The Fizzies

As any child of the 60’s will gleefully recount, the fizzie was a condensed tablet of bubbly, tingling effervescence that, when thrown into the proper mix, made you quiver from tongue to toes- every bit the same way the jangling, pulsating sound of The Fizzies does today.

Naming themselves after a peculiarly addictive concoction is no stretch for LA's masters of mellifluous pop. David Grover--he of Loud Sugar and Drop--leads this quartet back into battle this summer, with the debut CD “Contest Popularity” due in August.

As a mainstay and major mover in the LA music scene, Grover (some of whose former bandmates have become members of Pink's band, Fiona Apple's group, the Eels and Wallflowers, making Mr. Grover a kind of local Jack Black in terms of being the headmaster at a rock and roll finishing school), has had his songs placed in cult classics like "Speedway Junkie" and "Showgirl Murders". With The Fizzies, Grover has assembled whiz kid guitarist Balazs Antal, drummer MP, and bassist Dave Cole into this ensemble, his strongest to date.

The inspired intensity of the band’s live performances loses nothing in its translation to disc with the more introspective tracks, like the wistful “Secrets”, profiting from the listener’s ability to experience intimacy through their speakers. Says Grover of the new tunes, "I wanted to write more story songs, less, surreality, more a classic song disc. Yes, it is more of the same, but a lot more in the ‘three and a half minutes, jangling guitars vein’".

An apt and accurate description it is, as “The Fizzies” echoes the masters, from Big Star to the Posies to the entire panoply of Silver Lake mid 90's bands that were Grover's former contemporaries. Produced by Grover and ET Thorngren (Grandmaster Flash, Bob Marley, Von Bondies) it's a mixed bag of tasty goodies. Poignant, reflective societal commentary propels the mix of optimism and dejection in “Garbage Generation” and “Rock Kidz”, where "Love Suicide" is as Grover intends, direct and to the point, a no BS statement. With Grover's self-taught savant against Balazs' trained discipline, the band achieves what so many strive for, the balance between slash and gracefulness. Raw scraping, trebly guitar noise over which a perfect melody floats, what else would one call this BUT fizzy?

The push/pull between the fringe and the mainstream has been achieved, affording them a "not to miss" status on scene-making station Indie 103.1fm and at their upcoming SoCal dates (the band has toured opening for the Go-Go’s and is just coming off a West Coast college tour).

Looking for the perfect pop song is as admirable a goal as can be found in the arts and these eclecticians are on that path-walk it with 'em!