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Subourbon Sun shines with jazz-rock
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Sobourbon Sun
The five-piece band is among the busiest on the local scene.
Subourbon Sun rose out of the ashes of Grey Dealer, but with an altogether different sound and attitude.
The five-piece band — which has dubbed its sound “jazz rock” — was formed by Tim Harrigan and Patrick Lane, Grey Dealer’s singer and bassist, respectively, in September. Since then, it has become among the busiest on the local scene, usually playing two gigs a week.
That could be due its musical style. While Grey Dealer was a hard-rock band with a penchant for changing time signatures, Subourbon Sun is more free-form and has a sax-enhanced jazzy sound.
Subourbon Sun also doesn’t take itself as seriously as Grey Dealer.
“In Grey Dealer, we were strict, and we ran it like a business,” said Lane. “Subourbon Sun is more about having a good time and not killing ourselves.” Lane said the act intends to steer clear of the trap many groups fall into of getting too concerned about its image.
The band formed when Harrigan told Lane he wanted to start a new project with wider appeal but without compromising itself musically.
“There are a lot of metal bands in this area, and we wanted to do something different,” said Lane. To carry out their vision, Lane and Harrigan sought out fresh faces to fill out the band. They wanted people who were newer to the stage, instead of veterans of the scene. They found drummer Josh Basie, drummer Steven Wiesen and saxophonist Antonio Pace.
With its lineup complete, Lane, Harrigan and Basie crafted songs that reflect influences ranging from Sublime to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band has already released a four-song demo CD, and will head into the studio later this month to record a full-length album, which will be released in August.
Grey Dealer reveled in Mastodon-like storytelling and in-depth song structures. As a result, it developed a devoted — but limited — fanbase.
Subourbon Sun took a different approach. “We tried to find a sound that people from age 17 to 57 could adore,” said Lane, adding “It was a challenge, because none of us had ever done anything like this before. We are ex-hard rock players who are now making some kind of groove rock.”
Subourbon Sun is also not as loud as Grey Dealer. That’s on purpose, said Lane. “You might be talking to a lady and you don’t want to be screaming in her ear,” he said.
Lane and Harrigan had made a lot of contacts from their Grey Dealer days, so it wasn’t difficult for them to get their new band on stages. “We had made a lot of contacts and we’ve drawn crowds in the past, so when the bars heard we had a new band, they were curious. We show them our live show and they’re in awe.”
Subourbon Sun can be seen tonight at Mojo’s in Austintown and Saturday at the Rock the Block festival in downtown Youngstown.
Lane said the band gives everything it has once it hits the stage. “Our motto is ‘show up to blow up.’ Whether there are 10 people or 100 people, we give it everything we got.”