For most music fans, we feel changed when we hear songs that speak to us from the inside, when we hear songs that intimately remind us of our humanness. We connect to those opening guitar riffs that instantly know the dark recesses of our soul and those lyrics that tell our tortured teenage minds that it's okay to not be part of the popular crowd, or tell our jaded adult brains that we are not failures because we were passed over for that big promotion. Songs are markers of our new relationships... (more)
For most music fans, we feel changed when we hear songs that speak to us from the inside, when we hear songs that intimately remind us of our humanness. We connect to those opening guitar riffs that instantly know the dark recesses of our soul and those lyrics that tell our tortured teenage minds that it's okay to not be part of the popular crowd, or tell our jaded adult brains that we are not failures because we were passed over for that big promotion. Songs are markers of our new relationships and our broken relationships. It doesn't matter if you heard "London Calling" or "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" (or whatever tunes changed your world) when they were first released, or you're hearing them now for the first time this year, there will always be those songs and those bands that completely transcend the passing of time and allow us to relive every poignant moment we have ever experienced. More than anything, these songs deliver meaning to us and for us, especially at those times when life seems so crushingly painful and meaningless.
AUTOMATIC 7 has always been a band who has tried to invoke that kind of meaning and musical truth within the constructs of their timeless and authentic brand of rock 'n' roll music. After a seven-year absence, they are releasing their first record in seven years. At Funeral Speed is set to hit the streets in October 2007 on the Medford, Oregon based independent label, Mental Records.
Combining elements of old school punk rock with a new school 21st century sensibility, coupled with jarringly honest songwriting and wrenching vocals, this band commands your attention. The moment this three-piece unit breaks into any of the songs on their new CD, "40 Blocks," "All The Happiness You Can Buy," "The Better Part of Me," and their undeniably original take of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," you as the listener are transported into that that special place that surpasses reality and electrifies your senses.
The Los Angeles, California based trio, comprised of John Hulett on vocals & guitar, Nic Nifoussi on bass and Ray Mehlbaum on drums, enjoyed a lot of attention in the late 1990s. Their first eponymous CD on BYO Records (1995), along with relentless touring around the country led them to a huge record deal with A&M Records. AUTOMATIC 7 continued to tour, playing with the likes of Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Face to Face, Bouncing Souls and Unwritten Law, which served to not only cement their tremendous fan base, but garnered the respect of all of their fellow musicians.
The ugliness of the music business became a reality in the form of a big bad corporate merger (Seagram's bought Polygram which owned A&M), and the band, along with many others, got thrown to the wayside. Though they were immediately picked up by Vagrant, who released Beggar's Life (2000), the seeds of a breakdown had been planted. Between trying to please the corporate record company man, substance abuse problems and creative differences, AUTOMATIC 7's explosive fire went out and the guys went their separate ways, until we fast forward five years…
"So many things led to the destruction of Automatic 7, and it has been an incredible experience to be able to reconnect with Ray and Nic, guys who are like brothers to me, to write and record these new songs," said John. "So much of what we did in the past – at least in the end -- became about the 'music business.' This new record has broken it down to its purest form. To put it simply, we're back to doing it for the love of playing music."
Source: Automatic 7
