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Mark Beneventi
Disappointed with your new Hives or Strokes CD? You're not alone. Fortunately, you're fever has a cure and no, it ain't more cowbell. As badly as Christopher Walken needed more cowbell in the classic SNL sketch, you need to find Villains (no "The" needed). This diverse group of Denton bred blues- rockers quietly delivered a raw, vibrant, exciting and talent laden CD late in 2007 that more people need to find. Original members Sean Ellis (guitar, vocals),Brandon Willett (bass) and Adam Sherritt (drums) formed the band in 2006 and later added ex-Soul Kitchen guitarist Rocky Ottley. With backgrounds in jazz, blues, and rock, the quartet deliver some of the most intense and dynamic blues since the great days of Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers.
Ellis' vocals ooze emotion equally during quiet passages and raging riffs while the band delivers a 'live' energy as if playing in an underground New York speakeasy. Please Meet the Villains rips open more personalities than Sybil; wicked and eerie ("Red Light" and "Dark Soul"), fist pumpin' rock ("My Gun" and "Ghost") and backwater blues ("Shakin' Hands" and "Sign Is Post"). "If you look at all our album collections," offers Sherritt, "they'd all be completely different." Maybe so, but the band holds tight to blues-rock basics. "We're not trying to blow everybody's mind being complicated." Jazz backgrounds can clash with straight-up rockers because the musical "language" is so different – one based in the technical, the other in the emotional. "I've written some riffs I was really attached to," begins front man Ellis, "and these guys f**ked 'em all up and made them way better than they would have been." He refers to his jazz- trained band mates, not with disdain, but with admiration. "We are a group of drunken brothers." - Lit Monthly
Discography
In Fall of 2007 We are Villains released their first album titled "Please meet the Villains"-
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Bio
We Are Villains began in January of 2006 at an open mic night in Denton, Texas, when Bassist Brandon Willett and Vocalist/Guitarist Sean Ellis took the stage at Andy's bar and grill armed only with three songs, written earlier that week. In March of the same year the band formed with the addition of Drummer Adam Sherritt. Soon after, the band began playing shows in Denton and nearby Dallas/Ft.Worth. The trio, though all being influenced by different music, took their cue from the blues of Robert Johnson, the classic rock sound of artists like Led Zepplin, and The Rolling Stones, as well as the noisy and relentlessly bleak rock & roll of the Iggy and the Stooges. The three blended their love of Rock and Roll with their individual styles and influences.
Drummer Adam Sheritt, having a background in Blues, Jazz, and Alternative brought to the group a style of drumming that is at all times technical, raw, and improvisational. Bassist Brandon Willett, with influences ranging from Nina Simone and Tom Waits to The White Stripes and Primus, blends his rock sensibilities with his Jazz training to produce a sound that defines it's place not only within the confines of the rhythm section but as a lead instrument as well. With Rock and Roll being the common thread in the bands influence Vocalist/Guitarist Sean Ellis is a perfect fit. Ellis taking his inspiration from not only some of the most influential bands of the century, but also some of the most pioneering and breakthrough groups of every generation of Rock, ranging from more classic bands such as Led Zepplin, The Clash and AC-DC, to more contemporary acts such as Explosions in the sky , The White Stripes, and Wolfmother. His concern is and always has been a love of the long lost heart of Rock and Roll. Both his Vocals and Guitar style invokes the era of bar chords and the angst of a period of Rock that seems all but forgotten today.
After a year of playing together the band had met with moderate success and was starting to build a fan base. They had recorded and released a five song e.p., and had honed a sound that incorporated the culmination of their disparate musical experience, however something was missing. In March of 2007 the band found what that was, with the addition of Rocky Ottley as Lead Guitar. Ottley brought to the band the experience of a seasoned performer having played with other local bands such as Backside Pick, Sol Kitchen, and Dr. Mobutu. With a solid background in Jazz, Ottley threw himself into the realm of Rock and Roll bringing the depth and technical skill of his guitar playing to Villains' already unique sound. With a solid four-piece lineup and a sound that harkens back to the golden age of Rock and Roll and Blues while still being rooted in today's contemporary music scene, the band released their first LP “Please Meet the Villains” in fall of 2007.
Now in 2008 Bassist Ryan Williams of Sub-Pops “The Baptist Generals” joins “We Are Villains” in the wake of founding member Brandon Willetts departure. 2008 holds great promise for We Are Villains as the crowds grow and the sound spreads across the country.
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