Eastern Conference Champions
Lately I've been itching to sing--really sing--not just in my car and around the house, but in a group with other musical people. Like, maybe with Eastern Conference Champions. I think my voice would be a great addition, would complement Josh Ostrander's just like Maura Davis's does on "Hollywood." Yeah, right!
ECC is my new favorite band, have you noticed? We caught them at the Xponential Music Festival a couple weeks ago and they thoroughly impressed me. Their sound, or musical personality as it were, is so cohesive. I'm not sure how to explain it. I just get the sense that they really know who they are as musicians and it comes through in all their songs.
I am seriously loving their album Ameritown, which came out last month. Each track is complete, and the totality of the whole is much bigger than the sum of its parts. It's great from start to finish, with tender, intimate moments and full throttle rock 'n roll blazes, sometimes even within the same song. I can't recommend this record highly enough.
They surprise me, too, in three ways. First of all, lead singer/guitarist Josh Ostrander has an unusual voice. Truth be told, it's not very pretty. You might expect it to bother me, seeing as I'm rather critical of vocals in general. But he takes what might be considered drawbacks and uses them to tell the stories of their songs with honest, raw emotion in a way that you don't often hear. I don't think I could imagine anyone else singing these songs.
Secondly, the drums are freaking amazing. I'm more aware of them as a part of the melodic structure than they are in a lot of other bands. The way Greg Lyons plays is very upfront, almost more like another voice than accompaniment. In fact, I remember when I first heard "Hollywood" how at the very end the drums took the song away to a different place, and it's always stuck with me. On several tracks the drums absolutely make the song, like "Single Sedative," "To the Wind" and "Yuppy Hipster Fuck." He's fantastic.
Thirdly, and having seen them probably has a lot to do with this impression, they have a ton of enthusiasm when they play, a lot of which is brought by bassist Vern Z. At the festival he was on fire and played it up in a really fun way. I'm dying to see them do a full show.
Eastern Conference Champions--"Noah" mp3 off Ameritown (buy) removed by request
Eastern Conference Champions--"The Box (Live)" mp3 (this is a repost but just in case you missed it)
ECC on myspace, where you can hear a few more songs.
In the photo, L to R it's Vern, Greg and Josh. Witness their sense of fun.
I see what you mean by that voice. But aside from the ugliness (which can
be appealing in the manner of Bob Dylan) there is a clear sense of
desperation in his vocals that drives the enthusiasm you mention but also
gives "depth" to this rock ditty. Very nice choice again!
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