Track Fighter

Track Fighter really surprised me when I heard Beau Hill (Alice Cooper, Winger, Warrant, Ratt, Europe) was going to produce their new EP "Band aids for bullet wounds".
This new 6 track EP is not as heavy as the first album "Between lies and melodies" but the band still rock hard on a few songs, I think TF is more melodic on these 2009 songs and I wonder if Beau Hill has influenced the band of giving them an 80's sound with a modern approach.
But that's not the most important thing here, what matters is that if the new songs hold up to the first album and they do.
This is classy stuff, my favorites are "Wake up", "Too broken to mend" and "In the middle of the night" but the kick ass rocker "Just above water" sure sounds like lovely music to my ears.
Crank it up! - Melodic.net

Overview: What on earth does a band do for an encore after being featured as one of TuneLab Music’s 25 Unsigned Bands to Know in 2008? Why they return to the studio to work on a new EP, which is exactly what Sacto’s Track Fighter did. Producer Beau Hill (Bob Dylan, Warrant) took Track Fighter under his wing and helped steer the recording sessions that lasted for most of 2008. Fresh into 2009, Track Fighter unleashed their new beast, an EP titled ‘Band Aids For Bullet Wounds’.

The Good: Track Fighter seem to have simmered down a bit for ‘Band Aids For Bullet Wounds’, but lacking in skill they are not. “In The Middle of the Night” is a venture through scrappy verses and slinky choruses. Vocalist TJ Chopelas belts out his feelings with earnesty, using a fractured relationship as his vocal sinew. Track Fighter emanate a latter-day 18 Visions with “Just Above Water”, where stormy guitar chugs and industrial gestures are interspersed atop jangling drums. “Too Broken to Mend” is stimulating and purgative, and sees Chopelas howl out a very Damien Starkey-like wail leading into the near-experimental bridge. The consistently upbeat and perky spine of “Closer to Closure” is warmly clothed in multiple layers of guitar texturing, including a ripping solo courtesy of Dean Jordan. “Wake Up” gets in your face and stays there with a never-ending surge of omnipresent guitars and monolithic choruses, bolstered by a barrage of we-mean-business gang vocals. The sum of the parts of its five predecessors, “Pushing Me Away” is a dynamic anchor that is both irascible and atmospheric.

The Bad: There’s a lot of clutter on ‘Band Aids For Bullet Wounds’ that makes it an almost distracting listen at times. This is especially true in regards to “In The Middle of the Night” and “Just Above Water”, where some reedy plinking cuts through the sound and quite frankly makes it impossible to enjoy. TJ Chopelas is a strong singer, but after awhile his voice gets lost in his oft-maudlin lyrics, making moments of conviction sound like cacophonous bleating. Guitar-wise, both axe-men have solid chops; however, their need to be in the forefront a bulk of the time comes off as haughty. The whole EP, sans the last two tracks feels slightly sluggish, and Track Fighter unload every verve in their repertoire to keep their heads above water in a just-north-of-mid-tempo sea.

Bottomline: Sadly, the traits that made me fall most in love with Track Fighter are scant, if not completely left out of ‘Band Aids For Bullet Wounds’. Gone is the unbridled, austere energy in favor of passé, static mid-tempo missives. Sure, Track Fighter bring the heat on a handful of diatribes. But don’t let these nostalgic moments of truth get your hopes up, because wolf Track Fighter jumps right back into the sheep suit, continuing to pursue a Funeral For a Friend type sound. I have just one piece of advice to offer Track Fighter-stop trying to sound like Funeral For a Friend or whoever and get back to sounding like Track Fighter. - Tunelab.com

September 10, 2009
TRACK FIGHTER
TJ Chopelas (Vocals)
Sacramento, CA
Myspace.com/trackfighter

By: Shauna O’Donnell

THIS IS SHAUNA WITH MUEN MAGAZINE AND YOU ARE LISTENING TO MUEN TALK ON 525 POWER TRACKS. TODAY WE HAVE TJ THE VOCALIST OF TRACK FIGHTER ON THE PHONE.

MUEN: HI TJ, THANKS FOR TALKING WITH ME.
Hey Shauna, how’s it going?

MUEN: IT’S GOING GOOD. HOW ARE YOU?
I’m doing good, just kind of waking up.

MUEN: WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING LATELY?
We’ve been out on the road for about 3 ½ months now. We are in Nashville, Tennessee today. We just got done doing a show last night at a place called The Rutledge that was really cool. Tomorrow, we are headed to Mississippi to play down there. Lots of travel going on right now.

MUEN: WHAT ARE YOU TRAVELING IN?
We have a big RV that we travel in with a trailer behind it.

MUEN: SO YOU ARE COMFORTABLE THEN.
Yeah, actually it isn’t too bad. If we had any more people with us it would probably be uncomfortable. Having five people in the RV is not that bad.

MUEN: YOUR LATEST RECORD BAND AIDS FOR BULLET WOUNDS RELEASED IN FEBRUARY OF 2009. I LOVE THE NAME OF THE ALBUM. IT’S DOING VERY WELL I SEE. YOU ARE GETTING A LOT OF MAJOR AIRPLAY.
Yeah, it was kind of weird because we didn’t really expect it, but we got added to all these different radio stations. I think we got up to 37 stations that were playing “Too Broken to Mend” at one time. That was about a month and a half ago, so it did pretty well. It was really cool to see the response.

MUEN: WOULD YOU SAY THE RECORD IS BEST DESCRIBED AS MELODIC, ALTERNATIVE ROCK?
Yeah, that would be a good explanation for it, with a heavy edge to it.
MUEN: THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT SONGS ON THE RECORD. YOU WORKED WITH THE LEGENDARY BEAU HILL. TELL US ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE.
Awe Man that was crazy. Beau is a really cool guy. We didn’t know what to expect when we first met him, but he took us under his wing and guided us through the whole process. We did pre-production with him for a couple months by sending emails back and forth. We would send him demos that we were working on and he would tell us to change this or tweak that. We met up in Sacramento and he recorded our record for us. It was an amazing process working with him.

MUEN: HOW DID YOU COME ACROSS HIM? DID HE COME TO YOU?
I think he found us through MySpace when he was checking out another band. He happened to see our profile on that band’s top friends. He hit us up and we striked up conversation from there. He is an amazing guy to work with, so if any bands are looking for a good producer, you will definitely want to hit that guy up.

MUEN: WHICH SONG OFF THE RECORD IS YOUR FAVORITE TO PLAY LIVE?
My favorite is “Pushing Me Away.” We usually play that one first. We have a song that we didn’t even record that we are getting ready to record in the next batch of songs we do. It gets the best crowd response and it is called “Save Yourself.” Look out for that one.

MUEN: YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON NEW STUFF?
When we get back to Sacramento in November we will probably start working on pre-production for the next record. We already have seven or eight songs mostly done, so we will keep adding to that and when we get back there we will start recording the next record.

MUEN: WELL, I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. YOU GUYS PUT THIS RECORD OUT INDEPENDENTLY RIGHT?
Yes, we did it all ourselves.

MUEN: ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING FOR A LABEL?
Yeah, that would be great. We set out with the idea that we were going to do as much as we could on our own and make ourselves as attractive as possible to a record label. It has been a good process for us to get out here on the road and do it all ourselves. I definitely think we are ready to take that next step whenever it comes along.

MUEN: I HAVE TO SAY THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB ON YOUR OWN.
Well, thank you.

MUEN: DO YOU WANT TO GO INDIE FIRST AND THEN MAJOR?
I don’t know because the industry has changed so much that it is kind of hard to say. We definitely feel that the style of music that we have is more major label because it is more mainstream. If that doesn’t come along and a good independent deal does, I’m sure we would take that too.

MUEN: TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT THE BAND. DID YOU GUYS GROW UP TOGETHER? HOW DID YOU GUYS MEET?
No, actually, the two guitar players have been in the band the longest. I have been in the band about 2 ½ years. We just got our drummer and bass player three weeks before we left for this tour. It has been a process of getting to know each other while we are out on the road.

MUEN: WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SONG “TOO BROKEN TO MEND?”
It’s pretty typical, a guy is in love with a girl and the guy asks her to marry him and the girl cheats on the guy and breaks his heart. It’s the song for all the broken hearted out there.

MUEN: WAS IT WRITTEN FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE?
Yeah, it was from a personal experience that happened in my life. I think the whole record represents my thought process at the time when we were writing the record. It’s about trying to pick up the pieces in your life when you think it is going in a certain direction. You think that you are going to spend the rest of your life with somebody and all of a sudden the rug is pulled out from under you. You have to shift direction and it’s hard. It’s putting band aids on bullet wounds; there is nothing you can do to stop the bleeding at the time.

MUEN: IT’S LIKE A SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
Exactly

MUEN: THE VIDEO IS SO SAD. IS THAT THE ONLY VIDEO YOU HAVE MADE?
Yeah, so far, we have talked about doing another one.

MUEN: YOU HAVE BEEN OUT THERE ON THE ROAD WITH SOME BADASS BANDS. I LOVE PAPERCUT MASSACRE AND BURN HALO. BOTH ARE VERY TALENTED BANDS. HOW IS THE TOUR GOING?
It’s going great. It has been a lot of fun and we have played with bands that we never thought we’d get a chance to play with. That experience alone has been really cool. We went out with Burn Halo for about three weeks and got to go to the south. We have never been there before and we got to play a lot of places we have never played. We played with Pop Evil and a couple shows with Framing Hanley. We just got booked to play with Uncle Kracker, which is going to be interesting.

MUEN: YOU ARE PRETTY GOOD FRIENDS WITH PAPERCUT MASSACRE RIGHT?
Oh yeah, those guys are our boys. We love those guys.

MUEN: SO, HAS ANYTHING INTERESTING HAPPENED OUT ON THE ROAD?
(Laughing) Oh yeah, let me tell you something, before we left I was like “Those stories aren’t true about the girls, the booze and whatnot.” It pretty much is exactly how it’s portrayed.

MUEN: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…IT’S ALL TRUE.
It totally is. It takes every ounce of energy to avoid that stuff. Three of our guys are still sleeping right now and its 3:00.

MUEN: LET’S TAKE A WALK ON THE PERSONAL SIDE. I WAS SNOOPING ON YOUR PERSONAL PAGE AND CAME ACROSS MANY INTERESTING DETAILS ABOUT YOU. YOU’RE ALL NERVOUS NOW RIGHT?
Yeah

MUEN: LET’S START WITH THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE PARANORMAL. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS?
“Paranormal State” is really good. “UFO Hunters” is my all time favorite show, so I dig anything about UFO’s, ghosts and stuff like that.

MUEN: WE HAVE THAT IN COMMON. I LOVE “PARANORMAL STATE” AND “GHOST HUNTERS.” I’LL WATCH THEM AND THEN I CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT.
I’ve never seen a ghost, but it has always been something that fascinates me. I’ve never seen a UFO either, but I want to see one before we go home from tour.

MUEN: I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU IF YOU HAVE EVER HAD A UFO ENCOUNTER.
No, I thought I did one time, but I think I was just really high.


MUEN: CHEVELLE JUST PUT OUT A NEW CD CALLED SCI-FI CRIMES AND THERE IS A UFO ON THE CD JACKET. THEY WERE TELLING ME ABOUT HOW THEY WENT TO THE ROSWELL UFO MUSEUM. I THOUGHT IT WAS COOL YOU WERE INTO THAT STUFF.
Yeah, we are all into it, we go on YouTube and look for ghost videos and things like that.

MUEN: “PARANORMAL STATE” IS THE SCARIEST.
For sure, is that the one where the kid just graduated from college? That show is great. The other day I saw this one where they were doing an exorcism on this girl and it was so real.

MUEN: I READ THAT YOU LIKE TO CLEAN A LOT.
Uh yeah

MUEN: WELL, I THINK THAT IS A GREAT.
I’m definitely OCD.I think my band wants to kill me sometimes because I’m like screaming “You guys have to clean up!” They leave stuff everywhere and I’m the one walking around picking it up for them.

MUEN: THEY PROBABLY DO IT ON PURPOSE.
I think they do. I’m going to have to have a talk with them about that.

MUEN: CAN YOU COOK?
Yeah, a little bit, here and there. I can cook spaghetti and toast, things like that.

MUEN: WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE NEAR THE OCEAN OR THE MOUNTAINS?
Near the ocean, for sure, I will have a beach house in Southern California at some point in the next couple years. It’s my goal, I love water. There is something about it, I’m drawn to it.

MUEN: HOW DO YOU GUYS STAY HEALTHY ON THE ROAD? ARE YOU ABLE TO EAT RIGHT AND WORK OUT AT ALL?
It’s hard; I haven’t been to a gym since we left. Our shows take so much out of us, that’s probably the cardio we do most. When you are a struggling band trying to make it like we are, there isn’t a lot of money to throw around on getting good food. Most of the time it’s hamburgers and Top Ramen.

MUEN: AND THE DOLLAR MENU.
Yeah, exactly, the dollar menu at McDonalds. Wal Mart has become our best friend. The dollar menu is great.

MUEN: WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL ROCK INFLUENCES?
Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars is my favorite singer. I think that guy is incredible. I really dig on Story of the Year and Thrice is definitely up there. We have been listening to a lot more mainstream stuff and I used to hate on bands like that. When you work with producers and mature a little bit as an artist and musician, you realize just how good those guys are and they are where they are at for a reason. Papa Roach is probably my all time favorite band.

MUEN: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH ME TODAY TJ. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN AND I HOPE TO SEE ONE OF YOUR SHOWS REALLY SOON.
For sure, I can’t wait.

MUEN: BEFORE I LET YOU GO WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD OR SAY ANYTHING?
Be safe, and hopefully we will see you guys at a show soon.
- Muen Magazine

This is a powerful debut album indeed produced by Diffuser frontman Tomas Costanza (Magnetic North).
California rockers Track Fighter aren?t 100% numetal because they stand somewhere between melodic tough modern rock and agressive numetal with emo tendencies.
But if you hunger for riffs, this is the place to get it from!
I can?t say no to the great axework of "Another memory" but the real highlight is the melodic "Bullets to a kiss", I?m already looking forward to the next album.

Read this article here:
http://www.melodic.net/reviewsOne.asp?revnr=5410
- Melodic.net