Take Back The Scene is the brand spanking new debut album by Western Grace. The band is fronted by Josh Lory, and for all intents and purposes he is the sole member. There are musical contributions here from several friends of Josh’s, but this is definitely a D.I.Y. kinda deal. You might remember Josh from our first issue that came out one year ago this month (October). Josh also plays in LS Underground with Michael Knott, and is also a member of Knott’s other outfit Lifesavers. It’s nice to hear Josh shine here on this record all alone. His musical leanings and style comes through and the album is very professionally done. In a sea of punk bands that come and go, this offering has style, grit and substance that shine through from the first track on. With lyrics that dig deeper than most bands in the scene, this is one of those albums that continue to grow on me with each and every listen.
Everything that makes a punk album great is here in abundance: the aggressive and charging music, the gritty vocals, and the socially aware lyrics that are blended into a perfect mix for the listener. One of the things that I really enjoy about Josh is that he reminds me of the days gone by in the scene where bands promoted and supported each other. Remember the days where bands thanked each other in the liner notes of the CD? Or where when you went to see someone play they were wearing the shirt of another band? That was how I found out about good music, how I found out about other bands. They networked with each other and brought each other to the front for the fans… I miss those days! Anyway… this is a worthy first release for Western Grace and one that Josh should be proud of. Hopefully a smaller label will take notice and pick this one up. Josh has left his mark with this album and is moving on to even more stuff that he talks with us about. Check out the links here at the bottom of the page, drop by his MySpace and let him know how much you appreciate this record – he’s giving this one away free!
1) Who are the players on Take Back The Scene?
Well, there’s me and I play all the bass, guitar, and vocals. Nick White is on drums – he was in a punk band called Divit for a few years and was also in the Roper live band (Roper was Reese Roper from Five Iron Frenzy’s solo project). Jason Groff (who was the singer until he left) played keyboards, and Chris Dugan played drums on 4 of the tracks. Dugan engineered the last two Green Day albums, he also recorded the Fox Boro Hottubs and Network albums (both bands have all the Green Day guys) along with a bunch of underground punk albums. All friends from back in the day. Oh, and Masaki Liu mixed it with me.
2) How would you define the sound of this release?
Gruff, Melodic, Spiritual, Punk Rock.
3) What is meant by the title of the record, Take Back The Scene?
It’s really open to a lot of interpretation, that’s why I went with it. For me it’s about giving the finger to the flaccid “Christian” music scene. When you grow up on Michael Knott, Saviour Machine, Scaterd Few, The Choir, etc., you are challenged by the artist. Your eyes open up, the status quo doesn’t suit you anymore (and it probably never did to begin with), the feeling of “finally someone else is getting what I’ve been talking about and feeling all this time.” Most of the bands now-a-days are no different than the crap on the radio – some are even on the radio. I know a lot of people wanted that, to be respected equally as the main stream, and they got their wish but it all was at the cost of becoming the same thing. So what was the reason of playing gospel music if you didn’t really want it to begin with? I liked the Christian bands and shows of my youth because it was very underground and D.I.Y. There was no alcohol at the shows, people were there to hear the music! Now you have to shell out three times the amount of money to hang out with drunken douche bags and you have a crap time! I always felt there WAS a point to having Christian bands, in that they were different and they wrote about the spiritual side of life, not just a bunch of sappy “I lost my girlfriend” songs. How many more friggin’ love songs are we going to have to hear… talk about codependency! So I want to take it back! I’ve had enough of the spoon fed B.S.! There is a song title from Gasoline Heart called “Is This How We End Up (Born Again Boys Dressed Like Girls)”. That sums up a lot of how I feel about the state the scene is in. I’m burned out on the metro-sexual Christian music scene! I don’t think Jesus cared about fashion as much as these bands do, I don’t think most of the bands really know what Jesus cared about. The bands back then spent time getting to know the fans, kept in contact with them and were not “rock stars”. When I used to see shows at the Screem! bands like Mortal and the Prayer Chain would roll through all the time and they always took time to talk to me. I miss it… the only part of my youth that I miss and I want the kids to know what that was like and I want to bring that to them! One last point on that subject is that I do think the churches were way too harsh on the bands back then, very judgmental, it hurt a lot of people… bands and fans.
4) Musically who would you say the influences are here? (your vocals are very reminiscent of Frankie Stubbs my friend!)
Leatherface! For sure an influence. Fifteen has been a huge inspiration, Hot Water Music, Pegboy, Jawbreaker, Husker Du, Andrew W.K. I tried to use allot of long musical intros and endings, so The Cure and U2 would be in there, like on “Begin Again” and “Mavericks”.
5) Is this being released as hard copy only or will it also be available in digital form?
Digitally… check out www.myspace.com/westerngrace for more info. Just for your listening pleasure, it is also 100% free! Here is the download link as well :
http://westerngrace.bandcamp.com/album/take-back-the-scene
6) What is happening with The Bloody Strummers right now?
I’m going to start back on the Strummers stuff soon. I didn’t want to sing on that project, so my friend Matt Biggers who played guitar on the new L.S. Underground album is going to do vocals and some guitars. Nick White is going to do drums, so when schedule’s line up we’ll get it rollin’.
7) What projects are you involved with for the upcoming future?
Well, The Bloody Strummers as you mentioned and I’m going to play some bass on Bigger’s solo stuff called The Dark Reactions. The new Lifesavers should be going very soon, I just spoke with Andy and I think he started drums. More Western Grace stuff and I’ll keep submitting songs to Knott until he’s sick of me.
8) The last track of the disc has someone speaking about consumerism and environmental issues. Do you care to elaborate on those?
That song, and the sample’s at the start and end, are from a documentary called “Pick Axe”… find it and watch it! I’ve lived in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California for a few years and now I live on the North Coast of the state. I’ve seen a lot of environmental damage caused by the government and jerk wad redneck hick cowboys. It’s evil what goes on, but it’s worth spending time studying what’s going on in your own state’s national parks and forests. We need trees, we need water, and we need all our natural resources. God gave us this wonderful world and put us in charge! We’re physically one of the weakest species on this planet and it’s our unique ability to think and create that sets us apart. The power is being abused and it’s scary and sad. Real change has to happen now! It won’t come from any President, it starts with us. The amount of senseless spending, senseless building and senseless killing and destruction has to stop! It’s like people want to bring our existence to an end as soon as they can. The planet will be here long after us, it was here long before us, but think about our kids and the crap they’ll have to deal with. A ‘Mad Max’ world is just around the corner with a few more bad decisions by the idiots running the show. Our government is a joke, a failed experiment, and the mindless masses are taking over, American Idol is proof of that, it’s the death of art, it’s karaoke and people eat it up. It feels sometimes that intelligence and common sense will be a thing of the past. Money and value of things is all man made. The planet is from God, so I feel God wants me to care for the Divine creation we were given.
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