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The Click Five Biography
Review The Artist (17)
Source: http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Click_Five/Biography/
It's been said that you can tell a lot about people by looking at the company they keep. So what, then, could you say about a band that's collaborated with members of Kiss, Fountains of Wayne and The Cars, opened for Alanis Morissette and Ashlee Simpson and honed their craft at Berklee School of Music?
Well, you could say they're conversant in all 57 varieties of pop-rock. You could say they're as unlikely to be pigeonholed as any band around. Or you could simply say "yeah!" as you pop on Greetings From Imrie House, the Lava Records debut from The Click Five, the Boston-based quintet that's managed to grab all the brass rings mentioned above - all in less than two years together.
"We all love melodies," says bassist Ethan Mentzer. "If I can't sing it, I'm not crazy about it. I like songs that are so damn catchy that you wake up in the morning with them in your head. When I started playing the guitar at age 12, I wanted to listen to music where you could really hear the guitar - bands like Green Day and Weezer and Stone Temple Pilots became my favorites, so when the direction of this band started going towards rock, even though the songs were pop, it only felt natural."
Greetings From Imrie House collects 11 timeless power-pop confections, odes to both the good, clean and naughtily winking sorts of fun. They capture the former in the sunny tones of the artfully sleek first single "Just The Girl," and the shimmering "Catch Your Wave" (which layers Beach Boys-styled harmonies atop a contagiously jittery new wave melody) and dive into the latter on the young lovers lust-fest "Friday Night."
The quintet - none of who is older than 23 - stands out from the current pop pack on several levels. First, there are those snappy suits (a look that dates back to the days of playing mod covers during off-time at Berklee). The more important distinctions, however, come in the aural realm - in the ringing five-part harmonies that vein just about every song, and in the alternately peppy and atmospheric keyboard parts contributed by Ben Romans.
"I'm a keyboard player trapped in a guitar player's body," he laughs. "I think it's almost comical what we do with keyboards, maybe a little off the wall. It may shadow a band like The Cars or something and we're aware of that, but in the making of this album, we got introduced to a lot of really cool stuff from around 1977-82 that we really weren't aware of before."
Quick learning and stellar instincts earned The Click Five - originally known as The Click - the endorsement of several musicians who were active during that golden era, notably Paul Stanley of Kiss, who co-wrote the strutting "Angel to You (Devil To Me)" with Romans, and Elliott Easton of The Cars, who blazes through the guitar solo on the track.
"We went to see Kiss the day before Thanksgiving of 2003 and then we got to have Thanksgiving dinner with Paul, which was an experience in itself," recalls Romans. "Paul and I sat down to write and it went amazingly well. He taught us a lot about being onstage and about songs - a lot of people forget that someone like Paul Stanley doesn't just write Kiss songs."
The Click Five's members learned a lot about songcraft while playing in a wide variety of high school bands, shifting from covers to originals and from style to style. The core of the band solidified under the roof of the apartment building that lends its name to their debut, a place that Romans remembers as "a rock and roll frat house" with a dozen residents, intermittent heat and a lobby adorned with a huge replica of The Who's logo.
While they were all in different bands at the time, they gravitated towards each other after discovering how huge a swath of musical common ground they shared. And even some they didn't- as guitarist Joe Guese remembers, "We had to study a lot of jazz at Berklee, and while it's a noble style and I certainly learned a ton about the technicalities of my guitar playing, we all really wanted to play music that just gets people out of their seats." The only missing piece was a frontman - a problem that drummer Joey Zehr thought could be solved by recruiting childhood pal Eric Dill, who'd just finished a stint at Purdue University.
"From day one, we decided that this band was going to be our lives - priorities number one, two, three and down the line," says drummer Joey Zehr "I don't even think we realize how successful we are at this point simply because our method of operation was to have a huge goal but then achieve hundreds of small goals to get there."
The band cut its teeth on Boston's notoriously tough club scene (including a three month residency at the legendary Paradise rock club), promptly winning over tastemakers who put them on arena-sized bills with acts like Alanis Morissette, Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac. "I was a little worried when we were booked to do those last two," admits Romans. "It was for people my parents' age, but it went over great. I guess a lot of the older folks thought it reminded them of something from their past."
They fared just as well when they played a one-off show with teen sensation Ashlee Simpson - who later tabbed them as one of the opening acts on her 2005 North American tour. "That audience is very young and enthusiastic," says singer Eric Dill. "What's cool is that they're looking for reasons to like you, not reasons to be aloof."
Produced by Mike Denneen (Fountains of Wayne, Aimee Mann, Letters to Cleo), Greetings From Imrie House opens the door to 11 inviting reasons to be fond of The Click Five - from the soaring balladry of "I'll Take My Chances," to the sensual throb of "Resign" and the starry-eyed pining of "Pop Princess." And to prove those pop history lessons stuck with 'em, they even include a cover of the Thompson Twins favorite "Lies," which would make any new wave fan proud.
"That's the song that probably got us to turn in the direction we're in now," says Romans. "We were almost kidding about it, saying 'let's pretend we're in New York in 1978,' but then we realized it's a really great song. Working that out helped us stop worrying about being the coolest band in the world, and to just start trying to be the best."
Eric Dill - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Joe Guese - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Ethan Mentzer - Bass, Vocals
Ben Romans - Keyboards, Vocals
Joey Zehr - Drums, Vocals
(Bio courtesy of Atlantic Records)
Thanks to shishkabob for submitting the biography. |
Would you please submit the latest The Click Five biography to me? Thank You.
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Review about The Click Five
oaw----oaw... | Reviewer: krisna dewi | 2/13/09
for me the click five its so cuu....te babe. specialy for the song that title "empty". because the song make me remember about my history with my grandmother.
and the other song of the click five, make me happy happy
Click Five | Reviewer: Paola | 9/21/08
I love the band since they started til now!
but i must admit that i miss Eric he was
awsome! but kyle is cute too!! i love the
band!!haha including the movie "Taking five"
I wish they come to my country!,which is
really fool (mexico) haha see u all bif fans
of Click Five!!
Eric Dill | Reviewer: Elina | 7/9/08
First of all like to say that eric dill is a handsome person.i like the first movie that eric played on. it was awesome and cool! My dreams is i just want the click five and perform for my school please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love | Reviewer: Heather Jeans | 10/25/07
I love all of their songs. And I also love Ethan. I think he is the cutiest guy in their band.
modern minds and pastimes | Reviewer: trinnae | 10/14/07
ok first of all this cd is awsome!, theres not one song i dont like on that cd i cant explain it ppl if you dont belive buy the cd!!!
you wont regret it!
check out my myspace: www.myspace.com/ginuwine07
about the band the click 5 | Reviewer: mitch | 7/11/07
they are my fav. band i need some of there songs though i have the greetings cd and their new one! I really loike the track flip side.. ita been a long,long time since everything was cool
i shoulda seen it comin' but i guess im not the only fool
thers soething grown' on the outside
theres something missin' on the inside
thats all i know.
I'll take my chances | Reviewer: Balcony | 7/2/07
I never did get tired at all,of this very beautiful love song. I listened to it every day for a while, like kind of being addicted to it. Well, I still am. When gorgeous Eric sings Oooh-Ohoo-Ehh, I just always fantasized that he was breathing and talking in my ear. (Well c'mon now I play my car stero music very LOUD, Eheh.) Well, I had to give that CD a good little rest "Cuz" I was dreaming about the whole entire album in my sleep and wasn't really able to get out o my sleep>which is not a bad thing but this was every night when I was tired> But, recently I found out that I had a speaker in my new computer at work "psych!!" So I play the CD and also Michael Fredo. If you havent bouht Michael's CD yet, you're missing out!! It's HOT. So anyway if this ever catches Eric's eye I'm urging him to E-Mail me.I live in Rhode Island and I love all kinds of music BUT, Greetings at emrie house is up there on the top of my list of Rockers.
lost without u | Reviewer: phaedra | 6/27/07
I cant belive my wonderful Eric isnt in the band!Its just not the click 5 anymore!
missing 2 songs of yours and help | Reviewer: Mitch | 5/30/07
I know im missing 2 songs and i need JUST THE GIRL music vid. I have the cd it is sopposed to be on but is not.
just the girl | Reviewer: christina rawson | 5/17/07
i love the click because i am the number one fan. i went them to come to maine.
from
christina rawson.
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Review the Artist The Click Five
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