a pioneer of Southern music. Fiddlin’ John Carson was a hillbilly who left the mountains of north Georgia for the lure of jobs in the mill town. His song Little Log Cabin in The Lane was a hit for Okeh records and help set the stage for an industry that would produce the likes of Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks. 1999 promises to be another important year in the musical history of Cabbagetown, GA. With their new album, Golden Time, local lintheads The Rock*A*Teens put a more modern and universal spin on the Southern musical mystique. After last year’s brilliant Merge release, Baby, A Little Rain Must Fall, a reverb drenched romp thru garageland, Chris Lopez and the boys get back to a more thematic album this time around. Recruiting Robbie Gall to help the tweak the dials once again (he was also engineer on their sophomore release Cry, on Daemon Records), The Rock*A*Teens use Golden Time to return to the elaborate arrangement and lush textures of their earlier records. Whereas Baby, A Little Rain Must Fall was influenced by "coke+cakes+stomach aches", Golden Time returns to the boys more frequent stimuli, "whiskey, sex and cigarettes". The album forms a novel-like narrative around the lives of two characters (a boy and a girl, of course) as they struggle with the age old tribulations of expectations, disappointments, love and loss. A tale befitting a rich Southern literary tradition. The songs on Golden Time are about the empathy of youth and spiritual monotony in a media dominated age. "Black Metal Stars", a dark and twisted ode to the apathy of a life that seems to pale before the glamorous life shown in rock’n roll glossies, introduces us to our heroine. "Little Caesar on A Bicycle" is a rockin ode to rambunctious youth, the wanna be gangbangers of the trailer park, and our hero emerges. From there on out you’re hooked: the ramshackle strut of "Small Town Soap Opera", the infectious swagger of "Misty Took A Holiday". The stories are here, waiting to be heard. Life, love, sadness and doubt. There won’t be a dry eye in any American living room as Chris Lopez wails thru the chorus of "In The Woods Of Hemlock Park". Under the watchful eye and mysterious influence of the ever present "Corporal" (described by the band as more of ominous force than an actual entity, sort of like a Machiavellian handler) the Rock*A*Teens (Chris Lopez - guitar,vocals; Justin Hughes - guitar, banjo, keyboards, vocals; William Brandon - bass, piano, violin; and Ballard Lesemann - drums/percussion) have created a timeless classic. We think you’ll love the results. Golden Time is a truly Southern, yet equally universal, evocation of all that is dark, primordial and spooky in all our souls.