Jim Lingenfelter (L), Kieth Collins and Josh Lyles (R) of The Dead Sun Theory blast out a set of tunes at Battle of the Bands at Big Mama’s Karaoke Cafe in Seymour Saturday night. Photo by David Grimes
Yet again on Saturday night, music lovers in Seymour were treated to an
incredible array of talent as the outstanding series of summer concerts
dubbed Battle of the Bands continues at Big Mama’s Karaoke Cafe,
sponsored by Tennessee Productions, Inc.’s family of businesses and the
South Knox · Seymour Times.
The series, which has been extended into October due to the fierce
demand for performance slots, has thus far featured a striking number
of highly-skilled music groups, and the latest installment was no
exception.
First to take the stage for the evening’s blowout was The Immoderate Greatness,
a cheekily-named rock and roll quartet out of Knoxville. Their set of
all-original tunes at the Battle represented a more stripped-down
version of their recorded works, with drummer Thad Brown’s
jazz-inflected percussion propped up against guitarists Carter Routh
and Taylor Vincent’s quirky sound that seemed equal parts Paul Revere
and the Raiders and Toad the Wet Sprocket.
With Heath Walker’s funky basslines underpinning the performance, along
with interludes featuring Brown working the skins using mallets, the
group spared no innovation in pleasing the audience with a series of
rapidly-evolving pieces.
“A lot of what we do is improvised,” said fretman and vocalist Routh,
“about a quarter of our performance.” Citing influences ranging from Dylan to Zappa, Routh repeated the band’s watchword: “It’s all meant to be in good fun.”
Steppping next into the glare of the lights on the state-of-the-art
stage were The End of The Sky, in an encore performance following the
four members’ performance at Spring Fling.
An eclectic/rock./rap/funk combo with an extremely serious approach to
their music that somehow still comes across as merry, The End of the
Sky mixed brilliant guitar work occasionally punctuated with fuzz-wah
with tight percussion, rap-style vocal, and a tinge of bass distortion
that fattened the sound.
Possessed of extended instrumentals, originals like “Soiled
Significance” had guitarist Logan Davis’s bitter honey solos poured
over Paul Seguda’s double kick-drum and Eric Gedenk’s walking bass,
before drowning in an ocean of glassy reverb. Taking a ninety-degree
turn for “When Dreams Wake Up” the group flew off the launch pad like
the Red Hot Chili Peppers,
occasionally going full-stop, before dropping into an alchemic solo
borrowing from classical Spanish guitar, liberally spiced with
surprising sixth-finger pull-offs.
Since Spring Fling, frontman Daniel Mosser told the Times “I’ve been
writing my heart out,” and the band as a whole has been absorbing an
even wider array of influences, while tightly writing more material,
seemingly in order to deconstruct it and find what makes it work. A
packed show at the Time Warp Tearoom has been a highlight in the interim between their two appearances here.
With a performance-tested flair, the closing act of the evening, The Dead Sun Theory,
took the stage with a roar. The extremely tight metal quintet set
serious fire to the crowd, as drummer Josh Hutcheson’s thunderous thump
blasted the bottom-end and Jared Homant’s bass guitar swept the stage
in wide arcs the same way he swept the fretboard. Bone crushing rhythm
and lightning lead guitars from Josh Lyles and Jim Lingenfelter were
perfectly balanced against vocal work, by turns guttural and floating
with tremolo, courtesy of Lingenfelter and frontman Kieth Collins.
Spacing blistering metal with melodic mayhem and deft discord, the
combo set feet to moving mightily in front of the stage before bringing
the evening to a crashing crescendo.
The band credits their unique sound to the great chemistry between
members with a wide variety of influences. “Everyone contributes,”
Lyles told the Times. “We find the parts that fit.”
“Constructive, not destructive criticism is also a key,” said Collins. “We can be brutally honest with each other.”
“It’s like clockwork,” said Lingenfelter. “All the parts need to move in sync.”
Battle of the Bands continues next Saturday at Big Mama’s Karaoke Cafe
in Seymour with yet another slate of sizzling tunes and acts. You can
vote for your favorite appearances, view videos, and download tunes
onto your computer or favorite handheld device by visiting www.karaokecafe.com or linking through from the Times’ website at www.skstimes.com.
