I just got The Pages demo in today, and I have to say,
if this is what the major labels are fighting it out
with each other over these days, it's very good news
for those members of the audities list who want to
take the oft-mentioned "our music" to the masses.  The
Pages are a north suburban Chicago group of teenagers
and just-barely-20-somethings who play a *completely*
Beatles-inspired brand of rock -- and I do mean rock. 
While you can hear touches of everything from 'Please
Please Me' onward in their work, they definitely seem
to have spent more time with 'The White Album' and
'Abbey Road' than with 'Revolver.'  

In fact, the first three or four times I saw The
Pages, they were doing all 60s covers, mostly Fabs,
but also some Stones, Dylan, and even the Velvet
Underground.  As time passed, originals started
working their way into the sets more and more often,
and the group recently recorded a set of eleven of
their own songs --and apparently, the majors are VERY
interested.  The band has recently played a series of
command showcases, including one that they were flown
to at label expense in Atlanta.

It's so funny, because a couple of years ago, I was
thinking The Pages were likely just going to get
pegged as a novelty (high school kids playing music
their parents -- or perhaps even their GRANDparents
listened to), and now it seems they've caught the ears
of a number of important people.

Most importantly, though, the songs are GOOD.  Some
are thoughtful, some are clever, and many are just
stoopid rock and roll, but it's obvious that the band
members have really studied the Lennon-McCartney
songcraft, not just the surface stuff.  From the sound
of the album, I would guess it was recorded on vintage
gear --it's warm and reverb-y, with no bells and
whistles whatsoever.  The playing is top-notch, and
the vocals have a depth that belie the fact that they
were produced by a kid who hardly looks old enough to
drive (although I believe he will be a senior this
coming year).

Of course, all that said, it could happen that the
band will get signed by a major and we'll never hear
from them again, or that whichever label they sign to
will "reimage" them to be the next Strokes or who
knows what, but on the off chance none of those things
happen, and they actually get a release and promo push
for a record that sounds anything like this
demo...well, that would be quite something.  And the
fact of the matter is, the band has that something
that labels are constantly looking for -- it would
certainly stand out, not sounding like ANYTHING else
on the radio right now... 

Sorry, no website, no MP3s (yet).

For those of you in and around Chicago, The Pages are
playing an "all 60s" set this Saturday night at
Nevin's Live in Evanston.

Go Pages!

--Shawn

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