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Concert Review: Copper Thieves, Royal Bang @ Berkley Front

Friendly Foes LiveSo I made it to the Berkley Front late and unfortunately missed Allan James & The Cold Wave, but I did manage to catch the somewhat retooled Friendly Foes.  They recently added a couple of new tunes to their lineup, as well as a new drummer Sean Sommer (from Allan James & The Cold Wave.)  I for one could not even hear the drummer difference; hell if anything they sound better, and I really dug the new tune that Liz Wittman was singing on (she’s one of the best pop rock vocalists around.)

Royal Bangs LiveNext up was out-of-towners Royal Bangs (Knoxville, Tennessee.) Now I’m not sure how our local purveyors of stellar out-of-town music Eatthiscity.com didn’t mention these guys this past week, but I for one was simply blown away by Royal Bangs’ live set. Their performance; which featured five guys – two of which had impressive  mustaches and played guitar on the floor in front of the stage, brought a live dance rock energy that’s cut by the same mold as The Rapture or Dan Deacon. Royal Bangs simply brought the house down and I’m sure several of the head-bobbing patrons picked up a CD or two (did anyone see them at the Elbow Room this past Wednesday night?)

Copper Thieves LiveFinally, the night was topped off with MCR favorites the Copper Thieves.  This was my first time see these guys live so I was interested in seeing how the live energy of their latest album From Way Out To Way Under was going to translate on stage.  Well I’m glad to write that Andy, Christian and John did not disappoint.  Their arena, dueling vocal and guitar style rock was fantastic live (as a reference, they bring elements of My Morning Jacket and wrap them into Pavement style wrapper.)  Add in the recent addition of Tony Rochon (Back In Spades) on Fender guitar and organ, and these guys rocked in a quintessential fashion that left me wanting more - especially to see laryngitis plagued Tony Rochon sing (we’re told that he has a “beautiful” voice.) Don’t miss Copper Thieves next outing at the Belmont on May 16th with The Singles and WCTM Gold.

Posted by Dr. Detroit on Apr 25, 2009 | Comments | Permalink |

Interview with Copper Thieves

Copper Thieves Band PhotoSo if you have not guessed by now, it’s officially ”Copper Thieves” week here at MotorCityRocks.  Background - the Copper Thieves may be relatively new on the local Detroit scene but their members are anything but rookies. You may recognize their bass player Christian Doble from his other bands Child Bite and Kiddo or guitarist John Nelson and drummer Andy Roy from New Grenada. We recently spoke with the Copper Thieves to learn more about why they do what they do and their upcoming record release show at The Berkley Front on tonight.

So how did you guys get together?
Our drummer Andy Roy had some song ideas and added me to play guitar and sing. I was like “thanks for the add!” I added Christian to play bass and sing, he replied “thanks for the add, luv the jamz!” We decided to add someone else, and since Tony Rochon (Back In Spades) had played organ on the record, he seemed like a good fit. He has been able to help us play our instruments better.

Tell us about the new record?
The album is called From Way Out to Way Under. We recorded it with Chris Koltay at High Bias. You can download the entire album for free for a limited time. We were lucky to get a song in a Ford commercial which helped pay for stuff. We’re putting out a 7″ to go along with the album; that will be available at the Berkley Front show tonight.

When I listen to the record I hear a lot of elements that are different from some of your other bands.
Christian has an uncle with some industry connections, who told us that if we could build a band with the right sound, there was a good shot we could get the opening slot for Steve Miller at DTE this summer. That didn’t work out, but we were able to score the Bad Company/ Kansas/ Sterling Knights gig at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort.

I hear some jam elements going on in the album, how does that come through in your live show?
We don’t really go into any extended “jams” live, but the songs do have a lot of riffs. We are proud of the bodacious riffs we write, but the lyrics, hooks and arrangements are just as important.

With your other bands, how much time are you going to be able to focus on Copper Thieves, will you tour?
We took the finances we set aside to tour, and are going to an Arapaho reservation in Wyoming to write our next record.

Have any of you actually stolen any copper before?
There are some stories floating around that may have taken on a life of their own, but we won’t confirm or deny them at this point.

Posted by Dr. Detroit on Apr 24, 2009 | Comments | Permalink |

Album Review: From Way Out to Way Under – Copper Thieves

Copper Thieves Band PhotoNot only one of Detroit’s favorite pastimes for decades, Copper Thieves are also a side project featuring members of New Grenada and Child Bite. Does their moniker comes from the fact that, like copper thieves, they scrap the past for usable parts, some organ riffs here, some mall-punk vocals there? Their debut From Way Out to Way Under falls somewhere between the sum of their parts, a safe distance between New Grenada’s power pop and Child Bite’s balls-out jams. The songs’ riffs are at once bouncy and heavy, if recycled– “Carribean” is a candy-coated take on dying in a plane crash, and “Silverdome” makes way for a bridge that sounds as if it must have been written with high hopes of one day rocking its arena namesake. Easy contender for album highlight “The Fight” borders on fist-pumping, anthemic pop-punk: “Last night we were alone I thought about having a fight/ they’ll find us out in a parking lot/ one of us standing alive”. Beating the shit out of someone has never sounded more fun.

FEATURED TRACK:
“The Fight” 

You can download Copper Thieves’ From Way Out to Way Under for free here.

Posted by Lee on Apr 20, 2009 | Comments | Permalink |


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