The Volunteers - Crash Mansion, New York City, NY ---10.09.09
Posted by Vanessa Willoughby on 10.25.2009
It seems like anyone can start an indie band nowadays. Just throw on an American Apparel hoodie, some Ray-Bans, cut a few tracks that mimic an early Nirvana record, and you're pretty much set. However, the Volunteers aren't ready to take the easy way out.
Picture this. You’re an up and coming indie band from Brooklyn and you’re about to play a gig, sans your guitarist. A collective fear hangs in the air and raps on your chest like a sledgehammer. It’s only a few minutes until show time and you’re nearly positive that this show is going to be the end of your premature career. The remaining members of your band huddle backstage, wondering if this is even worth it, if the audience even cares enough to notice the scrambled line-up. You attempt to ignore the sickening weight of your apprehension. You breathe in. You breathe out. Finally, you face your crowd, struggling to hold on to a sense of optimism that feels entirely false.
For the Volunteers, this was a reality that unexpectedly transformed into a blessing. The band was scheduled to play a show in Baltimore, MD, at a refurbished warehouse. For various reasons, some of the members were dead-set against playing at the particular venue.
Soon, lead singer Bones Howell and bassist John Cave were scrambling to reorganize their lineup. In the end, Howell doubled on vocals and guitar. Fortunately, neither Howell nor Cave could predict that such a seemingly disastrous night would evolve into one of their better shows. The warehouse, which had been later equipped with skateboard ramps, exuded a certain mood and atmosphere that seemed to fit perfectly with the rough and tumble rowdiness of the Volunteers. That, coupled with the receptiveness of the audience, washed away the night’s previous unease.
Although the band’s been around for a few years now, the current lineup has only been in place for a few months. After losing their original drummer, Dave Smith (bass), put out an ad for a replacement. Paul Cigolini, who’s been with the Volunteers since May, found that despite his newbie-status, he wasn’t intimidated by the previously established camaraderie of the other members.
Certainly, the welcoming acceptance of the other members may be related to the band’s overall mindset. In fact, it’s safe to say that what unites the band is also the philosophy that fuels their creative hunger.
“Being in a band is not about making money,” Howell said, his eyes laden with the sincerity of his words.
“If you’re going to do it, do it for yourself,” he advised.
Certainly, with the state of the current music industry, there’s a distinction between creating music and making music. With the ever looming dip in album and ticket sales, in addition to the need for instant gratification propelled by our Internet culture, it’s no surprise that the old fairy-tale connotations of “making it” in the industry have withered to the scheming of dollar and decimal signs.
But for the Volunteers, it’s just another obstacle they hope to conquer.
Naturally, the first step is to secure a solid fan base. No matter how obscure, famous or infamous, any band needs a dedicated group of followers to stay alive. For the Volunteers, this means going on tour four months out of the year. Like any career in the arts or music related field, the key is to being persistent.
After six months, their first album, Spectrophilia, dropped.
Among other bloggers, Noel Murray of The Onion caught wind of Spectrophilia and noted: “The Volunteers' self-released, self-titled album serves up sleazy, indisputably wrong scuzz-rock along the lines of the album-opener "Whore”, which demands to know, Whatever happened to sex and drugs? / I don't give a fuck about rock 'n' roll.”
Crackling with a devil-may-care sneer and the sharp sting of nihilism, the album is ripe with both originality and the imprint of their influences, which include the Mars Volta, Led Zepplin and The Rolling Stones.
However, make no mistake: the Volunteers may bow down to the late and great pioneers of rock and roll, but by no means are they seeking to become carbon copies. Some bands make the mistake of using their idols as total blueprints for their albums, instead of utilizing them as templates to be twisted, altered and transformed.
When it comes to comparisons, the Volunteers don’t mind the compliments, but would much rather cement their reputation on their own terms.
“We don’t want to make music on how we’re influenced. We want to do something different, we want to evolve,” Howell said.
On October 9th, the band took the stage at the Crash Mansion in SoHo, a few blocks away from the noted Bowery Ballroom. With its hushed-lightening scheme and stone-bar structure, Crash Mansion oozes the casual elitism of an underground speakeasy, rather than a hulking array of prim and proper sophistication. Although the crowd was on the small side, the audience was attentive, a notable few casting aside their reservations and letting loose on the dance floor.
Photo Credit: Nicole Giglia
Around midnight, the Volunteers took the stage, cutting out the small-talk and leaping straight into the music. A crashing cacophony of the drums and light on the vulnerability, the opening song proved to be a suitable introduction to the rest of the set. Surprisingly, for a band that is still attempting to expand beyond the New York and general New England radar, Howell, Cave, Smith and Cigolini possessed the confidence of a group that’s become comfortably familiar with the turbulence of the road to “making it big,” and have willingly signed up for yet another round.
Photo Credit: Nicole Giglia
With the second song, “Rock and Roll (Will Kill You),” it’s wasn’t hard to see why Noel Murray was struck by the band’s homage to the grittier aspects of rock and roll and the corresponding lifestyle. With a heavy sound that’s much more Queens of the Stoneage rather than the manic frenzy of a band like The Hives, Howell’s cool, subtle swagger was a striking contrast to the aggressive, blunt attitude of the song and the lyrics.
As the evening progressed, there seemed to be some technical difficulties with Smith’s bass, but the band made the effort to work around it. Continuing with the apparent theme of seduction through rock and roll, “Feel It,” was the fourth song on the set list. With lines such as “I just want to give you pleasure,” the song has the considerable possibility of veering into the “cheesy.” Fortunately, through the execution of both the song and stage persona, the overall vibe avoided the pitfall.
Photo Credit: Nicole Giglia
Clearly a product of New York City living, the set was mostly a showcase of the Volunteers’ apt for loud, hard, no-holds-bar rock, featuring lyrics that highlight the universalities of love, loss, and heartbreak, in addition to the dissonance often spawned from city-dwelling. All technical malfunctions aside, the band performed on a level of considerable professionalism, despite the freshness of the lineup and the disappointing crowd turnout.
Nevertheless, the highs and lows of performing are completely unpredictable, something that the Volunteers learned early on.
Nothing could top their least memorable show to date- a gig in New Jersey where Murphy’s Law ran rampant. On top of arriving at a massive venue with a practically non-existent audience, the drummer decided to quit. Following a relatively lackluster performance, the remaining members piled into the van, which promptly died on the way home. Lacking money to pay for repairs, the band was forced to abandon their van on the side of the road.
Hopefully, if the Volunteers continue to create music that’s both an evolution and reflection of their collective tastes, they’ll be able to ditch the van for a serious tour bus. Their sophomore album promises to expand beyond their comfort zone and the recognizable idols of their debut, reaching more towards strains of New Wave and the styles of past bands like Bauhaus. While the lyrics on Spectrophilia were mainly penned by Howell, the sophomore album provides the chance for the band to incorporate more of a group effort when it comes to the song-writing process.
“Being into music is like a bottomless well; there’s a lot of things to draw from,” Howell noted.
If that’s the case, then the Volunteers are a band that shouldn’t have any trouble sticking around for the long run.
The 411: If you like your rock and roll to burn like a straight shot of Jack, then look no further than the Volunteers. Gritty and unapologetic, the Volunteers are as serious about making and producing quality music as they are about putting on a good show.
