four

Midnight

four

(Louisville) Punk Pop

This Pop/Punk outfit has the energy of a 2-year-old on Red Bull with
rapid-fire riffs accompanied by clean vocals and snappy high-hat hits.
With influences like Saves the Day, The Ataris and Jimmy Eat World,
there's a lot of melody in their Punk fire, as showcased on their
radio-ready, 17-song long-player, Overdue.

Dig it: Green Day, Zebrahead, Saves the Day (Jacob Richardson)

- City Beat (Cincinatti, OH)

Local Music
Wild Kingdom
The Thirsty Melon festival is bringing 200 bands to Kentucky Kingdom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Chris Quay

Seibert, who also serves as the executive producer for LMIA, said the festival serves a couple of purposes.

To offer a great music festival and to showcase a number of bands in front of a crowd to which they may not be accustomed to playing.

"It gets them in front of a new demo," Seibert said.

Music lovers should be able to hear something they like on either day, Seibert said, as 10 stages scattered throughout the park will have all kinds of genres with rock to punk to urban to country to blues represented.

Four stages will be in the front of the park with the other six situated toward the rear, Seibert said. But the proximity of the stages shouldn't affect the sound as start times for each band will be staggered in 15 minute intervals.

A lot of the bands are recognizable local names such as the Acoustipimps, Bryan Hurst, High Noon, Four, Magnetic Flux, East 146, Breckinridge, Between Two Lions and High Road Crown, but there are a number of regional bands also playing.

"We wanted to do a 50/50 split with half of the bands being local and half being from outside Kentuckiana," Seibert said. That way, a "music network" could be started with local bands having connections outside of Louisville and vice-versa, which could lead to better gigs.

A sure bet for a good time at the festival should be a full-blown luau at 8:15 p.m. Saturday at Hurricane Bay. Seibert said the luau will feature 20 of the showcased bands playing some of their favorite covers. But another attraction could be watching a real pig being roasted on a spit.

"They are actually going to dig a pit in the water park," Seibert said.

Thirsty Melon Music Tour
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
200 bands on 10 stages
11:45 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday
12:45 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Sunday
$25, or $32 for two-day pass
Tickets available at Lynn's Paradise CafôU984 Barret Ave., or via www.thirstymelon.com.

For a complete list of bands and times, go to www.thirstymelon.com/bands.

- Velocity Weekly (Louisville, KY)

Four Chords, No Waiting
Overdue (Independent)
Four
By Kevin Gibson
http://www.louisvillemusic.com/lmn/actphotos/CDCovers/four.jpghttp://www.louisvillemusic.com/lmn/actphotos/CDCovers/four.jpg


Chris Meece is apparently on a mission - to revive rock at any cost, one song at a time. This Louisville rocker and his band Four, with new release Overdue, aspires to live out this rock 'n' roll dream through lots of chunky, sustained guitar riffs, singable hooks and accessible melodies. Frankly, it's a pretty good starting point.
I would quickly point to track four, "Wendy," as an illustration. There aren't many better songs for putting the top down on your convertible on a June afternoon and hitting the highway toward rock 'n' roll salvation. The sustained guitar crunch and Meece's earnest vocal carry it for miles on a fun ride that really only lasts three minutes, 55 seconds. Bandmates Vinny Flick (bass) and Ian Bottomley (drums) seem more than enthusiastic to be along, adding another element of fun to Meece's toe-tapping composition.
This is one of those rock albums with song titles like "Saturday," "Far Away" and "Civic Girl" (any pop-punk record worth its salt needs a title with "girl" in it, as well as one with a female's name and one with pained longing). Such a disc also needs a couple of tunes that are familiar without going too far toward being reworkings...But it's not over the top, nor is it a rip-off. It's just a rock record and a pretty good one at that.
"Happy" steps in with an acoustic-based emotional turn, riding on Fick's bass line and given final life with Bottomley's drumbeat that sounds like a cross between a waltz and a march. Absolutely smile-inducing.
OK, before we go farther, let's cut through some obvious criticisms: Yes, this is an indie record to the core, perfect fodder for skater boys, the kind of stuff a million other bands are playing in a thousand other towns across the U.S. If these guys stepped on stage in a sold-out arena, with Green Day heading the bill, you'd never stop to think twice - and for some, that's less than a compliment. But this just in: Rock 'n' roll can still be fun and Four exemplifies that as well as any band I can think of. Sure, it's been done before, but so has ... well, just about everything.
So sit back, turn up the volume and let Four take you on the ride of the summer with these sixteen tunes. I, for one, can't wait to see where it goes.

- Louisville Music News

Caffeine Magazine...Louisville/Lexington/Cincinatti

December 02nd, 2005

Features
Next Sounds
The Region's Rock
Shows


Four
Louisville band pushes pop-punk boundaries
By david taylor



The Louisville music scene is currently experiencing the sound of punk rock with shades of modern pop rock mixed in, creating a fresh pop-punk sound. The band known as Four is cutting a new hole in the music scene as they’ve already received great accolades from fans and the music community in general.

Four first caught listeners’ attention in 2004 when they released their 17 track LP, "Overdue", that started getting played by local radio stations. There's no doubt that "Overdue" help Four to be named one of the top three punk bands in Louisville in the LEO’s Readers’ Choice Awards. The bands’ success seems to have no limits: they were the only unsigned band to play on stage at the Van’s Warped Tour spin-off, the Warped Jr. Tour, where they played with such bands as Sugarcult and My Chemical Romance.

Formed in 2002, the band has been playing around Louisville and other neighboring regions ever since. The band is comprised of Chris Meece, who plays guitar and does vocals; Aaron “Vinny” Flick, who plays bass; Caleb Sunderman, who plays guitar and sings; and drummer Ian Bottomley. When asked how the group is handling their very early success, Chris Meece said; “We have been very blessed up to this point but nothing matters if we can’t continue to grow and reach out. I want to be the best band that we can be, and when we get there; I want to push harder to get to the next plateau.”

The band is after more than just a recording contract, however: Four wants to break thr ugh the musical genre labels and show listeners that they are more than just a pop-punk band, but in fact a versatile group with a wide range of musical ability. This mentality shows in their music, as Four delivers a fast-paced, quick guitar riveting performance with “Wendy,” while changing pace and producing an upbeat and catchy melody with “The Glass is Half Empty.”

When asked what the band thought about their pop-punk status, Chris Meece said: “I don’t think the term is used correctly in most cases, but I can see how we fall in that category. I just want to push the walls of whatever genre someone tries to box us in with. There’s no use of sitting in the middle when you can try to fight your way out.” Meece’s words ring very true when listening to the bands’ music as pop-punk is their style, yet is being redefined within their songs.

For those who want to know what’s next for Four, the group plans to return to the studio to record their new record, which will feature even more diverse songs that will be comprised of both hard-hitting sounds and slow-paced melodies. The band also has two upcoming shows in Louisville at Headliners; they will play at a Toys For Tots benefit on December 16 and will return to play a New Year’s Eve show. Four is not only proving that more success is in their future, but also that their music is not just for pop-punk or rock fans, but for everyone who loves music. This not only makes Four a successful band, but shows why they should be number one.

View the Region's Rock Archive >>

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Staff picks



Saturday, Jan. 31 Four CD release party
Local quartet Four will unleash their new 16-track CD Overdue at a special release party at Jillian's on Saturday ($5 cover/doors at 8 p.m.). But wait, it gets better: In addition to Four, four other hometown bands - Waterproof Blonde, Jet Lawrence, Magnetic Flux and After the Panic - will perform, and designer Vanessa Price will present "Fashionably Loud," a rock 'n' roll style show. "We just want to be on the road and play our songs.
-Jay Ditzer

- L.E.O. Weekly Louisville, KY