Blog for Simplified

Live Review: Blues Traveler, Simplified

2009-10-27T11:01:04-04:00

The Deal: Blues Traveler, celebrating its 22nd year in existence, hits The Fillmore with local band, Simplified, in the opening spot.

The Good: It’s not an easy task to open up for a big name like Blues Traveler, but Simplified held its own and surely won over some new fans in the crowd.

Singer/guitarist Clee Laster and guitarist Chris Sheridan exchanged smiles as they appeared to enjoy every moment in front of the 1,200-or-so in attendance.

The band kicked their set off with “Wake ‘n’ Bake” before playing a mix of songs from their debut disc, Smile, and 2008’s Elephant Sky.

Drummer Tim Lail was often seen signaling to friends in the crowd while bassist Chris Lynch got the groove funky on stage left and had trouble standing still. It’s no surprise that the guys continue to win over legions of new fans wherever they go and have one of the larger local followings in the Charlotte area.

Blues Traveler hit the stage around 9:15 and tore through song after song during their hour-and-45-minute set. They kicked things off with “Mullin’ It Over” and “Droppin Some NYC” off their self-titled debut disc.

The rest of the set was an amalgam of songs from various albums, including a couple of their latest release, North Hollywood Shootout — “The Beacons,” “Forever Owed” and “How You Remember It.”

They also found time to throw in a couple of covers — Sublime’s “What I Got,” Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me,” and a rousing rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” for their second encore song.

While the band has changed somewhat over the years — the drug overdose of Bobby Sheehan having one impact on the group’s sound — one of the most noticeable things (aside from singer John Popper’s weight loss) is how the band is focusing more on songs as a whole instead of it being purely “harmonica and the other instruments.”

Popper is still a complete madman on the harp and easily one of, if not THE, best harmonica players ever, but guitarist Chan Kinchla makes it look easy. With a fan set up in front of him, his hair blew around as easily as his riffs. Rumor has it the band was warming up backstage for roughly two hours — it showed. They’re running like a well-oiled machine these days.

Each band member got a chance to do an extended solo and each one was as impressive as the next. Keyboardist Ken Wilson brought out the talkbox for his lengthy solo and bassist Tad Kinchla rocked six strings in an impressive manner.

The Bad: I hope they don’t take it the wrong way, but I’m ready for some new music from Simplified. That’s not to say I’m tired of the old stuff, but after hearing it a lot, I’m ready for a new release. Get back to the studio, guys — and keep up the good work. The only “bad” thing is that as the group continues to build its fan base, it’s going to get more and more difficult to see them in smaller venues. Check them out whenever you can, if you haven’t already.

No complaints about Blues Traveler. Their experience and songwriting maturity over the years has gotten better. If you haven’t checked them out in a while, be sure and pick up their latest disc. It’s worth a few listens.

The Verdict: Simplified was a great way to kick off the show and put together a solid set for roughly 45 minutes. Blues Traveler showed, for two hours, what years of experience and hard work can do for you.

Simplified To Perform Friday At Pep Ralley

2009-10-27T10:59:23-04:00

Weekly Triangle staff writer, Kevin Goode recently sat down with lead guitarist; Chris Sheridan of the local band Simplified before their upcoming return concert at Wingate Friday.
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourselves and what you do in the group Simplified.
A: My name is Chris Sheridan and I play lead guitar and this is my friend Tim Lail, Percussionist.
Q: I read a previous interview that you were quoted as saying “There are so many different styles that we incorporate, our group style is more of a mood than a genre.”
A: That was something that Jeff with Creative Loafing said and I thought it was an accurate description. We’ve had a hard time in the past describing the style. Everybody needs to be able to compare musical style to something else. We get endless comparisons to Dave Matthews. Because of all the different musical backgrounds we that we have. We don’t really think, hey lets write a reggae or rap song. Sometimes it just comes about that way when were sitting around. I think that the name fits the mood. We’d rather view every song different. It creates a mood and a vibe. Am I going somewhere with this?
Q: You guys have recorded a few albums. How has your sound evolved from your first album?
A: Well we’ve done two full studio albums, a six song EP and a live record that we’ve done all on our own. We’re not really focusing on doing the same thing over and over. We’re evolving as song writer. If you were to listen to the six song EP, the first project we put together to until now, there’s an extraordinary difference. A lot of it was because of the production quality of the records. Tim, at the beginning was pushing me to use more distortion to create a more edgy kind of sound as oppose to when we first came about we were playing a more clean almost Grateful Dead, or Phish type. We’ve kind gone to a more rock sound. We are definitely more focused on writing songs and writing good songs. We want to make the arrangements to be the best that they can be. I think it’s just important.
Q: Whenever you step on stage to do a show, what is it that you hope to impart?
A: We want people everybody to leave talking about, how they had the best time. It’s for the music and I think people enjoy the music, but it’s also for the scene and for the social aspect?
Q: Do you or any of your band members have any skeletons in the closet as far as music you listen to?
A: Sure, our bass player, Chris Lynch is a huge Ani Difranco fan. I don’t think people would know that unless he talks about it. Tim Lail comes from a heavier background, but he listens to Britney Spears. I like Madonna. I’d go see a Madonna show. She’s cool.
Q: Who were some of your influences that led you to use music as your medium?
A: I really liked a lot of things when I started playing guitar. Slash from Guns and Roses was a huge influence on me. I really liked his tone and his particular style. I kind of try to take something from good from anything I hear. If I like something, whether it’s country, rock, pop or reggae, if there’s something cool about it. I try to get in there and find out what makes me like it, whether it’s a solo or if it’s a vocal melody that sounds pretty. I think there is so much good stuff out there; I try to take a little bit from everything. I’m inspired by a lot.
Q: What are the future goals of Simplified?
A: The goals of Simplified are to go national. We just signed a new management deal. We’re going to pursue doing the next record through various means, whether we have to do it ourselves, with an investor or maybe a deal. We want to market it a little heavier and promote it outside the region more.

Live Show Review of The Great Atlantic Music Festival

2009-10-27T10:35:43-04:00

When I arrived at 6:00pm, Simplified was ready to launch its set. The group comes from Charlotte, North Carolina and has been slugging away for five years. Fronted by Clee Laster, the 6' 7" lead singer and guitarist, the group's 2007 album, Smile won Best Rock Album of 2007 at the Charlotte Music Awards.

Chris Sheridan provides the colorful lead guitar stylings that are always in context with the subtleties of the songs. Chris is not a grandstander, but he gets into the music with inspired fervor. His lead work is in perfect sync with Clee's masterful acoustic guitar playing. On bass, Chris Lynch holds down a funky bottom end which is in the groove pocket with Tim Lail's creative drumming which is especially notable in a world of mediocre percussionists.

Listening to Simplified live, I actually got excited about music again. The group played songs from their 2007 album Smile and their latest 2008 album Elephant Sky. Man, the title cut opens with a clever guitar riff that grabs the listener by the neck and says, "Listen to this!" Then the break drops off the ledge and hits you in the diaphragm. This song will take your breath away with its twangy electric sound blended into Clee's acoustic guitar and soft vocals.

There's something wonderful about this group's music that levitates the listener into a joyous state of mind. Hey, that's the way music used to make me feel before the wretched crap-rap and dark-metal sent popular music into the dark ages of the 90s and early 2000s.