Throwback Suburbia

"If you should find yourself having trouble locating a pulse in today’s music, Throwback Suburbia is the proof of life in power pop." - these words are posted on the Throwback Suburbia My Space page. Here is an awesome band that wraps itself up in the spirit of the genre. It opens with the pop explosion that is "Private Oasis" full of ringing guitars and strong melody reminiscent of The Rubinoos. The follow up "Asking Why" is a Velvet Crush/Raspberries-like tune full of great chords and impeccable harmonies. The band hits for the fences here and succeeds with the ELO-styled opening piano chords on "Head Over Heels" and it's one of the albums many standouts. Fans of Jellyfish will appreciate this as well as the "The Same Mistake" which has such a clean pop sound, and smart songwriting that it really deserves to be a radio friendly hit. The first half of the album hits the sweet spot for sure, then it goes for a harder sound on "Say When" for the Tom Petty fans here. But really, there is not a single note of filler here, and plenty of pop gems to soothe hungry ears. "Perfectly Okay" goes all Fountains of Wayne with us and "Halfway To The Stars" is a cool Jellyfish mid-tempo that sounds as good as anything Roger Manning has written, and it's my favorite song on the album. They've already blown the doors off of International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles this year and I hope to hear more of them in the years to come. This band deserves much accolades for this full length debut - easily one of the best of the year. It's another "must-get-it-now" slice of music heaven.
- powerpopaholic.com

Here’s what people are saying about Throwback Suburbia


•“…an explosion of prodigious power pop marked by commanding performances and arrangements on an EP that sticks to the intelligent side of the brain while keeping the pleasure side entirely entertained.” -PERFORMER magazine

•“I was instantly hooked by Throwback Suburbia because of the songs they write and perform - songs that reminded me of a time when melody and power pop ruled the roost, before style triumphed over substance, and hooks took a back seat to flavor-of-the-week.”–Mark Plati-engineer/producer (David Bowie, The Cure, Prince, etc.)

•“Blending their pop sensibilities with a rock & roll attitude, they manage to capture the essence of retro-pop and make it modern rock.”-blogcritics.org

•"Now THAT'S good power-pop!" -Phil O'Keefe-EQ magazine

•“Soon to capture adolescents nationwide"~Willamette Week magazine

•"They have remembered what too many rock artists of late have forgotten--that truly great songs also have truly great lyrics.”-Absolute power-pop.com

•"Great songs guys!” -Greg Calbi- Legendary recording engineer (Springsteen, Ramones, John Lennon, The Strokes, Paul Simon, Kings of Leon, Blondie, etc.)

•"I'm a big fan!"-Eric Dover (guitarist for Jellyfish)

•"The new songs are WAY cool!" -Earl Slick (guitarist for David Bowie, John Lennon)

•"The new songs are great!" -Gregg Williams (producer of The Dandy Warhols)

•"Throwback Suburbia is awesome!" -James Guffee (The Tories)

•"It's OK Go sans the gimmicky treadmills, Spoon with an extra dose of distortion -- real rock done the way it should be,..."-Vegas City Life, July 2007 issue
- quotes

Pop mart

By: Jeff Inman

MIKE COLLINS WAS JUST DONE. He'd been playing follow-the-leader for years -- for more than a decade, actually. He'd been playing in other people's bands since he was 15. He was basically Portland, Ore.'s de facto drummer, the guy who'd at one time or another sat in with damn near everyone in town. Or it least it felt that way to him. Because none of the projects -- the rock stuff, the funk stuff, the whatever stuff -- felt like his. He didn't write the songs. He didn't make the decisions. He just kept the beat.

"I was riding other people's coattails," he says matter-of-factly. "I was following their vision. I wanted to follow my own."

So he decided to start writing songs. It wasn't exactly easy -- at least at first. And he had help. Longtime friend and guitar player Jimi Evans opted to give Collins a hand. The two had played together in previous bands, had a shared interest in the kind of skyscraper-sized pop that made Cheap Trick legendary and Butch Walker a cult idol.

"We have a shameless love for that stuff," Collins admits. They started dissecting the classic pop formula: the two-ton melodies, the instantly familiar hooks, the ohs and las and all the handclap trappings. They began to cobble together tracks that felt both sparkling and sun-kissed and somehow decidedly snarling -- basically what Portland would be if it moved one state south but still kept its current number of goths per capita.

"This is the stuff that connects with people on a cellular level," Collins says. "I'm a sucker for a clean hook. Most people are. Pop music is just what feels natural."

And it shows. The group's two EPs, Four Play and Eight Tracks, are so easy and enduring it feels like cheating. Everything is laid out perfectly: the swelling, harmony-laden choruses, the cleverly constructed bridges, the stories about love gone right and then gone wrong. It's OK Go sans the gimmicky treadmills, Spoon with an extra dose of distortion -- real rock done the way it should be, with plenty of loud guitars and songs about pretty girls.

Which, these days, is honestly a hard sell -- and Collins knows it. Music has been so chopped and sequestered that a straight pop band has a hard time getting noticed -- with or without clever fitness equipment dance sequences.

"It's hard to figure out exactly where we fit in," Collins confesses. Though after a month-long radio blitz that included mailing out a hundred CDs and hiring a publicist, it doesn't seem to matter. The unsigned band pulled off a coup, scoring serious airplay around the country -- including regular spins on L.A.'s KROQ-FM 106.7.

"Honestly, we're surprised," Collins says. "Without the marketing machine of a major record label it's hard to get on the radio. You have to bug them constantly, which we have. The fact we got through is great."

And it's a testament to Collins and Evans songs. "We've been in my studio for so long that, when we finally played out first show last year, we just felt like we had to get this stuff out. Music is life for me, and I'm always looking for another adventure, and so far this is definitely a great one."

- Las Vegas City Life

Throwback Suburbia - Four Play
Produced by Mark Plati and Tom McKay
Recorded and engineered by Mark Plati at Dead Aunt Thelma's Studio in Portland, OR
Mixed by Mark Plati at Alice's Restaurant in New York, NY
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY

Throwback Suburbia's first show was just over a year ago in February 2006, but in the short span of time since then the band has managed to cover a wide swath of musical turf, performing to full capacity crowds and securing radio airplay along the West Coast. Possessing production credits for the likes of David Bowie and The Cure to name a few, producers Mark Plati and Tom McKay were back and forth between New York and Portland working on Throwback Suburbia's new four-song EP, Four Play. Joining the project's high-profile roster is mastering engineer and recent Grammy nominee Greg Calbi, who has worked with some of the most influential and legendary names in rock 'n' roll. The result is an explosion of prodigious power pop marked by commanding performances and arrangements on an EP that sticks to the intelligent side of the brain while keeping the pleasure side entirely entertained.
A hard-hitting arsenal of guitars, sterling vocals and highly evolved lyrics powers Four Play. Forming a multi-faceted pallet of instrumental and melodic hooks, these songs embed themselves deeply into the listener's head. From the compound intricacy and punchy, upbeat keyboard hook of "Circles" to the deep space guitar reverb intro and pounding rhythm of the Bowie-esque "Lonely With You," this EP condenses the essence of a remarkable CD into just four songs.
The performances of Mike Collins (drums), Jimi Evans (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Paul Bond (lead guitar), and Eric French (bass) all merit individual recognition. Throwback Suburbia, as a unit, proves to be a balanced, tuned machine in the studio as well as onstage. (Self-released)
www.throwbacksuburbia.com

-Fran Gray
- Performer Magazine

Heads up, power poppers! Portland's Throwback Suburbia returns with the followup to their fine 2006 release Eight Tracks, and has taken a great leap forward. Their self-titled second album is an instant contender for the upper reaches of year-end lists, and truly represents what most people think of as "power pop".

Their influences range from Jellyfish to The Tories to Velvet Crush as well as Cheap Trick, and they get your attention right away with "Private Oasis"; this track has it all, from clever lyrics to crunchy guitars to some nice piano fills (think The 88's "Hide Another Mistake"). "Asking Why" recalls The Raspberries, "Rewind" The Tories, and with its sprightly piano and quirky melody, "Head Over Heels" is straight out of the Jellyfish playbook.

Elsewhere, with its manic beat and sweet harmonies, "Say When" could be mistaken for solo Jason Falkner; "Perfectly Okay" adds sitars and snyths to the mix a la Fountains of Wayne, and "You'll Never Know" is a power ballad that pulls out all the stops (solo piano, strings, plaintive slide guitar solos) and builds to a satisfying crescendo that would make Rick Nielsen proud. The bottom line is that this disc features one killer track after another, and deserves to be right up there with other classics of the genre.

- Absolutepowerpop.com

Music Review: Throwback Suburbia - Four Play
Written by A.L. Harper
Published June 13, 2007

Throwback Suburbia are the archetypal power-pop band, with intelligent lyrics, hooky arrangements, and melodies galore. They blend their pop sensibilities with a rock & roll attitude and create fun, energetic, and contagious music. Throwback’s neo power-pop sound has attracted a lot of attention, since their first live gig, and the near simultaneous release of their debut EP, Eight Tracks, in February 2006 — including a week as BC’s Band of The Week.

This includes catching the attention of world famous producers Mark Plati (David Bowie, The Cure, Brazilian Girls) and Tom McKay (Joydrop, Hey Gravity) - aka The Macchiato Kids. Now Throwback have released a stellar example of how to make perfect power-pop, their new EP Four Play produced by The Macchiato Kids and mastered by Greg Calbi (Blondie, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Ramones).

Throwback weaves together a combination of intelligent lyrics, warm, ardent vocals, hook-filled arrangements, and powerful, aggressive guitars to create what could be a how-to guide for making melodic, addictive, retro-chic power-pop. And Throwback’s charming penchant for finding a clever way of naming an EP after the number of tracks – their first EP Eight Tracks had eight tracks – is continued here on Four Play with, you guessed it, four tracks.

Those four tracks begin with “Circles”, along with Throwback’s signature great lyrics and distinctive vocal melodies “Circles” has hooky keyboard, driving guitar, fun, and even some hand clapping. It is the perfect, bouncy, summer-time radio tune. The second track, “Lonely With You”’s pounding drums and driving guitar mean Throwback’s Bowie influences are showing. With a hooky guitar, it feels a little more forceful than you would expect from this quintessential power-pop band, but it still has Throwback’s hallmark melody-filled, retro-chic sound. “Lonely With You” shows just how capable this young band is.

“Starting Over” and “Watching You Fade” round out this archetypal, power-pop EP. Both have Throwback’s accomplished, smooth, harmony-filled vocals, hooky arrangements and cerebral lyrics that sum up the addictive, matchless, animated sound that is the very bones of Throwback Suburbia. This EP is a perfect addition to your summer-time listening.

- Blogcritics.org

Here it is, folks: the latest band for those of you who loved Jellyfish and The Tories, and love their latter-day acolytes like Sparkwood, Checkpoint Charley, Millicent Friendly, et al. I'm speaking of Portland, Oregon's Throwback Suburbia, who've come of out nowhere to hit us with Eight Tracks, which subscribes to the theory of "all killer, no filler".

As they point out themselves, there's also a Cheap Trick and Butch Walker influence at work here, and opener "Lonely Without You" wouldn't have sounded out of place on Walker's new disc. "The Ride" mines Jellyfish/Tories territory, while "Starting Over" incorporates a more "modern rock" sound a la Weezer/Rooney. These three tracks are representative of the high-energy, highly melodic sound of the remainder of the album, culminating in the proto-power ballad "Do We Cry?".

Fortunately, there are plenty of avenues to check out their sound. You could start at their myspace page, where four of the tracks are available for download. If it's better-quality streaming you want, six of the tracks are in 128kbps aac format over at their site (make sure you have the Quicktime plug in on your browser). And the other two can be sampled at CD Baby, where you can buy the disc for $8. It's also available at iTunes for the same price. Either way, this one won't be thrown back.

- Absolutepowerpop.com

There was no shortage of bands on Friday, February 9th at Outlaws in Portland, OR. But without warning, an extra group was popped onto the bill to open the night's festivities setting the headliners scheduled performance back by nearly an hour.

Portland power-pop practitioners, Throwback Suburbia, unbolted and released their set at an eye rubbing 12:30 a.m opening with a David Bowie cover of "Suffragette City." And if a room of tipsy, beer permeated fans yelling "ahhhhhhhhhhHHH ... WAM ... BAM ... THANK YOU...MA'AM!" doesn’t wake you up, then you haven't been breathing for a long time. "Don't fade on us now,” guitarist and lead singer Jimi Evans lightly pleaded with the crowd, and they did not.

In a time-blurring 45 minutes, Throwback Suburbia released their new EP entitled Four Play to their hard core late night "I’ll do anything for you" fans. Combining songs from that disc and their previously released EP Eight Tracks, Throwback Suburbia's set was a composite of vitamin fortified heavy hitters with no bad ingredients or low quality protein fillers.

Except for the fact that he is a great singer, it's difficult to draw comparisons with Jimi Evans' voice. Between Evans' lead vocals and the band's backup singing, it just seemed like there wasn’t a note out of place. The charisma they presented during their entire show made it clear that they have a love affair with music and their music clearly has a love affair with them, which is probably why people love to see them play.

- Fran Gray, Two Louies Magazine
- Two Louies

It wouldn't be out of line to call Throwback Suburbia the darlings of GarageBand.com. Two years ago, the Portland power-pop rock and roll quartet won the GarageBand.com/Budweiser True Music contest. Since then they've made it to the upper reaches of the GB charts with every song they've uploaded.
Their success didn't stop there -- Throwback Suburbia has garnered many endorsements, prime opening slots, national radio airplay and most recently a spot on a Posies tribute CD overseen by the Posies themselves.
We checked in with the band to give GB members a sense of how they made it this far up the music industry mountain. According to lead guitarist Paul Bond, the secret can be deceptively simple:
"We just kept playing and playing, and good things began (and continue) to happen," he said. "Keep playing. If you believe in it, people will dig it."
Vocalist Jimi Evans suggested making music you like first, then worry about the fans. "I think the biggest mistake would be to try and craft something you think people want," he said. "We play music that we all love and I have to believe that sincerity plays a role in any success we may have obtained."
"I think the next step for any band out there today is to find like-minded people and surround yourself with them," he continued. "Create your own revolution driven by your passion rather than try to fit into pop culture's vocabulary."
Drummer Mike Collins emphasized substance over style when it comes to getting noticed. "We use the internet as much as we can to spread the word," he said. "As a result, we've networked with some influential people in the business that have helped us along the way. At the end of the day, it's the strength of your music that gets the attention. You can have a fancy website, the right haircut and clothing, but if you don't have hooks and something in the music that resonates with people, you just have hype with no substance to back it up."
Evans agreed, cautioning that "online presence can be a deceiving thing. You're either led to believe you're bigger than you actually are, or you become discouraged because you get an impression that you're not as big as you deserve to be. I think if anything, the online presence allows us to stay in touch with true blue fans."
Of course we had to ask the band how GarageBand.com factored into their music career. According to Evans, "GB has allowed us an amazing opportunity to run our music up the flag pole, so to speak. We've received some amazing, constructive comments. It also forces us to step out of our box and listen to other art, which is so important!"
"It's been a great tool for getting instant feedback and constructive criticism," Collins added. "It's also gained us a good deal of fans that have sought out our music and purchased it."
Throwback Suburbia is currently mixing their new album, fully aware that it will be released into a crowded market and an uncertain music industry. But the band's love for their art is a shining beacon that looks to carry them up the GB charts once again.
"If you believe in yourself and like what you do, chances are there are a million other people in the world that will love it as well," concluded Collins. "Find your niche as a songwriter and work it. Find people that compliment the gifts you already possess and you will blossom in your craft."
- Garageband.com

THROWBACK SUBURBIA
Vendredi 21 Novembre 2008
Doug Fir, Portland, Orégon. USA

La nouvelle s’est rapidement répandue au sein des clubs enfumés de Portland. Le Maire de Sunset Strip lui-même, Rodney Bingenheimer s’enflammerait pour un de nos groupes appelé Throwback Suburbia. Combo jusqu’alors inconnu. Il nous fallait enquêter. Vite. Et là, dès les premières notes, on tombe sur le cul. De la power pop grande classe. Des compositions aux mélodies et aux harmonies impeccables, toutes soniquement excellentes, une maîtrise de vieux routiers et une attitude définitivement rock. Dans un monde parfait, leur simple “Circles” ferait danser les teenagers de Paris à Abu Dhabi. Tous les titres, sans exception, sont de potentiels hits FM. Tout cela devient contagieux. On ne peux s’empêcher de sourire. De bonheur. Leur premier LP devrait leur ouvrir grandes les portes de la renommée. Avec un coup de pouce assuré d’un DJ connaisseur, là-bas, à l’ombre des palmiers de Los Angeles.

A écouter absolument :
http://www. myspace. com/throwbacksuburbia
http://www. throwbacksuburbia. com

Danny Boy

Translated:


The news was quickly spread within the smoked out Portland cement club. The Mayor of Sunset Strip himself, Rodney Bingenheimer would ignite for one of our groups called Throwback Suburbia. Combo hitherto unknown. It was necessary for us to inquire, quickly! And there, as of the first notes, one falls on the bottom. Power pop big class. Compositions with the melodies and the impeccable harmonies, all sonically excellent, a control of seasoned veterans and an attitude definitively rock'n'roll. In a perfect world, their single “Circles” would make dance the teenagers from Paris to Abu Dhabi. All the titles, without exception, are potentialFM hits. All that becomes contagious. One cannot prevent oneself from smiling. Of happiness. Their first LP should open large the doors of the fame to them. With a nudge in the right direction assured a DJ expert, over there, in the shade of the palm trees of Los Angeles.
- Rock & Folk