recommends
O Pioneers!!!
Alternative Press - Rob Ortenzi on 6/4/09 @ 6:23 PM - altpress.com
NOW PLAYING: Neon Creeps (ASIAN MAN, asianmanrecords.com)
WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: They're as stripped-down and angry as you were (or would be) after your second year of community college.
YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE: Hot Water Music / Against Me! / Small Brown Bike
STORY: Sam Sutherland
PHOTO: Taylor Gahm
"There were points when I didn't know if I wanted to do this anymore," admits Eric Solomon, the man behind the energetic mix of folk-punk and post-hardcore that makes up O Pioneers!!!. "It got really frustrating, because it just wasn't working-and I knew we could make it work." When Solomon formed the group in 2004 with drummer Jeff Groban, the band hit the ground running, releasing a series of 7-inches and split EPs that brought them well-deserved attention from the DIY punk community far beyond the borders of their hometown of Houston. But when depression and bickering drove the pair apart, Chris Ryan stepped behind the kit, only to leave seven months later when the demands of his professional life became too pressing. So Solomon enlisted two of his best friends Papermoons' Matt Clark and Daniel Hawkins, and O Pioneers!!! began work on the songs that would comprise Neon Creeps, their first full-length for legendary punk indie Asian Man. But even friendship wasn't enough to keep the band functioning. "When we were writing, I could tell [Clark and Hawkins] were starting to lose interest," says Solomon. "I was really happy with the songs, we had some big shows lined up and they were already over it."
Solomon's frustration ignited some of his best writing, honing in on the themes of isolation and anger hinted at in the band's earlier work. Melding powerful emotion with the catchiest songs of their career, Neon Creeps would grow into a powerful artistic statement for the troubled trio.
"A lot of the songs are about being in that weird, depressed state where you don't know what's going to happen to something you really care about," says Solomon. "It's a record about not knowing how you are going to be happy with what you're doing, and not knowing where you fit in with your friends."
With Clark and Hawkins on their way out, Solomon decided to expand his focus and finally found the rhythm section he needed-bassist Zack Klaine and drummer Aaron Evin, who moved from Indiana to Texas for the band. "When they moved [to Houston], it reignited something. Matt and Danny helped me write these great songs, and when Aaron and Zack came in, it was like this whole new set of people giving them a totally new, exciting spin." Neon Creeps was finished with Klaine still living in Indiana, tracking his bass parts in his father's recording studio. But even this incarnation of O Pioneers!!! wasn't long for this world. "Aaron and Zack left this past November," says Solomon. "So, right now it's just me."
No matter what happens (Solomon promises to forge on), Neon Creeps will always exist as a perfect snapshot of a period of doubt and fear that Solomon hopes will provide comfort to listeners living through their own uncertainty. "When I was in high school, punk rock helped define who I am and saved me from a lot of really bad things," he says. "I think it's awesome that I can hopefully be doing that for someone else."
Post a Comment