One sultry summer afternoon, a friend of mine from Chicago and I were cruisin' the back roads of Wisconsin lookin' for a good fishin' hole with a good watering hole next to it. We ended up rollin' straight up Interstate highway 94 to Milwaukee home of our favorite beverage. He pulls up in front of some crazy isolated and abandoned store front in the ghetto someplace as the sun was getting golden before it sets us up for night, a night of full moon and dancin'.
By the time midnight arrives everyone in the place is in a dancing mood to be sure. What we didn't understand at the time was that this was a punk club and that the dancin' was gonna be slammin'.
Well, one things leads to another and we thought these people wanted to fight. It got a little tight in there but we made our way to the door and out into the fresh Milwaukee muggy summer night for our escape back to Chicago and further bar hopping until the sun also rises. It was a gas.
Forth Year Freshmen features Aaron Howell(Vocals), Tay Hamilton(Lead Guitar), Logan O' Connor(Bass), Jerry Cass(Rhythm Guitar), and Tyrell Blossser(Crums) who come from Denver,CO.
These are accomplished musicians, two tight guitars that trade, call and response, but the essential rhythm is never lost. The rhythm section is exceptional and tight. They are on time. The vocalist has good range and rage, enough to go around. The guitar solos are inventive and catchy and the songs are played with passion by all the members of the band.
Although strictly speaking we can't really consider this music punk. it contains some of the elements of the genre. Given the length of some of the songs, this sound is more of a rock and roll sound, cleaner and crisper than a lot of punk recordings that are on the market today. A couple of my resource people in the genre state unequivococally that this is not punk rock but Raunch and Roll. Raunch because of the somewhat racy lyrical content. However, the music itself is rock and roll. I've been saying that this is rock and roll with a punk attitude.
In other words there is more going on here than meets the ear. In the song W.T.H.O., you get a12 bar blues shuffle as an instrumental break. I always believe that the difference between rock star and musician is the musician's ability to give you something more.
An accomplished musician will invariably show you how he got to where he is by paying respect to those that went before. Barring actually doing cover songs, it behooves the musician to use some intelligence and include hooks that people will identify with. Nothing cuts through the bull shit like great rock and roll.
As the drummer hits rim shots, they switch it up to "Why don't you please take me home?" A brief tribute to Axel Rose and company in the vocal break. There is real skill and talent involved in this song but, why W.T.H.O.?
Balls Deep features a nifty intro guitar hook. It is based on the same in your face raw sexuality that great rock n roll Is known for. A rhythm change pulls back to a slower tempo and features some excellent guitar work. Clean, crisp and confident. The three C's of rock guitar playing. They end this song with a key modulation. If you end a song with a key change it shows that you've studied and that you understand the math of your sound.
No Means No is a Blues rock tune that features an excellent harmonica fill over boogie guitar with a ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons-type vocal. Low volume, as opposed to most of the material which is to be played at volume.
Following the Intro is the song Friend Of Your Mom's(Featuring White Fudge) which rolls from the hard rock groove to something of a reggae groove, with a dub vocal/spoken word on top which creates a synthesis that is unique and interesting. Here is a band that will go places because there is something going on here besides the raw sexuality and explicit lyrical content.
So if you're into a hard, fast rhythm section with excellent talent on the guitars and a singer that actually sings, then the Forth Yeer Freshmen might just be your cup of coffee. Just be cool when there are little kids in the room. The reason people use lyrics like this to communicate is because they've had a difficult childhood, so don't hold that against them. This CD will have you boppin' your head in no time.
Contact Forth Yeer Freshman - forthyeerfreshman@comcast.net
Reporter
Jamison Mahto
