Rescue

Rescue began as a side project in the late months of the year 2000, but after noticeable praise the band quickly took top priority over each member’s respective previous endeavors. The original line-up included Sean Clancy (bass), Michael Majewski (guitar), Alan Scheurman (vocals, guitar), and Brian Southall (drums). Right away Rescue ventured out on the road for some serious touring with no recorded material. In November 2001 they simultaneously recorded an EP, Even People and Not the Odds, and full-length, Volume Plus Volume (both currently available as a double disc with bonus material on Forge Again Records), in Madison, Wisconsin’s Smart Studios with producer Mark Haines (Archers of Loaf, Braid, Rainer Maria). While in Florida, Southall was bitten by a hairy spider, landing him with a bad limb. Ryan Clancy, brother to Sean, picked up right where Southall left off and has stayed with the band since. In the spring of 2004 Rescue went back to Smart Studios to join forces, once again, with Haines for the creation of “mini” full-length, Flamingo Minutes, which was later released on Slowdance Records in the summer of the same year. Flamingo Minutes showed a growth for the band, inching away from the post-punk, start-stop sound heard in the previous releases. While touring for Flamingo Minutes, the band was laid up by a van accident in which smashed windows and injured shoulders. After a quick and speedy recovery Rescue was back in action, ready to focus on new material. Around this same time Rescue added member Cassandra Verras (piano, violin) to expand in their efforts to make good music.

After two long years of yellow lights, Detroit-based rock ensemble Rescue will be releasing their fourth album, Paranoid. A collection of new and old, the album came together somewhat haphazardly, pursuing new ideas while enhancing the wall of sound the band has always produced. The band spent a good few months in early 2006 recording the album in Detroit at High Bias, a new studio run by Chris Lazlo Koltay (SSM, My Morning Jacket, Demolition Doll Rods). Sticking close to home allowed the band to concentrate on the sound and integrity of the album without the stress and demands of shorter sessions. This eventually led to a broadened musical horizon. The title track of the album is also the introduction, utilizing new instrumentation to set the mood. From there the album descends into delusion and conflict - the music becomes more removed and the lyrics vague. From the driving “Run as You Are,” Rescue’s take on smart pop music, to the slow burn “Sleepwalker, Shit-talker,” a simple and powerful song, the melodies start to carry a different weight by moving from charming to the jarring and back again. The album also includes a few guest appearances from friends. One of many being Happy Chichester (The Afghan Whigs) being gnarly on an organ in a rendition of “Through/Suit” adding new life to an old live favorite that first saw light on Flamingo Minutes. Although the album may seem a bit more mid-tempo it allowed the band to stretch their rock limbs. Rescue was known for start-stop fast-tempo oriented song-writing, and not to disappoint old fans, they’ve shed that skin and have learned to display their colors in new and creative ways. On the whole, this is a very different work for the band, displaying instrumentation in a way not found in previous releases. Rescue has grown over the years and this maturity is on full display in Paranoid.

Rescue has not completely abandoned their old material, only, recognized the desire and necessity to challenge their audience with the maturity and refinement they have realized. The revitalizing sound that exists for Rescue in the form of Paranoid has emerged from the honing process with physical and emotional scars, and personal and financial debt. Fortunately, Rescue is prepared to share with the world the wisdom and character they have learned through the experience and struggle of their own rock and roll story that's almost 7 years old, but only a few chapters deep