Listen Locally: Grand Ole Party
Friday, March 20, 9 p.m.
Grande Ole Party, Ale Mania, Dirty Legs
Soda Bar (City Heights), 3615 El Cajon Blvd San Diego
$10 21+
The Local Players
Native and imported San Diegans, who enjoy music and have yet to sample or stumble across the sounds of Grand Ole Party, earn a slap on the hands for negligence. Nominated in 2006 for Best New Artist in the SD Music Awards and voted “Best Alternative Album” in the 2007 SD Music Awards. Noticed and noted by the likes of San Diego Magazine (One of “50 People to Watch in 2008”), Spin Magazine, Nylon and Marie Claire to name a few.
This trio formed in 2005, post-college-life (UC Santa Cruz), when they all moved into San Francisco. Kristen Gundred, Mike Krechnyak and John Paul Labno. They migrated to San Diego in 2005, trailing after Krechnyak’s Escondido homecoming. Then carved a rock-solid rep ever since playing at the Casbah as openers for UV Tigers. Wasting no time getting signed, playing gigs like mad and recording their Humanimals album in FIVE days!
What makes GOP special and sparkly, edgy enough to prove cool to the foodies of the music scene and also reach across the music isle to the mainstream with a taste for danger? Start with unique composition, I’m not talking about the musical variety. The band’s composition: a front-woman vocalist/ drummer whose voice kicks your ass in a good way, Kristin Gundred; Mike Krechnyak (Escondido native/bass player) and John Paul Labno (acoustic and electric guitar, sax and keyboards). Krechnyak and Labno set off Gundred’s eclectic vocals with big beat, funk and rockin’ blues-esque themes. Listen to a handful of GOP’s songs, you notice consistent integration of diverse music types, but they jam hard with each of them. Gundred’s voice just needs to be heard, and her lyrics deliver compelling narratives that draw you in further.
GOP hardly uttered a peep in the latter half of 2008 thru recent, but not to worry, as seen on their MySpace headline, “WE R NOT DEAD WE R RECORDING.” Doing so for past four months in Athens, GA, working with well-known producer Ben H. Allen on the still-to-be titled album that will release late summer 2009 under DH Records (Los Angeles). What can fans and fans to be expect from their latest releases? In their word, “the new stuff is a lot different... Bigger focus on texture, more heavily reverbed or echoed vocals, I play a standup cocktail drum kit now, very poppy choruses.” Come out to Friday’s show which promises sneak peeks of new songs and Soda Bar is cozy enough for a gloriously up close and personal attack on one’s ears!
Talent is a blessing, finding your sound is kismet, putting on high-energy shows that match the quality of talent and music…well that’s the buzz on the Grand Ole Party.
The Show
Headliners, Grand Ole Party joined by SD based bands Dirty Legs and Ale Mania at Soda Bar. Dirty Legs (embrace the name) a four-chick rock band that likes making beautifully boorish rock music and playing all over San Diego.
Ale Mania, recently generated from punk rock local band, The Sess. This will be their first (public) show as Ale Mania. Their sound steers the path of synthesizer meets watery, deep vocals. Strikes a bit like eighties Depeche Mode had a fling vocals of Brandon Flowers of The Killers. Given the ex-Sess fan base, Ale Mania is stirring excitement in the music community.
Dirty Legs, Ale Mania and Grand Ole Party- feel free to comment below with your cleverest rendition combining those band names (see my example below)… These three bands playing at Soda Bar, (the Chaser’s legacy) which boasts certain notoriety for being fiercely loved and sometimes loathed for the same reasons. Nonetheless it’s a band bar, great for catching local music. Go and make up your own mind, this should be a great show!
“In City Heights this Friday an Ale Mania is expected to lead to a grand ole party, but not before San Diego’s dirty legs strut at the Soda Bar.”
