Band of the Week: Queen City Saints

(Credit: Courtesy of Queen City Saints)

The wait is over for one of Springfield’s most anticipated releases. The Queen City Saints' first long player, "Chorus of the Commoners", comes out January 27 and the band is playing a CD release party at Nathan P. Murphy’s this weekend. Even if you’re easily disappointed, Chorus of the Commoners won’t disappoint you. Each track I’ve heard so far seems to have more heart, soul and hooks than anything on hard rock radio in recent years. Remember when Rancid somehow got “Ruby Soho” on the radio and Bad Religion’s “21st Century Digital Boy” was on MTV? That’s the kind of magic and capability you’ll hear on "Chorus of the Commoners." Don’t miss this show.

About the show:
Queen City Saints CD Release Show
Featuring Brutally Frank, The Spites, The Dead Aheads
Friday, January 23
Nathan P. Murphy’s
$8
All Ages

Interview with Adam Christensen:

First of all, what is your role in the band?
Adam Christensen: I write a lot of the songs, play the guitar/banjo and a little keyboard on one song on the new record. I remain the most overly cavalier spirit of the crew. In more of an adjective or verb usage of the term I suppose. This whole band runs pretty well and is an easy going yet well-oiled machine. I'm merely one of the catalysts for fine-tuning the machine.

Describe your band in 3 words.
AC: We've got heart.

Do your parents like your music?
AC: Yes, all our parents like our music. Even more incredible is that we like a lot of our parents’ music too.

How are the Queen City Saints different than some of the hard rock band stereotypes?
AC: In most cases bands are always looking for the next great progressive sound or sounds. To be even heavier, faster, more intricate than the last; constantly on the hunt for the next great effects pedal that makes their guitar sound like a helicopter crashing into an orphanage; bombing you with an array of "lows" that make you feel like you are about to "topple over in submission from the low-end knocking out your knees." Queen City Saints, on the other hand, are a group of working-class folks. We are well aware of what has worked in the past, and simplicity-plus-dynamic is always the key. We are also multi-instrumentalists, which helps us to widen the canvas of our musical attributes of this band. There are not a lot of modern hard rock bands that include mandolin, banjo and harmonica within a set of commercial-ready tunes that adhere to punk rock DIY ethic.

Our goal is to create the biggest, hook-ridden and unique music we can get with as very little as possible. All in all I think that falls in line with the punk band ideal without sounding too typical or cliché. We all grew up in that scene. We have people in this band that take pride in the craft of song writing. We'd all rather listen to a Tom Waits or Tony Rice record before checking out the Billboard Top 40. I think bands find comfort in stereotypes, even if they don't realize or admit it. They have something to reference themselves too -- a "safety bubble" of relativity that can water down a scene very quick. But the ingredients are there and accessible, and that is why a good band works outside the bubble and looks to find ways to burst it for others.

Can you make a list of all the bands you guys have played with in the past?
AC: The Street Dogs, MXPX, Koffin Kats, Flatfoot 56, 7 Shot Screamers, KTP, the Last Hope, Brutally Frank just to name a few of our friends and favorites. All real cool guys. Our first show was opening for the Street Dogs and they were all really nice. It was tremendous talking baseball with Mike McColgan and getting legit positive feedback on our performance. All the other bands we are either friends with or just met recently. You definitely learn a lot when you tour and find what has worked for some of the veteran performers. We are just trying to pay our dues.

The sound you got on "Chorus of the Commoners" is huge and I know you recorded it locally. How did you make it sound like you recorded at Abbey Road?
AC: Thanks for the compliment. We have a rehearsal space that we usually write, discuss, plan, plot, track and record at that we've nicknamed Queen City Studios. For "Chorus of the Commoners" we didn't want to over-produce anything. We didn't want to add a ton of effects on vocals, guitars, drums, etc. We decided early on that the songs, with the right dynamic, can really help produce themselves. We worked with local producer and long-time friend of ours, Brent Young. He did all the tracking and engineering for the record. Brent is sort of our go-to guy, the fix-all kinda fella that really knows his stuff. We are humbled by his knowledge and by the time the record was done, we all sat down in his studio and did one last listen-through and agreed that mix was the one we wanted. It took a long time to get it right, but good things are worth the wait.

Songs like "Swing the Hammer" are radio friendly—in a good way. What's your plan for achieving mainstream success? Or do you not even think about that?
AC: We currently have no plan for achieving mainstream success. We are a very DIY type. If you go into writing music or marketing yourself for mainstream success you are immediately in the bubble I spoke of earlier. You find yourself writing songs for people that wouldn't know what a good song sounds like if it came up and screamed the melody into their ear! We have friends that are in bands that would break up a band before signing on the dotted line with a major (label). I think our long-term goals are not limited by anything other than our own ambition. A band is only as strong and committed as its weakest member. Putting it plain and simple, we aren't looking for mainstream success. We are looking to have people come to a show or pick up a record supporting a local scene that needs to be inspired again. If our records are played on the radio we probably wouldn't know unless someone told us.

You guys obviously have a lot of Springfield pride. Why do you like living here?
AC: This is a great question that brings up a lot of history for all of us. We all have roots in this area. We've all either been born, married, raised or heart-broken here. Our formative years have been here. We work with a tremendous local/regional record label (Zero Youth Records) that has allowed us to put this record out in mass (quantities). They have even let us go as far as releasing the record as a collective of two separate labels working as one. Pike Street Records is a small/dormant imprint that I used to release music on before. Knowing I wanted to breath life back into the small imprint, Matt was considerate enough to allow me to join in with him and work together as equal partners. Pike Zero Collective is the result. The goals of the collective are very simple: release and promote unique music, booking, promotion and unity. So all in all there are multiple reasons to support your local area, (because) it has so much to offer. How are you supposed to grow a scene if you never nurture the community?

The album cover is a painting of the bridge on Commercial Street. Are there any more Queen City references in the songs?
AC: There are a few mentions that are very particular to those that are familiar with the city. You'll have to pick up the record to find out. There is a lot of history in Springfield, Mo. We all dig history...so we include that influence in our music.

What are your top three punk bands?
AC: One:21, Strike Anywhere, Bad Religion.

Who would win in a fight: Dalena (lead singer) or Joan Jett?
AC: Dalena, she doesn't smoke and has a lethal right hook.

Dalena or Fred Durst?
AC: Draw. I think Durst would go in strong at the bell and last a few seconds, convincing Dalena it wasn't his idea to fight and that he is actually nine-years-old and lives in a tree and makes cookies and shoes. In the end, they're shaking hands and reading through Fred's next terrible script for a movie idea. Ya-yuh!

What's the after party of your CD release going to be like?
AC: Laser tag at Nathaniel Greene park at 1:15 a.m.. Be there or be square, baby!