Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Brian Wilson Shock Treatment meets The Labor Party meets The Standells? No, even better than that! They're tight musically, good production - hey, it's a hit! Great rock 'n' roll record! Lots of 1960's influences, but the same as The Ramones and Dictators (The Hollies, The Who, The Kinks, The Standells, etc.). - John Holmstrom - Punk Magazine
Sometimes it's hard to imagine what rock & roll must be like in New York City with three-quarters of the Ramones passed on and CBGB's just a memory, but the first album from the Visitors suggests some things never change in the City That Never Sleeps -- there are still old-school punk bands belting out two-and-a-half minute tunes about girls, hanging out and various stuff that bugs them over chugging guitar riffs and no-frills melodic hooks, and the Visitors are one such combo. While first-era Gotham noisemakers the Ramones, the Dead Boys and the Heartbreakers are obvious points of inspiration, the Visitors manage to put the collected parts together in a way that gives them a personality of their own, and they have the snazz to pull it off. Bradley's chunky meat-and-potatoes guitar runs get the job done with style and swagger, bassist Brian offers high-attitude vocals while holding down the bottom end, and Danny's breakneck drumming is solid while keeping up with the amplified chaos surrounding him. Fold in songs like "Clean and Civilized," "I Don't Belong," "Don't Wait for Me" and "TV Blues" that cover contemporary urban life with street smarts and plenty of piss and vinegar, and you get a half-hour of high quality rock & roll that not only honors its influences but makes some serious noise of its own. And the Visitors even score additional cool points with a righteous cover of Roky Erickson's "I Walked with a Zombie" - folks, stuff like this is why New York is still the Greatest City In The World. Give it a spin. - Mark Deming - All-Music Guide
The Visitors aren't here to recreate a thin sliver of their record collection. They're not even here blend bits and pieces of their favorite obscurities to win over the garage-bound train-spotters ("It's like The Chocolate Watchband meets The Trashmen!"). The Visitors gleefully muddies the waters, jacking noisy, grimy rock'n'roll from all points between the garage and CBGB's. And while the band's destroying the sterility maintained by garage rock's gate-keeping elite, it's busy indulging the sort of weird-assed streak you'd expect from a lost Ramones tune: Topic matter strays from cheerfully bemoaning daytime television ("TV Blues") to happily bemoaning psychotherapy ("Happy Again") to messing with a Roky Erikson cut about the undead ("I Walked with a Zombie")... It's the sound of a band picking up guitars and banging out the first thing that came out. Full of soul, crammed with an irrepressible, almost innocent glee, The Visitors is the antithesis to the buttoned-down world of garage rock rules. Wrecking authenticity and bastardizing a slew of rock'n'roll formulas is rarely so much fun. - Matt Schild - Aversion.com
Discography
The Visitors (Eschatone Records, 2007)
Added to rotation at nearly 200 independent/college radio stations nationwide
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The legendary status of The Ramones, New York Dolls, and Television is no accident. Their fundamental albums led to the creation of a subculture that continues to thrive. Rare, though, is the band that maintains the same uncompromising and unrestrained attitude of these predecessors. On their self-titled debut album, The Visitors rocket through twelve tracks of the same classic, simple, and essential rock and roll that changed the course of music. Drummer Danny rocks both tight, fast, punk beats and slower, bluesy rhythms. Brians bass playing is complex but understated; his and guitarist Bradleys vocals possess a wail that no punk rock band would be complete without.
In 2002, San Francisco teenager Bradley was invited to CBGB to play the Ramones Bowery Electric Festival on the strength of a tune he had wrtten about Joey Ramone. Two years later, he moved to NYCand Ramones creative director Arturo Vega introduced him to Brian, who was also new in town and looking for a band. The duo hit it off immediately.
Brad used to come over and we would write songs in my apartmentjust the two of us, says Brian. We had, like, a ten-inch practice amp that we would both plug into, and come up with chords and lyrics and shit. These rehearsals were always fueled by tons of booze: Jim Beam and cheap American beer.
Danny, a scene veteran who had served proudly with NYC punk mainstays Jones Crusher, joined the band shortly thereafter. Brian had jammed with Danny shortly after moving to New York, in a band called the Queefs; a year later, he called Danny to audition.
When Brian called me to try out for the band, Danny says, the first thing I said to him, I think, was why the fuck didnt you call me a year ago?
The trio recorded their first LP over the course of one week in the heart of Brooklyn. With the help of engineer Uncle Mitro (The Little Killers, The Demands), the trio created a melodic album with a gritty finish, straight out of the 1970s punk scene and complete with a cover of Roky Ericksons I Walked With a Zombie.
The Visitors hit stores everywhere on February 13, 2007 and spent two months near the top of Burnside Distributions sales charts, peaking at #3. The album charted at college radio stations nationwide, as nearly 200 stations added it to rotation. CMJ featured Clean and Civilized on their New Music Monthly CD compilation, and offered the track as a free download on cmj.com.
In the great punk tradition, Brian says, I dont care about genres or trying to fit in. We just do what we do regardless of what anyone thinks, and when we write and perform were as sincere as we can possibly be about it. Its a sentiment that is followed through on The Visitors. On the albums opening track, he shouts, Ill never be clean and civilized! The gods of rock and roll wouldnt have it any other way.
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