Under the Radar: Drive A

Here I am, getting ready to make plans for the evening, and I realize that I haven't posted yet today! Shame upon me. Anyway, on to today's Under The Radar Band:

Last week I got an email from someone representing a band called Drive A, who enjoyed the blog and wanted to know if I would listen to and/or do a piece on the band. I decided to go ahead and check out the band's MySpace page, with few to no expectations at this point. Looking solely at the MySpace picture, I found myself with mixed reactions; these guys looked like they were 15 years old (as I write this, I still haven't confirmed their ages), and just in general looked pretty second-rate. Until I heard the music.

Drive A's list on influences span the entire history of rock and roll, ranging from Sly and the Family Stone to the Sex Pistols to the Foo Fighters. They're sound most noticeably reflects a blend of '60s and '70s punk rock (Ramones, Clash, et al) and '80s hair metal. Think Motley Crue with a mohawk. Guitarist Jason Mott is on a different plane of existence with most of the young bands out there today. Lead vocalist Bruno Mascolo's androgynous voice, despite what you'd think, works. At first listen he had a bit of Joan Jett/Girl-from-The Donnas sort of feel to it, but a few songs in, it melded into a more Scott Weiland/Axl Rose (without the combined drug and alcohol use) quality to it. As a whole the band does Guns N Roses and Velvet Revolver better than most hair metal clones out there (in some spots, even better than either band). To top it off, their MySpace page boasts praise from some huge names in the industry: Dave Navarro, Tommy Lee, and Don Henley, to name a few. For added fun, their concert schedule has them sharing the stage with many of those same names. Ignore how they look; Drive A sound like no other rock band to come out recently.

Drive A have a record in the works, due out sometime in 2008. In the meantime, they've got a bunch of music on the MySpace, and have a pretty impressive set of concerts lined up, including an appearance at this week's SXSW.

Drive A on MySpace

==TJ==