It's Over!

By Jason Harper
Published: December 28, 2006

It's Over, "Hallelujah": If It's Over had produced a full-length, it would have been a shoe-in for the album list. The band did release an EP that rocked, but we hear there's an LP in the works and we don't want to jump the gun.
Anyway, It's Over's prominence among the newer bands on the scene made this year at least 19 percent more fun for area music fans (at least, that's what Doug, our in-house sociologist, says).
Clad in vintage business attire, the charming lads of It's Over party like it's 1933 and Prohibition has just been repealed. But there's a children's-book innocence to the band's jangly pop, too, that's evident in "Hallelujah," with its declaration I'm gonna throw out all of my cares today/I'm gonna go out with all of my prayers and say/Hallelooooyah.
Mr. Rogers would've pumped a fist to that.
- Pitch Weekly

Jason Harper
Fri Dec 01, 2006 at 02:43:53 PM

1am: It's Over - Wow!!! Wow!!! If you haven't caught the sounds of this 60's and 70's influenced, mid-eastern infused, high energy, make you dance your pants off group, you must take in the experience. We are proud to call these friends our friends! If you need a heavy dose of positive energy, this is the band for you!
- Pitch Weekly/Wayward Blog

The Wayward Son sends Christmas cards to the year’s biggest bands.
By Jason Harper
Published: December 14, 2006

It's Over: The only thing that's over is your rookie status, It's Over. Now you have a slew of fans who love to twist and shout right along with your adorable, young-Paul McCartney frontman, Jamie Searle. I'd invite you to Christmas dinner, but you'd probably start a food fight with Grandma.

- Pitch Weekly

Hallelujah!
It's Over slays local audiences with kazoo-blowing antics and serial-killer pop.
By Lorna Perry
Published: February 15, 2007

Talk about spreading good cheer. When the members of the Kansas City band It's Over take to a stage, you'd swear the lights in the room get brighter. Rocking out with such abandon that liquid sunshine seems to run through their veins, It's Over is gaining a reputation around town as a band that's real fun to see live.
The band's infectious, megawatt-level energy hits its peak with the onstage dynamism of Jamie Searle, the quartet's boyish, wide-eyed guitarist and lead singer. Known for playing guitar so hard that he breaks more strings than drummers break sticks, he also has a whiplash style and a Pepsodent smile that make for a performance to behold.
Sometimes it even gets people dancing.
"This is definitely an arms-folded kind of town," says bassist and backing singer Bill "Roach" Sundahl (also the mastermind behind KC's popular Donkey Show variety events). "We love to look out and see people dancing and having fun at our shows."
"I blame the '90s for the arms-folding phenomenon," Searle adds.
It's Over's diverse song repertoire — a collection that includes dance anthems, carnival-like polka and straight-up pop-rock — is so all over the place that the band's sound can be hard to summarize. Think the early Nashville Sun Records sound plus '50s- and '60s-inspired rock and roll, underlaid with eclectic song structures and indefatigable enthusiasm.
It's Over began in May 2001, when Sundahl and Searle came across each other on a local music forum. Both were looking for what the other needed: Sundahl wanted a vocalist and guitarist, and Searle needed a bassist. "At first we were just messing around," Sundahl says. "It used to be a lot of screaming and yelling and knocking the crap out of each other onstage. It was totally stupid.
"But we started recording things and liked what we heard," he continues. "I think things really took a turn when Ryan joined the band in the summer of 2004."
Lead guitarist Ryan Donegan, a childhood friend of Searle's, came aboard when It's Over was not only getting a feel for its sound but also going through drummers at a rapid pace.
"When we went in to record our first EP at Soundworks, we had Rod Peal drumming for us," Searle says. "Rod played four out of the five songs on the EP, and then Andrew, who happened to be in the studio, sat in for 'Hallelujah. '"
Fortunately for Andrew Twenter, who joined the band, the happy-go-lucky "Hallelujah" has become one of It's Over's signature songs.
"You could say that 'Hallelujah,' with the whole I'm gonna throw out all of my cares today," Searle says, quoting the song's lyrics, "is what we're all about. Not giving a fuck and having fun — and getting people dancing at our shows."
"I think it's overrated," Donegan says with a sigh. "We have a lot more songs coming up, songs that are like 'My Dear Wife.'"
He has a point. "My Dear Wife" reveals one of the band's most salient quirks. Though upbeat and danceable, this is one twisted little ditty. It's about a serial killer sending an unapologetic letter to his wife, wanting to find out how, you know, the kids are doing.
Lyrics such as I wish I could be the husband you'd love forever more ... if it weren't for all that BLOOD! make for a surreal concert experience when you look up at the band's beaming faces and aw-shucks smiles. If there were a musical production of A Clockwork Orange, "My Dear Wife" would fit nicely into the score.
When they're not getting people to dance to chipper songs about serial killers, It's Over passes out props and creative noisemakers to encourage audience participation. A favorite noisemaker is the kazoo, but the band has actually gone further than simple party favors and created themes to go with performances.
"Yeah, we had an entire carnival theme going at one show, with the whole 'Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!' bit," Sundahl says.
Oddly, this bit also involved packing material.
"Jamie thought up the idea of bringing lots and lots of bubble wrap to the carnival show," Sundahl says.
After handing out enough bubble wrap for everyone in the audience to get their hands on a sheet, the band counted to three and everyone in the room twisted the crap out of their wrap.
"It's a lot louder than you would imagine — that many people twisting a bunch of bubble wrap at once," Sundahl says. "Call us goofy, but we like to bring the unexpected to shows and just go with it."
In March, upon the invitation of Whoopsie magazine, It's Over brings the unexpected to the South by Southwest music festival, then sets it to hot plastic with a debut full-length planned for a June release.
Ready the bubble wrap.
- Pitch Weekly

The band’s dapper dress (like 1940s newspapermen); the vein-bursting vocal harmonies and hollers; the jubilant, off-kilter pop that pinballs between early R.E.M., Modest Mouse, European folk, Sgt. Pepper’s; and the overall insuppressible playfulness not only make It’s Over a band to see this summer on pain of death but also make their new, 5-song EP one of the most satisfying local releases so far this year. They play today at 11:30 a.m. at Penn Valley Park for the grand opening of the skate park, then later rock the Brick with Aubrey, the Litigators (who are about to shed two members and either go on or recreate themselves) and excellent Chicago punk band the Safes. Obligatory pun: Don’t wait ‘til it’s over to see It’s Over. (Did a brick just whizz by my head?)

May 19th 2006 Pitch.com Jason Harper Music Editor
- Pitch Weekly

It’s over carried the crowd’s enthusiasm into the final stretch. The four man group plowed into raucous songs with a youthful energy. What a jolting reminder of rock-n-roll’s pourpose – tell a simple story, and get bodies dancing, and have fun.
Bassist Bill Sundahl, the force behind Spice of Life Productions, towers on the stage and holds down the anchor to the frenetic energy of Jamie Searle on Guitar and vocals. Searle delivers a stage presence that alternates expressions between a wicked Elvis Presley curl of the lip to a crafty smile of bliss. Ryan Donegan wails on guitar with an intensity that projects into the audience. Andrew Twenter holds down the beat, allowing the lyrics and guitar work to hold court up front on songs such as “The Turk” and the Joyous “Hallelujah.” Absolutely a local band to catch live. It’s Over is just getting started.

Feb 2006 PresentMagazine.com / Pete Dulin ~ Music Writer/Editor
- Present Magazine

It’s Over bounces into 2008 with its first full-length release, That Girl. From the git-go, this quartet enlivens the mood with jangling guitars, a peppy beat, and Jamie Searle crooning each syllable with boyish charm. Throughout the album, Bill Sundahl on bass and Andrew Twenter on percussion lay down a solid rhythmic foundation so the band can rock the house with wild abandon or a cool swagger. After the recording was complete, Twenter left the band to pursue music in New York and other drummers are filling in behind the kit.

“Come Back Home” gets a slightly slower treatment than their self-titled EP, but the song’s boisterous sing-along is still catchy. It’s an infectious rocker that squeezes Ryan Donegan’s feisty guitar solos between piping Hammond B3 notes and Searle’s pleading query.

“Hallelujah” is a crowd favorite, buzzing with the energy of early Beatles hits, an irresistible chorus, and sheer enthusiasm evident in the vocals. Heard live, it’s pretty damn hard to stand still. “Good as Gold” shifts into low gear with finger snaps, Searle’s come-hither voice, and a subdued guitar chirping along with tinkling keys.

It’s Over nods to musical forefathers like The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Motown’s greats. Yet, these guys are not copycats or tribute artists. Instead, their punchy pop hooks and rousing vocals engage the listener because it sounds original. Guitarist Jamie Searle says, “People love the songs. What It’s Over does for people is open up that tight space in people’s hearts and allows them to have fun and makes them sing out. That goes for young and old.”

Since the formation of the band four years ago, they have built on the immediate appeal of their crowd-pleasing tunes by crafting a complete album’s worth of songs that reflect hold together as a body of work.

Additional flourishes from guest musicians enhance the material rather than becoming a distraction. Michael Judge’s keyboard work adds melodic character to many of the album’s tracks. Two members from Grand Marquis, Ben Ruth on tuba and Chad Boydston on trumpet, make an appearance along with Mike Walker on trombone for the last track. “That Girl Turns Me On” is the equivalent of a shout-out from the alley to a third-story window.

“Swing and Sway” is a kick-your-heels-up, electrified country jig that would feel right at home in the early Sun Records catalogue next to Carl Perkins, Elvis, and Cash. “That Ain’t All” is a sweet 1950s bobby sox ditty that wanders through a honky-tonk ballroom. The muted piano keys ramble and rollick alongside Donegan’s surly guitar, Bill Sundahl’s cool cat bass, and Searle’s go-for-broke declaration.

“It Will Happen” has a transcendent quality and delivers a powerful message. The cello (Dan Ketter) and Hammond B3 organ underscore the emotional intensity of Searle’s triumphant message. Having heard this song performed numerous times with a stripped down sound and with a drunken crowd cheering along, the song never loses its ability to inspire goose bumps.

That Girl is a coming-of-age celebration for thirteen tracks that have been tested, refined, and released as a polished body of work. For It’s Over, it’s just the beginning.

-Pete Dulin - Present Magazine

Don't let its name mislead you. The band It's Over writes songs that are celebratory, revelatory - happy with a big wide grin.
"At first most people think the name is negative, like something has ended," says Jamie Searle. "But it's like, 'Yea, it's over!'"
"It" as in school or the work week or a jail term or a bad relationship. Or a rut, which is what Searle and his friend Bill Sundahl wer in musically after being bandmates for a year.
"We were playing noise, that chaotic indie rock where there are all these different parts crammed together but not much melody," Searle says.
"Just a lot of screaming and yelling and knocking things over," Sundahl says.
Those excercises in anarchy ended when It's Over had to calm down and play an acoustic show. The experience laid bare the band's primitive songwriting techniques. A change was necessary, and, as it turns out, Searle was already prepared.
"I'd gotten sick of listening to anything angry," he says. "It was a big de-evolution for me. I started listening to the Beatles and all these '50s and '60s artists and absorbed everything about the music.
"Those kinds of songs are much more concrete. It made me want to write songs that appeal to people and touch people instead of making them go through all this muck to get to something."
From there he moved back even further, to Ray Charles and other roots-based songwriters schooled in crafting songs for radio airplay.
Eventually Searle started writing songs like "Come Back Home," a 3-minute blast of early rock and R&B that shakes, rattles and shines with the sounds of the early Beatles, the young Rolling Stones and pieces of the Stax/Volt catalog.
Live or on the band's self-titled EP, "Home" is a song whose abundant whole is greater than the sum of its high-quality parts: a sing-song melody, crisp and creamy harmonies, a meaty rhythm section (bassist Sundahl and percussionist Andrew Twenter), and leads from guitarist Ryan Donegan that resemble George Harrison's in his fresh-faced mop-top days.
It's Over's live shows bristle with the kind of manic energy that suits audiences of all ages. Days after the band played a kid-friendly show at the RecordBar, Sundahl was stopped by a man who'd been at that show with this 9-year-old son: "He said, 'My kid loves your record. He took it to school and now other kids want a copy.'"
That lad should know that the band plans to release a full-length album this summer, then share its memorable live show with audiences outside Kansas City. Don't let its name fool you. For It's Over, things are just getting started.

Timothy Finn
- Kansas City Star