On their major label debut album, Scenes duly have finally managed to capture the magic that made them such a hot live property in the last few years, Kansas City, Missouri-based quartet fronted by Kristen May has toured continuously since releasing their first EP in 2004 honing the sound and build its large fanbase grass roots way - one fan at a time, "We have spent more time playing live than we probably ever will be able to spend in a studio," guitarist Brian Little (and May's spouse) says, "and we think it's good feeding an audience that really shaped what we do and we wanted to stage to reflect that "
Those who have seen them live already familiar with due to the audio: dreamy pop melodies shimmering guitar driving rock rhythm sectiom and the band's not so secret weapon: May's soaring vocals Her glass-cut vote may come down from a delicate hush of an open-throated welcome on a dime in her passionate delivery provides emotional uplift required of her texts dealing with such themes as loss ("Loving Ghosts"), devotion ("I, too"), betrayal ("I'm sorry you") romantic love ("Back to the Middle") and wonder if love is really all you need ("satisfy ")
" I'm always watching on how people relate to each other and how we can interact as much by our actions and how we handle situations, "May says," I understand why people are taking our songs are about my personal relationships, but the thought of what it meansto love someone and what you give up to be with the people you love whether it is a partner, a friend a family member or even God, I want themes of the songs to be relatable to everyone, because music has been therapy for me as long as I listen to a song and it can mean one thing for me one day and to convene a totally different feeling the next '
May grew up in Kansas City suburb of Blue Springs as well as the rest of her band members all her family was musical, her mother was a singer who loved Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Jim Croce "I listened to these artists as well as my older brother's Rock Records," she says, he loved Stone Temple Pilots Soundgarden and Nirvana so that rubbed off on me or I might would have been holed up in the mitt place and become a public artist, "When May was 17 her father gave her a drummer, a guitar and she began writing her OWN songs" It felt really good for me to express myself in that way, "she says" That's when I started will be in a band "
Meanwhile, Little's father gave his son his first guitar at age 13 and Little played in bands throughout high school" I'm the trumpet as a child and performed in competitions, "he recalls" It was so nerve-wracking to memorize the six pages of a classic motion and perform the perfect scenery alone So to play with a band was exciting for me "Little loved classical guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Lindsey Buckingham that he relied on as someone who" knows how to add the melody of a song, but nottake away from what the singer is trying to say "
in May and Little knew each other in high school and began playing in a band together after majåtervände home after an aborted stint in college in Nashville" I did not study music anymore I just wanted to play it "says she In 2003 the band she had formed with his brothers needed a guitarist and they called Little "He and I clicked and our worlds collided in the biggest way," she says with her brothers unable to travel and pursue life career musician to May and Little awaited the asked Little's high school friend Jason Douglas to join and also recruited Brian's younger brother Drew to play drums, everything clicked and the quartet headed into the studio to record six songs that would become their EP 2004 This Broken City around the time they connected with Thrice and hit the road for nine months in 2005 they released their first album The Weight of an empty room and hit the road again, landing tours with Mute Math Eisley, Jason Mraz, among others (duly placed on the tract with The Fray Plain White T's and All-American Rejects 2009)
Now the scenes that can be described as if "our blood sweat and tears over the last five years as a band on the road It's about our relationships to each other and the changes we have gone through the "duly recorded scenes with Epic Records A & R executive Mike Flynn, who co-produced Fray's double-platinum album How to Save a Life and Augustana's 2008 album Can not Love Can not Hurt and engineer Warren Huart (The Fray Augustana Howie Day) "Mike is like our George Martin" Little says, "He has a great sense of melody" May adds, "As a singer and a songwriter, I have really benefited to work with him because of his great feeling of a song"
The songs starts with May and Little ("we live together so we always write" May says) so the couple put their ideas and Jason Drew as "take it to the next level," May says "It's the best thing about being in a band Brian and I might have a few people but songwriters Jason and Drew really make us who we are as a band "
The core relationships that these four people have with each other is at the heart of duly" We are a family and we are very devoted to this lives and our music, "May says," We try to be as honest as we can och put everything we have out there with as much conviction as possible "
