A certain flock of birds will be migrating away from their cozy Californian nest toward Michigan this winter.
Well, they’re not exactly birds, but they’re A Lot Like Birds, and their flight pattern is anything but off. Despite Michigan’s mimicry of a Californian winter at its worst this season, what attracts the band is its first major tour since the release of the sophomore album, Conversation Piece, on October 11, 2011.
The band plays an all-ages show at Mac's Bar in Lansing Friday, Jan. 27, along with Decoder, Just Like Vinyl, Charlatan, and State Of Havoc. The show is hosted by Fusion Shows.
In fact, the band has never before played in Michigan. ALLB began as a West Coast-based project amongst partial members, mainly conducted by guitarist Michael Franzino. The first album, Plan B, was the field in which ALLB planted its seeds in the genres of progressive post-hardcore, screamo, experimental and instrumental; where most bands feature a major vocalist who fans can readily identify, ALLB focused just as much on the instrumentation as the screams of Corey Lockwood - mixing in a saxophone, xylophone, keyboard, violin, cello, trombone, trumpet, and a female vocalist.
A little revitalization never hurts in terms of progression. After the well-recognized band Dance Gavin Dance replaced its then-current vocalist Kurt Travis, after two albums, Travis embraced his next musical step at a La Dispute show in California. At the show, members of ALLB recognized Travis from his musical endeavors and asked if he’d sing as a guest vocalist on some new songs in the making. It turns out, they had a mutal admiration for each other, and quickly hit it off on a more permanent basis.
Retaining Travis as a full-time member introduced some serious shifts in the band’s style. Now, it’s not so easy to classify ALLB as instrumental, keeping in mind that Travis might have better things to do than stand around on-stage for half an hour.
“On Plan B, the instruments had to carry the music … and with writing for Conversaion Peice, we had to be more subtle and more tasteful with the guitar licks … to be an avenue for Kurt and Corey," Franzino said.
Fortunately, subtlety and tastefulness weren’t interpreted as compromise for ALLB listeners; the band made the top choices of 2011 on various charts, establishing hype from the influx of Dance Gavin Dance fans and the relentless promotion of Doghouse Records – the band’s first label.
Instead of stealing the spotlight, Travis has his own place to shine on the new solo record he will have for sale during the tour, entitled Wha Happen?, which dropped on January 17, 2012. Conversation Piece, while certainly accentuating Travis' clean singing at its most emotive level yet, pays attention to the roots – Plan B – and is never short to include a sudden shift from screaming to ambient instrumentals, most notable on “Properties of Friction.”
ALLB will headline the Tour With No Name, playing alongside Just Like Vinyl – the newest project of Thomas Erak, ex-vocalist and guitarist of The Fall of Troy. Potential show-goers can watch a YouTube video (with lyrics) for the song “Think Dirty Out Loud” ... learn the lyrics, and sing dirty out loud in the extremely personal and gritty environment of Mac's Bar.
Well, they’re not exactly birds, but they’re A Lot Like Birds, and their flight pattern is anything but off. Despite Michigan’s mimicry of a Californian winter at its worst this season, what attracts the band is its first major tour since the release of the sophomore album, Conversation Piece, on October 11, 2011.
The band plays an all-ages show at Mac's Bar in Lansing Friday, Jan. 27, along with Decoder, Just Like Vinyl, Charlatan, and State Of Havoc. The show is hosted by Fusion Shows.
In fact, the band has never before played in Michigan. ALLB began as a West Coast-based project amongst partial members, mainly conducted by guitarist Michael Franzino. The first album, Plan B, was the field in which ALLB planted its seeds in the genres of progressive post-hardcore, screamo, experimental and instrumental; where most bands feature a major vocalist who fans can readily identify, ALLB focused just as much on the instrumentation as the screams of Corey Lockwood - mixing in a saxophone, xylophone, keyboard, violin, cello, trombone, trumpet, and a female vocalist.
A little revitalization never hurts in terms of progression. After the well-recognized band Dance Gavin Dance replaced its then-current vocalist Kurt Travis, after two albums, Travis embraced his next musical step at a La Dispute show in California. At the show, members of ALLB recognized Travis from his musical endeavors and asked if he’d sing as a guest vocalist on some new songs in the making. It turns out, they had a mutal admiration for each other, and quickly hit it off on a more permanent basis.
Retaining Travis as a full-time member introduced some serious shifts in the band’s style. Now, it’s not so easy to classify ALLB as instrumental, keeping in mind that Travis might have better things to do than stand around on-stage for half an hour.
“On Plan B, the instruments had to carry the music … and with writing for Conversaion Peice, we had to be more subtle and more tasteful with the guitar licks … to be an avenue for Kurt and Corey," Franzino said.
Fortunately, subtlety and tastefulness weren’t interpreted as compromise for ALLB listeners; the band made the top choices of 2011 on various charts, establishing hype from the influx of Dance Gavin Dance fans and the relentless promotion of Doghouse Records – the band’s first label.
Instead of stealing the spotlight, Travis has his own place to shine on the new solo record he will have for sale during the tour, entitled Wha Happen?, which dropped on January 17, 2012. Conversation Piece, while certainly accentuating Travis' clean singing at its most emotive level yet, pays attention to the roots – Plan B – and is never short to include a sudden shift from screaming to ambient instrumentals, most notable on “Properties of Friction.”
ALLB will headline the Tour With No Name, playing alongside Just Like Vinyl – the newest project of Thomas Erak, ex-vocalist and guitarist of The Fall of Troy. Potential show-goers can watch a YouTube video (with lyrics) for the song “Think Dirty Out Loud” ... learn the lyrics, and sing dirty out loud in the extremely personal and gritty environment of Mac's Bar.
| A Lot Like Birds Mac's Bar Friday, Jan. 27 All ages, 5 p.m. $8 advance, $10 day of www.macsbar.com |
