While local indie bands and singer/songwriters were clamoring to catch the Saddle Creek train out of Omaha, The Beat Seekers were taking the last train to Clarksville, with their infectious brand of power pop, weaving a new noise out of vintage threads....
While local indie bands and singer/songwriters were clamoring to catch the Saddle Creek train out of Omaha, The Beat Seekers were taking the last train to Clarksville, with their infectious brand of power pop, weaving a new noise out of vintage threads. Focusing on fun, accessible - and sometimes throwback – music the band has found a creative nexus with enough Green Day to attract younger fans and enough Beatles to have their parents embarrassingly crank it to ten while cruising to soccer practice in their minivans.
Upbeat, but never abrasive, the band’s music represents everything they love about pop and blues with enough grit to add a modern edge and enough eclecticism to span across multiple genres. The band’s unique spin on British rock and pop owes its catchy arrangement to frontman Keith Fertwagner who honed his songwriting touring and recording in rock outfits such as The Fonzarellies, The Shocker (with Jennifer Finch of L7 on lead vocals), and Ammunition Affair. Armed with a rough self-produced demo, Fertwagner sought to surround himself with veterans of the local scene. The result was fiery group of serious musicians that put on a high-octane show that always promises concert-goers something to talk about on the way home.
The six-piece recorded their 14-track debut, Dead Air Radio at Gravity and Full Motion Studios in Chicago, IL with producer Matt Opal (Spitalfield, The Most Dangerous Race) and mastering by Doug McBride (Fallout Boy, Cheap Trick, R. Kelly). Together, Fertwagner and Opal co-produced an album that blurs the lines of lo and hi-fi using both analog and digital means to capture a subtle theme that is auditory, as well as conceptual. From the upbeat, mod-inspired, “Lipstick Crush Delight,” to the thrashing epic “Solutions M.I.A,” the infectious doo-wop harmonies and tasty hooks of Dead Air Radio dare listeners not to sing along and shake their hips.
The melodious powerpop that is The Beat Seekers’ sound recently earned the band an invitation to perform at the International Pop Overthrow (IPO) festival this summer in Los Angeles. In addition, the band will be touring extensively throughout 2009 in support of their new record. So hurry up and get your ticket to ride; The Beat Seekers have already left the station.
