Whole Wheat Bread

By Jim Abbott
The Orlando Sentinel
02-03-2005

The song is only one minute and 48 seconds long, but the video shoot for punk-pop trio Whole Wheat Bread’s "Old Man Samson" turns minutes into a marathon.

For starters, there are the continuous lighting and sound adjustments on the set at the Bar-BQ-Bar on downtown Orlando, Fla.’s Orange Avenue.

Is the label visible on that bottle? Can someone turn it around? Is there enough fake cigarette smoke? Can someone get rid of the smoke? Members of the hometown cast, not a legitimate actor among them, retrace their steps and movements over and over.

"That’s perfect!" says director Mike Marshall, a University of Central Florida alumnus back in town as a favor to old friends. "Now, can we do it again?"

The video shoot for the first single on Jacksonville-based Whole Wheat Bread’s new Minority Rules, is a career-building step for one of the debut acts on Orlando’s indie-label Fighting Records. It’s also a labor of love.

No one in the room full of local extras is being paid, unless one counts a complimentary round at the bar after the 10-hour shoot. The director and crew aren’t making much more, though they have been brought in from across the country.

"We’ve called in every favor we’ve ever had," says John Youngman, vice president and co-founder of Fighting with partner Ryan Marshall (no relation to Mike).

There’s hope that the video will wind up on buzz-making channels such as MTV2 or Fuse, but Youngman knows that it won’t happen overnight. The band’s focus in 2005 will be an aggressive touring schedule in the Southeast and as far north as Detroit and Minnesota.

He looks across the bar, where the crew is fretting about yet another shadow.

"It’s a lot like this set," he says. "A lot of hurry up and wait."

No one in the band or at the label is making much money yet, but there’s determination and optimism on the set that exudes confidence in the future.

A trio of black musicians unapologetically devoted to punk music is a rarity in the vast sea of hip-hop acts. Yet it’s not a stretch for Whole Wheat Bread.

"It just came naturally," says singer-guitarist Nicholas Largen, 23. "That’s what we listened to back in the days of Green Day and Nirvana. All of us have been into it since we were kids."

Despite the tedium, the idea of doing a video shoot is almost unimaginable for the guys in Whole Wheat Bread.

"It’s like a dream," says drummer Joseph Largen, 24, Nicholas’ brother. "You see the bands you love as a kid on MTV and that’s what you wanna do. To get the chance to do it is a dream come true."

The Largens and bassist Aaron Abraham, 21, don’t spend much time anymore in their hometown. The band is usually taking care of business in Orlando.

Joseph is missing the birth of his son back in Jacksonville to make the video. The delivery of 8-pound Colin wraps quicker than the shoot.

Joseph looks into the portable video recorder that his brother always carries and sends a message to Colin: "To my new son that’s being born, I love you. But this is Daddy’s new job."

On the set, the star of the video is working on his most complicated scene. Al Pressley, 58, has been cleaning and doing odd jobs at Bar-BQ-Bar for almost 14 years.

Now he is playing Old Man Samson, a hard-drinking regular at a local watering hole.

"They handpicked me," Pressley says, smiling broadly as he hoists a bottle of pale ale to his lips. His assignment is to jostle his way through a crowd of bar patrons, a task he handles with precision.

He tackles the choreography of a tricky do-si-do scene with help from Youngman, who cues him with a light touch on the back of his knee.

Pressley is part of a cast and crew populated by friends. The video’s bartender is Margot Moselle, 25, who does the same job for real at PR’s in Winter Park. Jessi Davis, who worked with Youngman and Marshall in their days at Back Booth nightclub, is the volunteer makeup artist.

That hometown spirit appealed to director Marshall, whose resume includes a stint as technical coordinator on Ozzy Osbourne’s MTV reality series and an internship at Orlando’s Haxan Films.

"There is a good vibe to the whole thing," he says. "It makes a big difference."

For Whole Wheat Bread, there’s the expectation of bigger things: Along with the recent release of Minority Rules there’s an anticipated showcase at this year’s South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas. Youngman says the industry is tough, but that indie labels can still succeed with realistic goals.

"We’re not judging success like a movie on opening weekend," Youngman says. "We’re going to be working the record for a solid year."

Like a video shoot, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. - Orlando Sentinel

RECORD REVIEW:
* * * * (4 out of 5)
A slice of powerful punk -- and hidden hip-hop, too

By Jim Abbott | Sentinel Pop Music Critic
Posted January 14, 2005


**** Whole Wheat Bread, Minority Rules (Fighting Records): Jacksonville punk-pop trio Whole Wheat Bread is a formidable presence on stage, but that doesn't always guarantee a new band an impressive debut album.

Fortunately, the 11 songs on Minority Rules (in stores Jan. 25) explode with almost the same force as the band's live show. There's nothing particularly ambitious about the approach to these hard-hitting sonic bursts, which detonate in intervals of roughly two minutes each.

Yet singer-guitarist Nicholas Largen, drummer Joseph Largen (Nick's brother) and singer-bassist Aaron Abraham deliver the goods so solidly that innovation isn't required. Producer Darian Rundall, whose credits include work for Yellowcard, merely gets out of the way to provide an uncluttered landscape on tracks recorded at Redondo Beach and Cell Studios in Orlando.

Without needless studio distractions, the emphasis is wisely on the driving beat and exuberant vocals. "Old Man Samson," which the band will be promoting with a music video produced this week at Bar-BQ-Bar, illustrates the calling card: a raucous sing-along chorus and churning guitars that blaze along with relentless speed.

All the sheer double-time muscle of songs such as "Scar Your Lungs" is accented by occasional surprises: the twangy, almost country feel to the opening guitar in "Samson," the crisp guitar solo that introduces the call-and-response vocals in "Loud & Clear." Such touches -- more of them wouldn't hurt -- start to elevate the band from its obvious influences (Green Day comes immediately to mind).

But, wait a minute, what's this?

On three hidden tracks that close the album, WWB abruptly turns into a hip-hop group. The results are an interesting mixture of moody melodies, crackling live percussion and cocksure attitude that still sounds more like a band than a DJ.

Whether the band rocks or raps, Minority Rules shows that Whole Wheat Bread does it with considerable promise.
- Orlando Sentinel

UNIVERSITY TIMES
(Universtiy of N. Carolina student publication)

Whole Wheat Bread release 'Rules'


by Anita Overcash
UT Assistant A&E Editor
February 16, 2005 12:00 AM



The Jacksonville, Fla. punk rock band Whole Wheat Bread will be releasing their first album "Minority Rules" on March 22.

Whole Wheat Bread is made up of vocalist and guitarist Aaron Abraham, bassist, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Nicholas Largen and drummer Joseph Largen.

Their album, which is being released on Fighting Records, was produced by Darian Rundall, who has also produced bands such as Yellowcard and Pennywise.

Whole Wheat Bread got their influence to be a punk rock band through listening to bands like Rancid, Bad Brains and Green Day. Since they started playing music, they have shared the stage with other acclaimed groups such as Sevendust, the Suicide Machines, Authority Zero, From Autumn to Ashes, the Suicide Girls and more.

They are now setting out on an extensive southeast tour of the United States, just before their 11-song album with three bonus tracks hits stores in March.

The band's first single "Old Man Samson" combines a riveting country jingle mixed with heavy electric guitar devoted to playing punk rock. The song, which is about an old man who devoted his life to drinking alcohol, also contains background sounds of the shouts that take place in bars.

The song "No Future" captures the heart of the group's punk rock as they sing about their hatred of school, from their elementary years through high school. Although they sing "No Future and I don't care," listeners can see something has changed in their attitude, for they seem to highly care about their music.

Another song, "Miss Perfection," is catchy, with its lingering punk vibes that rock out and are softer at times. Surprisingly, this song dates back to the group's origins, as it is the first punk songs written by Abraham. The song is one of the album's best, proving musicians can write great songs right away.

Whole Wheat Breads' album "Minority Rules" is an all-around likable effort and comparable to punk rockers MXPX, as well as old-school rock by Blink 182 and Green Day.

For all of you punk rockers out there, I recommend the album. It should not fall short of your expectations.

- University Times

GRAND BUFFET/WHOLE WHEAT BREAD Two white guys rapping (Grand Buffet), three black guys playing punk rock (Whole Wheat Bread). The most obvious irony in the world wasn't lost on us either. This show amounts to a Fighting Records showcase, as the Orlando-based label is releasing WWB's debut disc in January and a greatest-hits CD/DVD set from Grand Buffet sometime in 2005. (Fighting will also be reissuing You and Yer Good Ideas by Jacksonville's progressive, post-rap nutjob Astronautalis.) Everyone around here already knows how much irreverent fun Grand Buffet shows can be, but Whole Wheat Bread are probably the band to watch here: Their high-octane/high-sugar pop-punk is aggressive and infectious, and lots of roadwork has gotten them a lot tighter over the past six months. It's also gotten them a hell of a lot of attention, so go and see the show so you can say you were there when. (with Astronautalis; 9 p.m. at The Social, 407-246-1419; $8) - Orlando Weekly

Whole Wheat Bread toasts punk on CD

By RICK de YAMPERT
Entertainment Writer

Last update: February 24, 2005

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The Jacksonville band Whole Wheat Bread isn't green with envy over pop-punk superstars Green Day.

"People joke about us looking like (rap group) N.W.A. but sounding like Green Day," says singer-guitarist Aaron Abraham in the band's press bio. "But I'd say we live our lives naturally somewhere in between that -- edgy, but full of emotion. I got into Green Day at a young age, which was exactly the same time I started playing guitar."

Whole Wheat Bread will release its debut album, "Minority Rules," on March 22 on the Orlando-based label Fighting Records. The CD includes 11 pop-punk firecrackers plus three "hidden" tracks of hardcore hip-hop that mine both Dirty South-style hyper rap and a gothic, Wu-Tang Clan vibe.

Along with Abraham, a Trinidad native, WWB also includes brothers Nicholas Largen on bass and vocals, and Joe Largen on drums.

Punk fans can get a preview of WWB's album when the band performs at 9:30 p.m. today at the Echo Chamber, 392 Flagler Ave., New Smyrna Beach. It's a show for ages 21 and older only. There's no cover.

"Minority Rules" includes such classic pop-punk maneuvers as rants against authority and complaints of ennui -- all over frantic guitars, of course. Sample lyric from "No Future": "I don't want to be some ordinary grown-up. It makes me want to throw up. No future and I don't care."

The lads take a page from the N.W.A. play book by delivering a blast against the police and racial profiling with their own "Police Song."

And they address their status as racial minorities in the punk rock universe on the song "Broke" and on one of the rap tracks. Sample lyric from the latter: "I'm like a punk rock Shaka Zulu."

Whole Wheat Bread recently shot a video for the album's first single, "Old Man Samson," at Bar-BQ-Bar in downtown Orlando.

rick.deyampert@news-jrnl.com


- Daytona Beach News Journal (circ: 104,000)