thePULSEDashboard Confessional and MAE Hold Their Own at One of the Hardest Venues Around
Dashboard Confessional
By Rebecca Carter
The Shade of Poison Trees marks the fifth studio album from Dashboard Confessional, AKA Chris Carrabba. Originally intended to be a solo project from Carrabba’s previous band, Further Seems Forever, Dashboard Confessional quickly gained a following at the forefront of 1999’s burgeoning emo scene. While the label “emo” has taken on its share of negative connotations over the years, Carrabba, who admittedly “…never cared in the first place” and prefers to be called a singer/songwriter, has outlived the stereotype, earned critical praise, and caught the attention of legendary producer Daniel Lanois in the process.
Carrabba described The Shade of Poison Trees, released in October, as “…a new twist on an old place I’ve been to before as a songwriter.” He explained, “I didn’t play any electric guitars on this record, so in that sense it is comparable to my first couple of Dashboard records.” Following an extensive tour, and with another one set in motion, Carrabba has found the time to remain prolific as a songwriter. “I really don’t write on the road… there are just too many distractions,” he shared. “I build [the songs] up, …that’s the process for me, waiting for the time to be right and don’t stop until I’m exhausted.” With a method that appears quite personal, he would rather leave the songs’ interpretation to the listener. “It’s a little tough to talk about the actual inspiration [for the new album] because I don’t want to give away the keys,” explained Carrabba. “But you live your life and you keep writing songs and you think of new stories to tell.”
Although Carrabba is the chief songwriter of Dashboard Confessional, the band became a solid line-up in 2002 with guitarists John Ralston and John Lefler, bassist Scott Schoenbeck and drummer Mike Marsh; but for this outing, Carrabba has decided to go it alone with a solo tour. “I’ve been trying to [do a solo tour] for so long but there were other things sort of in the way of it,” he explained. “I do a lot of unannounced ones at colleges and every time I feel like ‘What am I am waiting for?’ I was just waiting for the time to feel right, and it does.”
Prior to the official release of the album, Dashboard Confessional posted some of the new material on their Myspace page, an outlet that has graduated from a trend to the standard for artists today. “It hasn’t changed my approach to making music but it has facilitated my own desire to making the music available,” he described. “It works out well for me but I don’t think it works out so well for people who are concerned about their profit margin, that’s not where we’re coming from.”
Dashboard Confessional, joined by openers Augustana and part-time Dashboard Confessionalist John Ralston, will be making an appearance at The Palladium on November 9th.
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MAE Gets to the Heart of the Matter with “Singularity”
By Jillian Locke
On November 11th, Multisensory Aesthetic Experience, more commonly known as MAE, is sweeping through Worcester’s most metal-centric venue, the Palladium, showing the thousands of long-haired, black-clad, shred-worshipping enthusiasts that make up the majority of the Palladium’s patrons that softer bands can take the stage and pack the house as well.
Emerging onto the scene from Norfolk, Virginia, MAE just left independent label Tooth and Nail, who delivered their 2003 release “Destination: Beautiful” and 2005’s The Everglow,” for the bright lights and big exposure of Capitol Records. “Singularity,” their first major label release, is catching the attention MAE has been working towards since 2000. “Jacob got his degree in ‘Multisensory Aesthetic Experience’ and he thought that it would be a good name for the band. It mirrored what music meant to him,” says guitarist Zach Gehring. “As a band we want to be able to create moments that infect more than just a person’s sense of hearing, we want to get inside people and affect their whole existence for a short period of time, or forever.”
Operating as a well-oiled, emotionally-charged pop-rock machine, singer/guitarist Dave Elkins, drummer Jacob Marshall, guitarist Gehring, bassist Mark Padgett, and keyboard player Rob Sweitzer are joining fellow circuit compatriots Anberlin and Metro Station in support of Motion City Soundtrack, giving them an opportunity to showcase their new album, their evolved sound, and their higher understanding of themselves. “We’ve been moving in a direction that has put us in a more self-analytical place internally, a desire to get to the bottom of ourselves, and a more rock- oriented feel as far as the band goes,” shares Gehring.
With major sponsorship comes major sound, which opens the doors for stellar musical production. This time around, Gehring says, MAE enjoyed more time and top-notch producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Saosin). “We were afforded the luxury of time this time around and more gear to work with. We learned a lot from Howard. He didn’t change the structure of the songs too much, and was big on finding the hook in each song and capitalizing on it.”
Now, the underlying question ~ how much does the transition from independent to corporate label effect the sound and integrity of the band? “It wasn’t much of a change, they [Capitol] weren’t down our necks creatively or anything. There are a lot more people to answer to, and they are more involved in the process of the recording. They didn’t scratch any songs that we had, but they would always encourage us to write more,” Gehring attests.
Shattering illusion and the challenge of rebuilding are flowing themes throughout “Singularity,” from the revealing “Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone” to the somber-to-uplifting “Release Me,” from “Rocket,” where the guitars have a chance to really expand, to a very well-crafted album closer, “Reflections,” which, according to Gehring, invokes the passion and energy of the ‘90s grunge era. “We are influenced by music from that era, its energy, its honesty, its relevance and the talent of the musicians involved.”
When it comes to “Singularity” as a whole, Gehring feels it aptly conveys where they are both as people and as a band. “Singularity isn’t as sweet sounding, the melodies are still there but the soundscapes in which those melodies are contained are more raw. I think it’s good sonic representation of where we are as people continuing to learn and search for what is truly valuable to us. This record is our Singularity. We wanted to strip away all dispositions we had, the ideas we were given growing up.”
Drop by the Palladium November 11th to see an up-and-coming band’s personal evolution.
In honor of Pulse’s annual fashion issue we asked Zach Gehring about his favorite fashion trend.
ZG: “I have this coat that a friend of mine gave me that I love, and I wear it as much as I can in the winter. I do tend to like winter clothes more than summer t shirts. A good hoodie is so hard to come by. I have a nice Saves the Day hoodie that fits great.”
