[From Music.MyNC.Com]:

It’s certainly difficult to pinpoint exactly who Minor Stars is trying to be. But in all reality, it’s simple to see the band exceeds in being itself.

Looking at frontman Eric Wallen, one wouldn’t think there is a Duke University graduate school alum hidden beneath that mane of metal hair. In fact, Eric looks as if he was plucked straight out of the school of Zeppelin.

“I had a previous life path of being an electrical engineer,” Wallen explained.

“When it came time to graduate, all of my friends were applying to grad school because nobody really wanted to get a job. So I got into Duke on a full ride — couldn’t really say no — I came down here and pretty much knew immediately it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

After graduating with a masters in electrical engineering, Eric turned down a cushy job to pursue a career in music. This led to a period of writing folk songs on his acoustic guitar and performing them on Franklin Street.

But hearing a single note from Minor Stars‘ debut full-length, Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea, anyone can recognize that the music Eric plays with drummer Matt McCallus and bassist Bob Dearborn is anything but folk. Rather, what he describes as psychedelic rock is an amalgamation of ’70s-era metal, early ’90s indie rock and post-hardcore.

“I used to be a metal kid — I know it’s hard to tell now,” Wallen joked. “Actually when I was a metal kid, I didn’t look like one at all.”

Wallen added, “From there … I listened to a lot more stuff from the ’60s and ’70s and then a ton of indie rock. It kind of evolved into that vein, then into this psychedelic rock, and kind of full circle, bringing back some of the old metal riffs.”

Standing behind a sea of pedals, Wallen achieves a level fuzz rarely heard from truly indie bands. The band is certainly heavy, but Minor Stars can’t be considered hardcore. And though at times soaring with three-part harmonies, Minor Stars can’t be considered indie pop.

Perhaps indie hardcore? No … just Minor Stars.

Setlist
Death of the Sun
Numbers Don’t Lie
Mirror
All Your Stars Out
Daydream
Silver Lining

These are the things that swirled through my head yesterday as I played around in the studio (I was pleasantly surprised I could play the instruments with only minor discomfort). I’ve also been thinking a lot about creativity, and how much I enjoy exploring a particular moment in time through music or writing. And my shoulder hurts like bloody hell, and it’s impossible to sleep for more than an hour at a time. Here’s what I recorded last night before fading out:

I was only 34 years old
when I thought I played my final show
But who was I to think I’d know when it was all over
I went away for 4 long years
and thought I conquered all my fears
But man you saw me shed those tears when it was all over
I got back up and hit the scene
to find out what it really means
The sleep ain’t always worth the dream when it’s all over
So many times the same old thing
I think I’m out but then I’m in
I thought I’d lost but I just might win

We watched it go under the bridge
There ain’t no sense denying it
And who’ll be left to give a shit when it’s all over
and said and done but I was never one to jump right in
but I might not see your face again
We can say goodbye or just say when

I’m trying to recall how many “last shows” I’ve played now. I’m pretty sure tomorrow will be my fourth. I remember like it was last month (it was actually two months ago) when I played my last last show. It was a Friday night at The Cave in Chapel Hill. We opened for Transportation (one of my all-time favorite local bands), who I’m sure were in fine form that night. Well, actually I’m not 100% sure, because I didn’t stick around for their set. Aside from being worn out from a draining work week, I was just not up for all the boozy-breath-stankin’ questions about why I was leaving the band. So I hitched a ride home, stuck my bass in the closet, and figured I might never again see the inside of a dive bar. Two months later, I’m getting ready to play another show, at a place actually called DIVEbar.

My wife has a job interview today. If they offer her the job, two months from now we’ll be moving to a town in Oregon 2842 miles away. If not, depending on other job offers, we might instead be heading to Pennsylvania, or Ohio, or West Virginia, or Tennessee, or Mexico. Of course, no job offers means we stay put for a while longer. Anything could happen. Who knows.

Come to think of it, the first rock concert I ever saw was on HBO in 1982. It was The Who’s “Farewell Tour,” and it was my introduction to rock and roll. To this day I still rock Who covers on the acoustic on a regular basis. Seven years after The Who’s last hurrah in ’82, I found myself at Giants Stadium in New Jersey cheering for my favorite rock band of all time — you guessed it, The Who. Funny how stuff like that happens. Anybody see the halftime show for this year’s Super Bowl? 28 freakin’ years after the old, washed-up geezers sang their supposed swan song, not only are they still alive (Okay, so only two of them are still alive) but they’re still performing as The Who. WTF?

So, after my last show tomorrow, I won’t be putting the bass in the closet. Minor Stars will be recorded and interviewed by a local TV station in early June. Technically that’s not a show, so I don’t think it will qualify as “Last Show #5.” But it might be the last time I play with Eric and Matt. It might be the last hurrah, the final farewell. Who knows…

Trouble weighs a ton(mp3)

Well, the time has come and the Minor Stars Vault has been unlocked and launched into cyberspace at long last. Here’s Eric’s announcement and the first two offerings:

The Vault will put on full display the underbelly of Minor Stars and its members. Demos, riffs and jamz from practice, live videos, old abandoned songs, rough mixes of the latest song we’re working on…the stuff that might not otherwise see the light of day but that is often the most interesting and exciting. Anything goes.

Our goal is to add a new Vault post every week. In addition to offering up cool content, the Vault is meant to keep us focused and dedicated to writing and recording music regularly, and to loosen up the stranglehold that I’ve (Eric) always had on material I haven’t considered to be in its “final” form. I’m dropping all that. It’s never gonna be in its final form, or it already is and I don’t know it yet. But it really doesn’t matter, and now it’ll be in the Vault for all to hear.

There’s a girl who lived on my block
She wore pigtails and bright purple socks
She could sing before she could talk
She had wings but she’d rather walk

A ghost of a prayer still floats in the air
Keeping me longing from the depths of my despair
I don’t expect a kiss or that you’ll stay the night
or that you wave your hands and make everything alright
I just want you to know when you’re going out that door
I don’t regret a thing

The new Minor Stars website— Minorstars.com— is officially up and running, featuring the opening track (The Death of the Sun) off our soon-to-be-released album, The Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea. Listen, download, and share to your heart’s delight.

We’ll be featuring a new song on the site each Monday in November. Explore the site, keep in touch with us on MySpace, Twitter, ReverbNation, and YouTube, and we’ll see you at The Reservoir on December 4th for our next show.

This week’s studio noodling combines a section of The Who classic Naked Eye (off Odds & Sods) with some heavy riffing/experimenting with guitar effects. As always, it is what it is, which is how I like my Sunday sessions at Green Desk Studios. Enjoy:

Naked Eye/Brainstorm(mp3)