“The
Sound Of Urchin are the second greatest band in rock today.”
- Dean Ween of
Ween
“We’re #2.
We try harder.
Once we’ve been somewhere, we go somewhere else.”
- Chris Harfenist
of The Sound Of Urchin
Simply put, you just have to see The Sound Of Urchin live to
get the full scope of the band’s sound.
This band differs from anything else we’ve heard over
the last year.
I mean, how many bands have you seen lately where the
drummer is the front man?
They’re stage set up is practically reversed, but it
doesn’t end there.
They bring on the rock – right into the audience.
The live show is a spectacle.
Call is boisterous and aggressive yet completely
playful. Shows are never the same experience twice.
Each Urchin is an amazing musician who isn’t too DIY to show
it. Consisting of Tomato 11 (a.k.a. Chris Harfenist), Reverend
B. ILL (a.k.a. Bill Fowler), Doo Doo Brown (a.k.a. Chris Huetz)
and Scotty Choc (a.k.a. Scott Heydt), The Sound Of Urchin have
been saving rock and roll since 1998.
Early Sound Of Urchin recordings were bootlegged and
tape-traded (remember tape-trading?) up and down the Eastern
Seaboard (allegedly causing, at one point, the mass conversion
of a Pennsylvania summer camp), prompting the band to take it
to the people. The Sound Of Urchin began playing wherever they
could play the longest and have the most fun. The Urchin
mantra was born: "Spread the word. Every night is a
different show."
As word continued to spread and the Urchin live draw continued
to grow, geography threw the band a lucky break: Fellow New
Hope, PA resident Dean Ween came into possession of bootleg
Urchin recordings. He expressed his approval to his friend the
Reverend B. ILL as well as to the A&R rep who had
originally signed Ween to Elektra and since moved on to RCA.
Before long, The Sound Of Urchin was showcasing for
RCA, eventually signing to the label in December 1999.
The band’s first RCA EP, 1999’s The
Sound Of Urchin (or as others name check it, The
Orange EP), was their first time working with producers
Dean Ween and Chris Shaw.
While a couple of the tracks on their debut RCA
full-length, You Are The
Best, included collaborations with Dean Ween, the bulk of
the record was produced by Keith Cleversley (Flaming Lips,
Hum, Incredible Moses Leroy).
Keith postponed all other plans to work with The Sound
Of Urchin after hearing their demos.
He and the band took a somewhat unorthodox approach to
the recording process and built a world out of each song.
Instead of following the norm and laying down all the
drum tracks at once, they recorded each song in it’s
entirety… one at a time...using all 48 tracks. If a song was
hardcore, like “The Millipede / Who’ll Stop The Beggar”
they took it all the way to thrash metal.
If it was a happy, upbeat song, like “Scary Skull
Eyes” they went for the bounce. If it was the dreamy “Zen
Magic Marker”, they incorporated a warm flow of reggae. The
end result is like the best, most diverse mix tape you ever
made for a friend. There’s something for everyone – and it
consistently keeps you asking “who is this again?”.
Our ultimate favorite has to be the newfound staple of
The Sound Of Urchin’s live show, “Space Station On The 4,5
& 6”.
It’s undeniable and equally hysterical.
Their eclectic, always entertaining live show could be a
reason why they’ve toured with such an wild group of
artists: TRL bands like SR-71 and Lit, cult band comics like
Ween and Tenacious D, indie rock legend Mike Watt, beloved jam
band Mississippi All Stars, ska-punk from The Urge, heavy
metal guitar great Slash and metal icons Dio.
Now that’s range.
And
that's pretty much the story of The Sound Of Urchin...or at
least the first chapter. And yes, you’re probably still
asking: What is The Sound Of Urchin? Maybe that's a good
question to ask them. Or maybe it's just the sound of
everything going on around them. Including you.
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