Outside In
By Zach Kobrinsky
Contributing Writer
Over the past few years the name Inside Out Strings has become synonymous with the concept of F-M musical talent. Their one-of-a-kind blend of high-brow academia, indie and folksy Americana sounds is psychologically provocative, yet simplistically entertaining in the soul-driven earthy sense of the word.
Their 2009 self-titled debut album emphatically expressed these concepts, and now, with the upcoming release of their new album “Psychological Push,” they are taking their sound, as well as their musical career, to a new level.
The album title “Psychological Push” represents their style, their sound, and even their sexuality. On the one hand, the name illustrates the diversity of the album—each track a different blend in different proportions of the aforementioned styles. On the other hand it represents the overall thought-provoking nature of the album.
But “Psychological Push” also means something else entirely. Once you widdle past the lofty artistic constructs surrounding the album name, an inkling of tangible truth emerges. Ultimately, the album name came from a devoted super fan in St. Cloud, Minn. named Michelle Melby.
According to Steve Burket (vocals/mandolin), Melby has an inimitable way of describing Inside Out Strings, using only the most obscure, yet effective, compliments.
“Every time we go there she has a different way of describing our music to us,” Burket said. “The first time she said something to us, she said something like, ‘Your music reminds me of Miles Davis’ skinny cousin who walks through a living room and looks funny but captures your attention.’ Then the second one, the last time we saw her, she said ‘Your music is a psychological push. It’s that moment between when you know you’re going to have an orgasm and when you explode.’”
Orgasms aside, the new album holds true to the musical mind probing that we have come to expect from Inside Out Strings, and the album title most certainly illustrates that. In some ways the new album accomplishes the task even more so.
Take the song “Times” for example. It begins with a soft, sweet and pretty interlude, yet as soon as you begin to question where they are going with it you are immediately broadsided by heavy drum beats, complex time signatures and dissonant chord structures. According to the band, “Times” switches time signatures somewhere in the vicinity of eight times. Needless to say, this aggressive discombobulation of time signatures is probably responsible for the naming of the song.
The ironic thing about “Times” is that its level of high-caliber, high-brow academia merited some censorship from the powers that be at MSUM directly because of the level of high-brow academia and upper echelon complexity.
According to Nate Pitcher (lead vocals / guitar), “The school wouldn’t let us put it on the (first) album, because they thought it was too hardcore, too weird. They wanted something that was more song-structured.”
In response to Pitcher’s statement about school censorship, bassist Ross Cameron made a farting noise with his mouth (in the most high-brow kind of way, naturally).
The difference between the first album and “Psychological Push,” aside from the addition of a drummer (which we’ll get to soon enough), is that this time around they were able to create it without the meddling of professors.
When the debut album was created, most of the band was still enrolled in the music program at MSUM, and they recorded it in direct cooperation with MSUM. The upside of such an arrangement is that studio time is free, or at least already paid for by tuition. The downside is that the studio time is overseen by members of the MSUM music department faculty… a downside in the case of “Times” at any rate.
This time, however, the gang has since graduated (with the exception of drummer Alec Koch). And while “Psychological Push” was recorded at MSUM, Inside Out Strings paid for the studio time out of pocket, leaving them free to pursue weirdness any which way they please.
Overall, the style of the new album is pretty consistent with the debut, except that it has more of an indie feel to it. The big difference is the addition of a drummer.
According to Burket, “It’s definitely a lot tighter now with drums. That’s what a drummer’s job is—to tighten everybody up. Some sections that might have sounded a little loose before now just sound the way they should sound.”
The band at large agrees that having Alec Koch on drums has been an insurmountable asset to the band.
According to Pitcher, “It made us able to play it as a trio now, and we can play it really tight because now we’re so used to playing with drums. Adding Alec made us really sync up.”
Cameron added, “He did a great job of tailoring himself to fit with what we do and yet he still has an original voice as a drummer at the same time….”
Unfortunately, however, Koch is leaving the band. Inside Out has reached a point of musical success in the Midwest where they’re getting ready relocate to a more success-conducive environment, like Minneapolis or Denver. When this came up, Koch respectfully declined the proposition.
According to Koch, “I’m kind of getting tired of life on the road. It just doesn’t pay enough and it’s not worth it. It’s not as solid as I want. I’m getting toward the end of graduation, and we had talked about moving and stuff, and I don’t really want to follow all over the place, wherever we end up going. Plus I have a serious girlfriend.”
As much as Koch will be missed from the group, the remaining members made a point of reiterating that there were no hard feelings over the matter. The four still remain good friends.
This is not an uncommon conundrum for successful F-M groups. You inevitably find yourself face to face with a leap of faith. A leap you must take elsewhere if you want to make it. The shelf-life for F-M groups is and always will be relatively short for that very reason.
Werewolf Bar Mitzvah drummer, Mike Howey, will be filling in for Koch after their album release party on Dec. 9. Changing drummers right as they are releasing a new album raises some concerns for the group, but some excitement as well.
“This is actually the worst time ever to switch drummers,” Cameron said. “You want to go on tour with the band sounding like the album more or less. That’s not going to happen… at all.”
Burket added, “Now we have Mike Howey coming in, and he’s a solid drummer. We’re really excited about that. It’s going to change our sound again. Just adding another person always changes the sound.”
Pitcher remained optimistic for the future with Howey, yet like Cameron, he is apprehensive about what this will mean for staying true to the sound of the new album.
“I’m mostly excited with Howey for the new songs,” he said, “because I want to hear old songs how they are on the album. That’s how I want to hear them.”
How the drummer substitution scenario will unfold remains to be seen. One thing we do know, however, is that Howey is an incredible drummer and will undoubtedly rise to the occasion, and that Inside Out Strings will continue to be successful, wherever their endeavors may take them.
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If You Go
What: CD Release Party: Inside Out Strings, Boys n the Barrels
Where: The Aquarium
When: Thurs, Dec 9, 9pm-2am
Info: 701.235.5913
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