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| "I
like to listen to music that makes me feel a certain way--either it reminds me
of something important that happened or a certain time in my life," says Boys
Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson. "If kids are feeling that way about our
songs, I couldn't ask for anything more."
The Boston-area band -- which
also includes John Keefe (drums), Bryan Donahue (bass) and Paul DiGiovanni (lead
guitar) -- is paying that feeling forward by focusing on making lasting
connections with its fans. It's clear from the first note of their self-titled
debut disc, which kicks off with the youthful enthusiasm of The Great Escape
and closes with the "what's next?" sentiment of ballad "Holiday." In between is
emotionally-charged rock that isn't afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, digs
a good pop hook and certainly speaks volumes to anyone who has loved--and maybe
got their heart bruised in the process.
However, it's the pure love of
the fans that has gotten Boys Like Girls this far already. After years of
playing in various bands throughout their high school days, John, Bryan and
Martin solidified the BLG line-up with Paul (who, after joining the band,
was discovered to be John's cousin). Then, like most smart bands, the guys
posted some demos online.
An early demo version of The Great Escape
and acoustic spin on Thunder were the sparks that ignited a firestorm of
attention on the band's MySpace and purevolume.com pages. By the end of 2005, the guys were topping the purevolume.com
New Artists chart (and gathering thousands
of MySpace friends).
Among those listening online were booking agent Matt
Galle (Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance) and producer Matt Squire (Panic!
At The Disco) who felt that special something in Boys Like Girls' demos. They
contacted the band about working together. Plans, and friendships, were made.
The guys penned more music for their eventual debut disc and were invited to
play on the national Pure Volume tour with A Thorn for Every Heart and Hit the
Lights. It was an honor for the young band -- and the guys' first taste of their
swelling fanbase.
"It was pretty amazing," recalls Johnson. "We didn't
really know what to expect from just posting a couple of demos. But when we were
able see the people on the other side of the computer in person, we saw that
they were singing the words to our songs. It was incredible."
The band
took that energy and headed into the studio with Matt Squire, and the Boys Like
Girls sound started to gel.
"Matt puts a lot of heart into the music he
works on, and he did with ours," says Johnson. "He is really amazing at bringing
stuff to another level sonically, tweaking things in just the right spots to
make it perfect."
Energetic, emotional and real, the album progresses
through the lust-for-life urgency of Five Minutes to Midnight, energetic love
anthem Hero/Heroine to more intense pop ballads of Learning to Fall and
Broken Man.
To an active listener the album plays out with the
ups and downs of a new relationship, charting the story of youth, love,
adventure -- and the loss and heartbreak that is sometimes a byproduct of
putting yourself on the line.
"You can hear a little story within the
track listing," says Johnson. "It starts off with this song that's about moving
on and getting out of town, 'The Great Escape,' and goes through to 'Holiday'
which is about asking who I am and starting over. It's basically a couple of
years in my life."
After finishing the album, the band was hungry to get
back to the fans, touring with Cute Is What We Aim For and then with Butch
Walker. This time the experience had changed again--for both the band and
audience.
"Now we are able to play the songs that we perfected in the
studio. It really changed the experience for us. We knew these songs were the
final, real deal so we are able to give them that extra flavor live. It's
amazing," says Johnson who is always quick to bring it back to the faces in the
crowd. "There's so much emotional connection to the music, from us and the fans
that it doesn't get any better than playing live. It's like we're giving them a
small part of us in a three minute, little compressed package."
Boys
Like Girls will continue to give their everything. The fans are already
listening. Are you?
|
Jake Ottmann
