Local Band Network Member Since: March 21, 2007
Last Update: March 21, 2007
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Music types:
Rock
Description:
Alternative stalwarts Red Letter Day in 2002, drummer Tony Schulte and guitarists Keith Schulte and Tom Troesser began searching for new blood to take their already energetic sound to the next level. The trio, frequenters of local music e-community comomusic.com, placed a classified ad on the site, which was quickly answered by former Dionysus singer Colin LaVaute. From their first practice, the chemistry among the group was vividly apparent. A year and a half later, after a previous bassist departed to pursue a serious romantic relationship, LaVaute suggested bringing childhood friend (and classically-trained pianist) Ryan Smith on board. “He had never played bass before, but I knew he had the capabilities of doing it,” says LaVaute. “He plays guitar too, so after a few practices he was right in there with us. He’s an amazing musician.” The new blood inspired a complete overhaul of Decadent Nation, both in terms of the band’s sound and song catalog. As LaVaute puts it, “We just revamped ourselves and started all over. We completely threw everything out that we had before and basically have been working to where we are now.” New lineup solidly in place, the quintet focused its attentions on their visceral live shows and the eight songs that would comprise their debut release. Recorded over one week in September at St. Louis’s Phat Buddha recording studio, PuLsE’s November 2005 release was heralded with a packed show at Columbia’s famed Blue Note venue. From the rolling thunder heralding its arrival to the scenic sprawl of closing instrumental “Tequila Kisses,” PuLsE is a pounding, meditative assessment on the state of the modern world that builds to the breaking point time and time again. The effort unabashedly wears its influence on its sleeve; echoes of Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age -- not to mention the cinematic works of the Coen Brothers Stanley Kubrick. “It’s defintely the sickest, dirtiest song on the album.” says LaVaute of heroin epic “Breaking the Vein.” “I’m screaming though most of it, so a lot of people don’t hear what I say at first. Then they’ll come back and be like, ‘Wow, that song; that’s something special right there.’ ‘Break the vein just to soothe me/And fuck me like you wish you knew me’ definitely comes out of the gutter, for sure. Then ‘Roll’ is pretty much drug metaphors for sex. But at the same time, the other side of Decadent Nation is socio-political. ‘Sound the Horns’ embodies that. It’s pretty much a situational song that talks about my perspective, how I view things right now in the political realm. And Lord knows there’s just as much decadence in that realm as there is in the nightlife of anyone who listens to our album.” LaVaute also shoulders some of the band’s visual elements; his photos grace the EP’s liner notes as well as Decadent Nation’s Web and MySpace pages. “I am very influenced in my photography by German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans,” he enthuses. “Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) changed everything for me as well. Those two instill in me the kind of feelings I want to instill in others with my work.” In both its recorded and live incarnations, Decadent Nation’s overriding goal is clear cut: leading audiences to a point where they are comfortable with being bad. “There are so many taboos in our society about stupid bullshit like sex and drugs and stuff like that, but there’s a release in our music that we like to try to instill in others,” LaVaute explains. “Nonchalantly talking about those kinds of things -- being a part of the Decadent Nation -- just means allowing yourself not to worry about those taboos and give into the beast every once in awhile.”
Band Members:
Vocals: Colin LaVaute Guitar: Keith Schulte Guitar: Tom Troesser Bass: Ryan Smith Drums: Tony Schulte
Pictures:
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