Classic punk rocker Paul Weller makes it pretty clear in his song “Burning Sky.” Young rockers grow up, put on suits and sell out.

“Cause we’ve all grown up, and we’ve got our own lives, and the values that we shared once upon a time seem stupid now ‘cause the rent must be paid.”

The implication is, either you’re punk and you don’t worry about things like paying the rent, or you become part of the rat race.

If Resoldered ever heard this song, they never paid it much mind. The middle-aged, Edwardsville post-punk band’s newest album, Everybody In Between, starts off at a blazing pace with “You Failed Me.” This melodic post-punk song blows away any expectations you might have of working suits getting together to play in a band.

The rest of the album, which will officially be released April 24, matches the high expectations “You Failed Me” sets up, without falling into the repetivieness of some genre punk. And, probably an advantage of having middle-aged song writer who’s also a sociology professor, the lyrics are good, ranging from funny in “Can’t Stand” to poigniant in “I Won’t Die For You.”

Resoldered tries to avoid a genre label, in fact, but tend to compare themselves to classics like NoFX and Descendents. Story continues after video.

Listening to the new album, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that what they’ve done is the opposite of selling out.

When Edwardsville Scene met with bass player Doug Allen and guitarist/songwriter Dave Kauzlarich at Sacred Grounds last month, they made it clear they’re happy with their day jobs as teachers.

“This is not about getting signed,” says Dave.

Resoldered isn’t trying to come up with the next big hit, they’re just looking for a creative outlet.

“I think that’s what’s different for us,” says Doug. “We just do what we like to do. We have a lot of artistic freedom.”

The funny thing is that by not worrying about getting famous or getting signed, the band seems to have found a back door to the “don’t give a damn” punk attitude that Weller felt was essential.

And it’s paying off.

“We’ve started getting the respect of other bands” Dave says.

The night after The Ataris played Letterman, Resoldered got to open for them in St. Louis. They’ve also had the chance to play for other national acts, including Hurts to Laugh and Voice of Addition.

Resoldered got together a few years ago, of course, when Doug and Dave met through their kids at the Edwardsville YMCA, and eventually discovered they both had played some music in the past.

After that, the band congealed somewhat slowly.

“We went throught drummers like Spinal Tap,” Dave says. They even played a gig for friends using a drum machine. Finally, Dave prevailed on a former student, Paul Saunders, to become the band’s drummer.

The band officially formed in summer of 2008, and a year later had to replace orignal lead singer Cory Blad with Jason Hodge. Even now, they say getting a band practice together “is like convening a NATO summit” when everyone’s trying to juggle families and day jobs, and still make the band work.

In then end, their own lyrics sum up the feeling you might get discovering great post-punk (or whatever you want to call them) music coming from a middle-aged band in Edwardsville.

“It’s not impossible, just improbable.”

Resoldered officially released their new album, Everybody in Between on April 24 at the Firebird in downtown St. Louis at 8 pm. We hope they’ll play Edwardsville soon. You can buy the new album here. If you enjoyed this story, share it! Just scroll back up to the top and click on the Twitter and FaceBook share buttons to spread the word.

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Great band, great sound.

by Jesse Gernigin

Sitting down with The Forefall at a local Denny’s I get the chance to discuss their first album, what is behind their sound, and why they do what they do. Dan James, founder of the St. Louis band, is sitting across from me dressed in a sports jacket with a button up shirt.

Having heard them both live and recorded, I ask Dan what the band was going for when they wrote the music.

“Well,” he begins, “I wanted it to be a cross be Zeppelin and Radiohead.”

When I asked why he became focused and spoke directly at me without breaking gaze, “Because we are rock fundamentalists. We believe in a clean and full sound. Our music is there to explore the soundscape of the venue with musicians, not electronic filler.”

The Forefall (story continues below)

The Forefall’s music does have a full sound in which I hear hints of Radiohead. Not being a big Zeppelin fan I can’t comment on whether or not they achieved that, but I can say they do possess a full sound, one that filled the venue at Cicero’s without overwhelming it.

When I mentioned this Dan said, “Well it shouldn’t. We build all our own amps so we have a large amount of control on how people hear our work. Remember we aren’t there to be noise filler while people drink. The Forefall wants to engage the audience.”

I mention that a lot of bands seem to do that today by crossing the boundary between musician and entertainer. His lead singer, Justin Volker, a willowy southern Missourian who transplanted himself in St. Louis to finish his M.B.A pipes in, “We don’t want to become entertainers. We don’t want to cater to the audience. That shortens the audience’s attention span and makes them kings over you. Instead we are performers who let the audience decide how to experience our sound.”

“You can control what it sounds like,” Dan adds, “And you can engage them (the audience) but you have to let them think their own thoughts.”

“Yeah,” the Volker picks up, “You have to let the audience know you have faith in them.”

When asked about the future of the band they reply simply, “Play more shows, generate interest, work hard to get good reviews, rinse wash and repeat.”

I laugh at this. There is something organic about it. But then again there is just something organic about the Forefall. And how could there not be? What is not natural (i.e. organic) about a band that not only plans to grow over a period of time through hard work and exposure, but also builds all their own amps and doesn’t dilute their work with electronica.

Surely this is how you grow a band. The Forefall’s future promises to be an interesting one, and I for one, intend to watch it grow.

Check out The Forefall on MySpace for info on upcoming shows, their album and more on the band.

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