Jonathan Svec:guitars, cello, piano Marc Slutsky:drums, percussion Waymon Boone:lead vocal, guitar James Cruz:bass, vocal
The members of Splender make music not out of choice but from real personal necessity, and that genuine compulsion shines through urgently on every track on Halfway Down The Sky, the group's debut album on Columbia Records. Lead singer/songwriter Waymon Boone has been totally immersed in music as long as he can remember. Singing since he was 5, and in his first rock band at twelve, he accompanied his mother (a professional R&B/Disco singer) on the road throughout his youth, saw the lifestyle -- the hardships and disappointments -- and still came roaring back for more, complete with positive mental attitude, unstoppable energy, and a natural gift for singing and writing great, intelligent and propulsive American Power-Rock songs.
When you ask him how he might describe the one crucial element in Splender, he'll answer, and the whole band will chime in: "Commitment. Integrity in the music. Emotional integrity in the songs." But like David Bowie, one of his favorite songwriters, Waymon's lyrics reverberate with emotional complexity and ambiguity, energized with a current of personal, naked anomie that somehow leads the music of Splender on to ever-escalating plateaus of intensity that rock all the way to the top, joyously and anthemically, just like they should.
From the first staccato guitar chord of the opening song, "I Don't Understand," to the final resonance of the neo-psychedelic ballad "London," Halfway Down The Sky is infused with pure, raging passion. In a testament to the crystal-clear songwriting and sheer sonic force of the band, this quality pulled the legendary Todd Rundgren to the boards and this collaboration has yielded a collection of melodic pop-rock gems more than worthy of the occasion. The album was recorded over a two month period at Rundgren's Utopia Studios in Bearsville, N. Y., and mixed by Mike Shipley (Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, Aerosmith). The band dove right in to the recording process from the moment they pulled up in their van and unloaded their gear.
Within hours they were set up and playing live in the studio - they'd worry about overdubs later. Rundgren and the band agreed the most important quality in the record would be the intensity of the live performance, to "Commit! Make it happen! Make it real! Make it now!" Anchored deeply in the slamming but groove-conscious drums of Marc Slutsky and the heavily melodic bass of James Cruz, the songs explode, then withdraw, seduce, then overwhelm. Soaring upward with the understated but virtuosic modern guitar epiphanies of Jonathan Svec, each song is graced with the emotional resonance provided by the searing though impeccably melodic lead vocals and harmonies of Boone. His heartfelt, complex 90s tales of ambivalence and psychic turbulence manage the all-too-rare feat of being both highly radio-friendly and highly intelligent -- immediate pop anthems with natural hooks galore, given an almost hyper-real clarity by Rundgren's polished-glass production.
The first single from the album, "Yeah, Whatever," immediately belies its slacker-friendly title, first leading you gently in with a smoothly grooving atmospheric ballad section (Boone confidently crooning as he draws you into the scene) then blasting forth with an ascending series of verses (that feel like choruses) and choruses that feel like mega-choruses -- "You sit by the phone/With your tongue hanging out/You cradle the flies in the back of your mouth/We don't have to stay friends/Let's pretend to be enemies...." -- and this is sung to harmonies that would do proud justice to XTC, or Queen, or Bowie, or any of the other myriad of rock/pop icons that the band draws upon, then transcends, as influences.
Splender is enthused with the spirit of radio-friendly rock music, totally devoid of the annoying irony and sarcasm that infects much of modern rock, yet steadfastly smart enough and totally informed enough that the band can make simultaneously commercial and heavy rock music that shakes your foundations while still lighting a fire in your skull. "Monotone" could send a bevy of midwestern kids slamdancing or barreling backwards into the cool black summer waters of a quarry pit, but still tantalize the most cynical NYC intellectual. "Spaceboy" must be an homage to Boone's idol Bowie but necessarily updated as an American, epic-rock ballad. "I Think God Can Explain" is an ode to a troubled friend that resonates with ambivalence and mystery, in the end leaving the singer intoxicated with the liberating freedom of his uncertainty, and this freedom then translates into a true power that feeds the music with chiming and endlessly rising anthemic guitars and characteristically positive, uplifting energy.
In short, Splender knows how to transform the frustrations of modern coming-of-age life into transcendent, pop/rock hymns.... but how did Splender begin ?
When not traveling on the road with his mother, Waymon Boone grew up first in NYC, then spent much of his adolescence in Montreal, where he eventually studied theater at university. Simultaneously, he supported himself (something his musical gift had allowed him to do since he was 16) playing with various bands on the bar circuit, working 6, sometimes 7 nights a week. Eventually this crushing schedule led to his decision to pursue his musical dream with a vengeance. He quit school and moved back to NYC, determined to make his mark in the world of music.
In 1990 he met bassist James Cruz - a native Lower East Sider who first played bass in a local church choir, then gravitated to playing in dozens of bands around the city. The two hit it off instantly, and have been strong friends and musical collaborators ever since, sharing both the struggle and the passion for their music. The fledgling group went through various incarnations, the last of which led to an extensive European festival tour opening for the likes of Primus and Korn.
Soon thereafter, they met drummer Marc Slutsky - a native of Bellmore, Long Island who started playing drums at the age of ten, and encouraged by his music teacher mother mastered his technique through relentless practice, eventually studying at the Manhattan School of Music. The chemistry was again instant, and they soon met the guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Svec through an ad in the Village Voice. Jonathan, from Stanford, Connecticut, had been encouraged by his parents -- his father was a professional piano tuner -- to begin piano lessons at age 7, but eventually at age 14 picked up the guitar and taught himself to play, chasing the magic he heard in the playing of his heroes Brian May, Pete Townsend, and Eddie Van Halen.
The friendship and absolute musical compatibility of the four players is immediately palpable. They claim almost no interests outside their music, being totally dedicated, and again committed to Splender and all that entails. That sense of near-maniacal focus and enthusiasm for their music translates through the power, fierce intelligence, and raw feeling of their songs, played with a force that is almost frightening to witness. As they played various gigs around New York City, it was inevitable they'd be noticed, and earlier this year they were signed to Columbia. Halfway Down The Sky is an electric charge of unbridled rock energy from start to finish, honed and flashing with the inescapable, uncompromising purity of its intent.
"That single moment of truth has to be there, when the emotions and the performance mix perfectly. That emotion has to be there. Keep it real. Keep it real."
- Waymon Boone
