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SeepeopleS
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Flagpole, December 2005 Voice of the 'PeopleS'By David Eduardo Correspondent Three-night stands at the Georgia Theatre often are described as ambitious. Each winter, a large fraction of the denizens (read: nearly the entire student body) migrate to suburban Atlanta and points beyond. So when a jam band like Perpetual Groove hunkers down in Athens the last three days of December, it can be perceived as overkill, or at the very least peculiar. To borrow a line from Lee Corso (forgive me, it's Bowl Season) - "Not so fast my friend!" True, the Savannah-based noodlers have two albums and a slew of Peter Gabriel covers to cull from during their headlining sets, but it's the supporting acts that promise to make the three nights, well, less perpetually P-Groove. Massachusetts-born SeepeoleS bring what more eloquent music journalists than yours truly have called a, "kaleidoscopic melding of rock, pop, and trance, injected with dub infusions" to the second evening of the extended stay. Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Will Bradford is responsible for the amalgamation of swirling sounds and poignant socio-political commentary that defines SeepeopleS' music, most recently captured on 2004's "The Corn Syrup Conspiracy" (RascalZ RecordZ). The album, a whisker from 71 minutes of music, could have benefited from a shave. The musicianship is impossible to ignore, and the band shifts styles seamlessly, but the album does suffer from the occasionally gratuitous, and a little bit nerdy, prog-rock exploration. All is forgiven (and forgotten) when gems like "Dinosaur," "Everything Goes Away," "Send Me a Line" and "Butchers" instantly carve out space next to Perry Farrell's early '90s Porno for Pyros offerings. Like PFP, these songs are sometimes quirky, often beautiful soundscapes that occasionally drift, yet still deliver intent messages. Will Bradford is quick to point out, "In the end it's not the music that carries the message. It's the people that hear it that create the message for themselves - I'm glad people find meaning in SeepeopleS' music, it does reassure me that we're all in it together and I'm not crazy." Bradford, drummer Tim Haney and bassist Dan Igenthron have been touring virtually non-stop in support of the record. Friday's performance will be their third appearance in Athens this year. "I definitely get a very hip vibe from Athens," says Bradford. "People definitely love music here, and of course that's evident from all the great bands that call Athens home." The bar was raised quite high (and quickly) for the band whose first gig was at CMJ in New York opening for Cracker. When reminiscing, Bradford seems a starving artist who somehow maintains a pragmatic perspective. "After the reality of life in the music industry sets in, if you keep going, you start to realize that you're only really there to play music, and you'd play to nobody if they let you," he says. "Hell, we have a hundred times. As long as someone lets us make some noise, we're pretty much happy." David Eduardo
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The Corn Syrup Conspiracy