From Post-Metal to ‘SuperNova’

Two Rock Bands Support New CDs with Upcoming Gigs

7th Sun: Steven Quadros, drums; Adam Kury, bass; J. T. Curtis, lead and rhythm guitars; and Michael Russeck, keyboard player. Not pictured: Jason Land, guitar.
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7th Sun: Steven Quadros, drums; Adam Kury, bass; J. T. Curtis, lead and rhythm guitars; and Michael Russeck, keyboard player. Not pictured: Jason Land, guitar.

Looking back, 2008 may go down as a weird, Hell-freezing-over kind of year in music.
Squeaky-clean Disney tweens Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers joined Lil Wayne and Metallica as big unit-movers in an industry no longer moving CDs by the hundreds of thousands. Tower Records and Virgin Megastore no longer exist on Sunset Boulevard, and it appears that the highly anticipated, 17-years-in-the-making Guns ‘n’ Roses album “Chinese Democracy,” after many false starts and promises, will finally drop in November.
Into this bizarre sonic landscape come two fresh, aesthetically opposite rock bands with Pacific Palisades ties: Intronaut and 7th Sun. Both groups debuted new albums in early September and have upcoming concerts scheduled.

INTRONAUT
Perhaps they’re a reflection of the times. Progressive metal band Intronaut released “Prehistoricisms” (Century Media), a dark and brooding opus that does not seem too concerned about commercial airplay. Long-playing tracks with spiraling arpeggios, multiple parts and loping rhythms play to the headbanging choir.
In 2007, local David Timnick, from Palisades High School’s class of 2000, joined Intronaut (already established since 2005), replacing original guitarist Leon del Muerte.
Musically, “Prehistoricisms,” produced by Josh Newell, is an amalgam of various musical alloys. Songs “Primordial Soup” and “The Literal Black Cloud” echo the original ‘80s-model Metallica with its twisting tempos and high-note guitar licks, while the instrumental backbone of “Sundial” packs greasier, grittier Slayer-style riffage. The title track (and lead single) “Prehistoricisms” evokes Nine Inch Nails.
Vocally, lead singer Sacha Dunable’s croaking shout may remind some of the death metal group Diecide or Drowning Pool’s late front man Dave Williams.
Hot off a 40-city tour, which included a stop at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, Intronaut will open for Corrupted and Asunder on Friday, November 7, 8 p.m., at Safari Sam’s, 5214 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Tickets: $12 advance/$15 door. Contact (323) 666-7267; www.safari-sams.com. Visit blogronaut.blogspot.com and www.myspace.com/intronaut.

7TH SUN
In difficult times, people often turn to sunnier bands for escape. But 7th Sun’s chief singer/song-writer, J.T. Curtis, questions how musically upbeat his blues-wallowing band really is.
“In blues songs,” reasons Curtis, “the lyrics are about having the blues, but the music is about getting over the blues.”
7th Sun shows its classic rock, blues and jam-band roots in “From The Beginning,” the first album by the new incarnation of Curtis’s PaliHi-formed group. The CD eases in with an instrumental jam (“Company in B Minor”), rocks the title track, kicks into some Led Zeppelin-type drums (“Hard and Slow”), reprises said title track towards the album’s end, and closes with “Get Together,” a call-to-arms to the common man from all walks of life.
Curtis, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, just turned 23 last week. He attended Santa Monica College for about a year before enrolling in USC’s Thornton School of Music. The new incarnation of 7th Sun includes bassist Adam Kury (who also plays with Seattle grunge veteran Candlebox), keyboardist Mike Russeck, and drummer Stephen Quadros.
Curtis counts such baby-boomer favorites as the Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and B.B. King among his influences (In fact, 7th Sun evolved from a Cream cover band).
Save for the track “New Generation,” “a lot of songs on the album were songs written while I was in PaliHi,” says Curtis, who co-wrote such tunes as “My Time” and “Hard and Slow” with PaliHi pal Colin Cronin. Cronin is no longer in the band, but Curtis has Cronin’s blessing to continue performing and recording their songs.
“[The song] ’From The Beginning’ is one we used to play quite frequently,” Curtis says. “We played a couple Battle of the Bands, benefit shows, PaliPalooza. We also played at the Whiskey, the Troubadour and Malibu Inn.”
“’New Generation’ was a sort of description of what’s going on in the world,” Curtis continues. “I take on these personas – a guy going out to war, a kid walking down the street, an overview of that world and the idea that this culture can overcome the obstacles in society by coming together and trying to figure out what it can do.”
It might come as no surprise that Curtis embarked on a musical career, as his mother, Palisadian Becky Curtis, is also a career rocker. A local resident for 16 years, Becky has worked with Graham Nash and Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, and she used to front the rock band Becky and the Blu Tones.
“She used to sing with Otis Blackwell, who wrote for Elvis Presley, while she was pregnant with me,” Curtis says.
7th Sun began recording their new album in the summer of 2007, completing it this summer. “From The Beginning” was partially recorded at Curtis’s Highlands home. Of all of the tunes, he enjoys “Big Man” the most.
“We played it a lot live,” he says, “and by the time we recorded it, it was really incendiary.”
Curtis now looks forward to tomorrow night’s record release party/concert in West Los Angeles, where an array of special guests will take to the stage. Carlos Cavazo from the ‘80s metal group Quiet Riot will sit in with 7th Sun, while saxophonist Jimmy Z (Rod Stewart, Tom Petty, Dr. Dre) will play with opening act Becky Curtis Band.
An old soul, J. T. Curtis has his issues with today’s music industry.
“There’s not a lot of room for creativity, for one thing,” Curtis says. “I’m a fan of classic rock and new things. I get turned off by the same production quality, same sound over and over again.”
Another thing that dismays Curtis are critics who lump bands in categories.
“We tried to figure out, ‘Are we a jam band? A blues band? An alternative band?’” Curtis recalls. “Then we realized, ‘You know what, let’s just make something up.’ I said, ‘How about supernova rock?’ and that sounded perfect. So we call ourselves a supernova rock band and we let everyone else figure out what that means.”
7th Sun will perform at its record release party on October 17, 8:15 p.m., at the Palmer Room, 3387 Motor Ave. Special guests: Becky Curtis Band and Susannah Crowley. Admission: $10. Visit 7thSunBand.com and www.myspace.com/7thsun.