Losers Beat Winners
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Losers Beat Winners

Nashville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE

Nashville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
Band Rock Punk

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"CD Reviews-- September 2005"

LOSERS BEAT WINNERS sends me their latest self titled release. Husker-Do (sic) meets the Dead Milkmen in a pie throwing contest. Good stuff for bad kids… hours of endless fun.
www.losersbeatwinners.com

--Starr Tucker

- NYWASTE.COM


"LOSERS BEAT WINNERS"

LOSERS BEAT WINNERS
SELF-TITLED
SPAT! RECORDS
The debut album from this Nashville-based trio was born out of frustration with the country roots of their hometowns. While all three musicians have toured and performed behind such legends as Rosie Flores, Hank III, and Robert Plant, none of the country/rock mainstays satisfied these troubled young men. So the creative outlet to vent a clever, quick version of '80s punk was formed with Losers Beat Winners. The sound is vintage Husker Du meets The Descendents, as the boys grind out punk/pop gems one after another. The 12 songs on this disc all clock in at three minutes or less—the perfect length for a band that performs 12 tunes in its 30-minute sets. There's nothing ground shaking on this disc, but it's obvious that the band is having fun with this music. In this case, the good times are infectious. -Dug - Skratch!


"LOSERS BEAT WINNERS s/t CD"

It's like All. Not as fun as the Descendents, but All seriously going toward Jawbreaker. The band has a long history, well-chronicled on their website, losersbeatwinners.com. Produced by Bill Stevenson himself. –RumbleStripper (Spat!)

http://www.razorcake.org/site/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7145
- Razorcake 2/15/04


"Heard Around Town: Losers Beat Winners"

If you ever happen to wander into a Losers Beat Winners show, you'll remember it by the ringing in your ears. This noise-punk band prides itself on its rippling decibels, powered largely by guitarist Bob Grant's unusually trebly, harrowing guitar sound. Such acoustic violence would wear thin if it weren't for the band's strong songwriting skill and willingness to take cues from many styles. As proof they released a striking cover of the Beatles' psychedelic hit "Tomorrow Never Knows" on their most recent single, titled March. The band has a full album's worth of material left over from a stalled record deal and is shopping around for labels. Odds are they won't be for long. Band members, ages, instruments and day jobs: Mark Pavlack, 34, drums, Vanderbilt chemical safety specialist; Bob Grant, 38, guitar and vocals, mandolin teacher; Scott McEwan, 34, bass, full-time musician.

City Paper: A lot of bands are loud. What makes you different?
Mark Pavlack: We've never heard anybody as loud as us mostly because of the spectrum we play. Everybody else is going low with seven-string detuned Nu-Metal guitars, but we're going high. Bob actually cuts all the bass and mids out of his guitar mix, so it's really a different kind of sound.
CP: What was it like moving into a place with such an overwhelming amount of music?
MP: Nashville is a very difficult town to play in because there are so many clubs and shows on so many nights of the week. But when we go out of town and tell people we're from Nashville it's the greatest thing ever. It's like, 'Here's the dressing room; here's some free beer.'
CP:Are there any drawbacks to being a punk rock band in a country town?
MP: The hardest part is promotion. You gotta do the schmoozing thing. You can't just hide inside your band and say, 'I'm going to be totally prepared for when we make it.' You definitely have to go out and meet folks and interact. You gotta let people know who you are.
CP: What got you started on drums?
MP: Ringo. That's about it. When I was three, I wanted a tambourine and my mom took me to a drum store and I saw all these pictures of girls playing tambourines. I was like, 'I don't want to do that.' A few years later my brother got the Beatles' greatest hits and I fell in love. That was it.
CP:Any disasters or triumphs on tour?
MP: We played in Atlanta to the soundman. He left 10 minutes into the set and left us in an empty room with a bucket of Black Label beer they gave us.
CP: Favorite Nashville band?
MP: The Carter Administration. They have the greatest songs: simple and nerdy but perfect. To me they sound like The Cars mixed with early Elvis Costello. They don't know how good they are.

Web site: www.losersbeatwinners.com
By Will Ayers.

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=38574 - The City Paper (Nashville, TN)


"LOSERS BEAT WINNERS CD"

Reviewed by JB (5/20/07)

First, I must say it was extremely difficult for me to review the full length debut by Losers Beat Winners. I received this album over two months ago and listened to it a few times but couldn’t reach a conclusion; so, I put it away until I felt the time was right. I pride myself on being a very cultured and open minded person especially when it comes to music. I’m not sure what shook my balanced strength of mind when it came to this assignment?! I do apologize for the hesitancy.

Well, the time seems right…my palette is cleansed…I’m ready to be brutally honest, so I slide in the self-titled album and begin typing…..Losers Beat Winners…interesting name and more interesting concept. LBW was formed in 2001 by some Nashville transplants with very different backgrounds but one common love of punk rock. Bob Grant, Scott McEwen, and Mark Pavlack joined forces to bring their visions to life. With Bill Stevenson at the helm and Jason Livermore as first mate, the trio sailed to the studio. The full length debut was completed in 2004 and by the end of 2005, they had inked a deal with Nashville’s own Spat! Records. Scott McEwen ultimately decided to take on a different role with the band; therefore, enter Travis Collinsworth to complete the lineup. That concludes a brief summary of the band; let’s get to the music…

These Losers come out swinging with the first track, Just a Regular Guy. Bold, quick, and familiar is my first reaction. Their sound immediately makes me think that if REM and The Dead Milkmen had a lovechild; Losers Beat Winners would be it. Maybe that is what deferred my ability to write this, it’s not a totally unique sound. The musicianship is incredible as is Grant’s vocals, but all the songs flow together without having definite distinction.

I was impressed that such a big sound was coming from a three man band. Pavlack quickly becomes a favorite drummer and his amazing skills standout especially on the second track, Forced to Watch. But an issue I have while listening is that sometimes the vocals are not loud enough and cannot be understood. Track six is the first time I recognize a noticeable change; Something is Gone slows the tempo to set the mood for the perfect dark brooding ballad. Other songs like Bloom, Tell Me Where it Hurts, and Sour are fun catchy tunes that round out this debut.

LBW do have the noise component necessary for all punk rock bands, but the version captured on this cd is a watered down punk. There’s an edge missing in their formula that goes along with punk rock. To me, LBW is the pop radio friendly version for the beginner punk rock fan, a mild stepping stone introduction before being exposed to the raw hostility inspired genre of the 1970s. If that is what LBW was trying to achieve then props to them; but in my opinion, these guys are too good of musicians to be so lightweight. I’d like to see a live show; maybe there I would witness that edge I was speaking of earlier. Losers Beat Winners self-titled cd can be found at http://www.myspace.com/spatspat.
You can learn more about the band at http://www.myspace.com/losersbeatwinners or www.losersbeatwinners.com. In the end, I do like the album…as in all art, there are flaws but beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

http://www.nashvillerock.net/WritersBlog/tabid/432/rrcid/93/rrscid/0/rreid/569/rrpid/1/rrepp/10/Default.aspx
- nashvillerock.net


"Losers Beat Winners CD"

Losers Beat Winners - www.losersbeatwinners.com
Losers Beat Winners (released 2005)
Spat! Records - www.spatrecords.com
Sometimes sounding like indie rock, at others sounding like early Descendents, and yet again, they're just a straight up rock band. All of that is pretty great considering the background of this Nashville based three-piece...they all seem to have quite a country music background. Together they've managed to develop a tight sound that many have compared to SST bands, Husker Du and well, the Descendents. Quite convenient too that they sound very much like an All/Descendent incarnation, because Bill Stevenson produced this record, after the band opened for him and the rest of All. While I get a kick out of Losers Beat Winners, it really a poppy album that approaches pop rock more than pop punk. I would file this more under the moniker of new wave meets indie rock than I would catagorize it as punk rock. I suppose something can be said for the bands connection to the already too often mentioned All/Descendents, but the reality is they dance a fine line between being too poppy and relying too much on their influences. I guess I'm pretty torn about how I feel about this band in relation to pure punk rock music. I like the twelve tracks that Losers Beat Winners have put together, but I guess I feel that is is missing urgency and a certain amount of aggressiveness that would really catapult the band into a different realm. This disc is really well put together and delivered by the band, it's just missing a certain amount of, this is the wrong word, pop... Perhaps I should say explosiveness, that's it... The band just doesn't jump out at you, they seem to be sedate in the catchy pop sound they've developed, and it's good, just not explosive enough for me. -MG

http://www.hussieskunk.com/reviews/music/losersbeatwinners-losersbeatwinners.htm - www.hussieskunk.com


"'March/Tomorrow Never Knows' CD single review 5/26/04"

Losers Beat Winners - “March” single
Filed under: Reviews
Local punk rock trio Losers Beat Winners have a record in the can with Fort Collins, CO-based Owned and Operated Records. But as the story so often goes, there’s no promise of a release date anywhere in the near future. So the group did what most bands have to do sooner or later: they recorded a couple of songs in their own studio and pressed it up themselves. The single consists of an original, “March”, and a cover of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Now you might think to yourself, what crazy bastards would put a tune by one of the greatest songwriting teams of all time up against one of their own? Somehow, these guys make it work.

If the Nashville scene had high school superlatives, Losers Beat Winners would be voted “Most Likely to Be on SST Records”. Partly because they avoid punk cliches like the plague, and partly because they share stylistic similarities with Husker Du. While they are known mainly for the ear-splitting intensity of their live show, Losers Beat Winners recorded work showcases the depth of their songs a little more clearly. “March” is a prime example. It comes off like Zen Arcade-era Bob Mould, with sheets of distorted guitar and a militaristic drum beat backing up Bob Grant’s thoughtful melody. On “Tomorrow Never Knows”, the band retains the psychadelic spirit of the original, while at the same time giving it some of their own hard driving energy. All in all, a solid effort.

- www.nashvillezine.com


Discography

Five Second Rule
(EP 2001)

Stompbox
(EP 2002)

Global Probing comp
(Recodds Records, Japan 2004)

*we provided 2 songs; an original entitled 'March' and a cover of 'Tomorrow Never Knows' by The Beatles*

Losers Beat Winners
(Spat! Records 2005)

New Vaccine
(independent 2008)

get the hook
(independent 2010)

*ALL TITLES AVAILABLE ON CDBABY AND ITUNES*

Photos

Bio

Losers Beat Winners is a high-volume power trio formed in 2001 and based out of Nashville, TN

For more information, please see:
www.myspace.com/losersbeatwinners

Full biography at: www.losersbeatwinners.com

-- Featuring Bob Grant from bluegrass punk legends The Bad Livers on guitar and vocals

-- Influenced by The Beatles, Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys and the great SST Records bands of the '80s

-- Self-produced 2 compilation tracks, 2 EPs and 2 full-length CDs

-- 2005 full-length Spat! Records release produced by Bill Stevenson, legendary drummer for Black Flag/Descendents/ALL/Only Crime/The Last/Lemonheads at The Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, CO

-- Self-booked 3 east coast tours, 2 mid-west tours, 1 west coast tour and several southeast mini-tours logging more than 80,000 miles

-- Performed with: Mastodon, The Descendents, Hagfish, ALL, Drag The River, Peelander Z, The Letters Organize, Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets and many more

-- Radio airplay on 91.1 FM WRVU and 102.9 The Buzz FM in Nashville, TN