A breath of fresh air is about to enervate the new rock scene, and it’s coming from the city that houses the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland. That’s also the home of the six members of Driver Side Impact, whose debut album, The Very Air We Breathe, is about to crash into retail and radio on May 29.
Driver Side Impact tempers their aggressive guitar-based rock with tuneful melodies and danceable rhythms, forging a sonic assault that is memorable and unique at the same time. “S... (more)
A breath of fresh air is about to enervate the new rock scene, and it’s coming from the city that houses the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland. That’s also the home of the six members of Driver Side Impact, whose debut album, The Very Air We Breathe, is about to crash into retail and radio on May 29.
Driver Side Impact tempers their aggressive guitar-based rock with tuneful melodies and danceable rhythms, forging a sonic assault that is memorable and unique at the same time. “Some people have called us experimental pop,” singer Brandon Langhals notes. “I feel our songs are like a movie…and anyone can be a part of the script.” Capturing their kinetically radiant rock in the studio is Sal Villanueva, whose work brought Taking Back Sunday and Thursday to the forefront of cutting-edge rock.
The emergence of Driver Side Impact may seem sudden, but the release of The Very Air We Breathe has been three years in the making. In 2004, guitarist Jack McGinty and bassist Teddy Feighan first met to play music together; they then recruited Langhals, guitarist Michael Arnold, keyboardist Austin Bishop and drummer Zach Evans to round out the group. It didn’t take long before they were a popular fixture in the Cleveland area, to the point where they could co-headline 800 to 1,000-seat arenas.
They put out their own EP in October of 2006, We Will Disappear—and that it did…into the hands of their growing legion of fans. At that point, with MySpace plays of their music in the hundreds of thousands, it became apparent that DSI needed serious label support. Victory Records came to the fore, and the rest is about to make history.
Although a handful of songs on the original EP were re-recorded for their debut album, Feighan notes that “We actually wanted to start with a clean slate after we got signed. We took a break and put lot of work into writing the new material.
“Cutting our own EP definitely helped us in recording the album,” he continues. “We knew we had to be really patient and let things progress at its own rate. We started out with rough demos and created new guitar lines, as well as new keyboard parts and different vocals, too. Once we heard them all together in the studio, it sounded a lot better.”
The studio time produced other benefits as well. “Being in the studio trained us to make everything more precise, which makes us want to play better live. After being in studio for so long, all we want to do is play our new music for the people.”
National tours are already being lined up, which will keep Drivers Side Impact on the road for the foreseeable future. The key to their success is not too unlike the inspiration behind the title of their debut effort. “We all had a big brainstorm on what to call the new record,” Feighan says. “Austin came up with the name. It’s something everyone can relate to--and can mean whatever you want it to mean. When everyone has their own interpretation of it as they listen to the music, they can relate it to themselves, which we feel is really important.”
Source: Victory Records
