New York, New York

There exists nothing like the buzz and excitement created by Rock and Roll. In all of its sub-genre's and off-shoots, there remains one constant, and that is the powerful impact the right tune can have on someone. When the right chords are played by the right people, an audience will be rendered helpless to the unexplained enchantment and allure of rock. Those factors and much more comprise the live show of Chicago based quintet Absentstar, a solid rock outfit whose clever, emotional lyrics and buzzing melodies have the band primed to take over your local airwaves, as well as touch your heart.

The brand of carefully crafted melodic rock the band unveils on the recently released album Sea Trials proves that a good song can speak to anyone, regardless of age or experience. "In the same show I've had a 45 year old woman come up to me and say 'I like what you guys played cause it reminds me of the stuff I used to listen to'," says Derek Ingersoll, the bands lead singer. "Then you have a 13 year old come up and you talk about a record player and they have no idea what your talking about. But they're like 'I like this song and that song cause it reminds me of this that I'm listening to right now.' For better or worse it seems like we get experiences from both demographics"

In today's crowded music market, transcending boundary and escaping stereotype as a band is no easy feat. It is a multimedia campaign that starts with, at its core, the music. Absentstar's approach to songwriting is unique in its frankness. "In the center, hopefully, you have a good song. And on the outside you can cover that, or put the icing on of any genre that you want in specific things of what the drums are doing or what the guitar part sounds like." states Andy Dixon, guitarist and song writing catalyst. "To me, What defines a band is you start with, hopefully, a good song, but then its all the individual members of the band making their own individual decisions about what to play that places you in your genre."

"We have a lot of individual images that go through us, and the opportunity that Andy gives us by writing the core song, is then saying 'Ok, let's have fun with this arrangement'",  adds guitarist Marshall Hanbury. "Then you find the arrangement and the production peppered with different styles. I think that is important to Absentstar's sound."

With their signature sound perfected, the band then had to set about getting their music heard. The historically conventional way to spread word of a band is through touring cities and playing different venues. Like most bands, Absentstar had humble beginnings. "There were a few times where we were going to headline a weekday show in a town that we just drove 6 hours to get to, and you go on at one in the morning, and there's nobody in the room. The sound guy is asking if you still want to play" Dixon shares.

The band have taken their live lumps, like any other active touring musicians. Their fortune has changed in the past year, however, after getting the opportunity to play the opening slot on tour with Third Eye Blind. This meant that their music would be heard by a larger audience, and also afforded them the opportunity to play on bigger stages than that of the clubs that they were accustomed to. "Its an avenue for fine tuning,  cause with the smaller stuff you don't get a full crowd to pick and choose who's gonna be into it. If you play in front of 3000 people there's gonna be a handful of people who are into it no matter what." Ingersoll relates. "I mean, you come out there and light yourself on fire and they'll love it, but if there's like 15-20 people at some of these shows, you can hear everything. And you don't have room to move and entertain as much as you would. It kind of makes you focus, like you're in a rehearsal space to a certain degree, and make all the subtle moves the big moves, and I don't mean the physical moves. The dynamics of the song are more important in a small area. Aesthetics and how you guys are interacting when your on top of each other."

_________________________________ “To me there's a fundamental human need for art. Of any kind. You get into the things like intellectual property and who owns what, but people are always gonna want to listen to music. How they get it, the medium, what label it says, it doesn't matter. For us, and for all bands before us, the way that we will succeed is getting in the van.” - Noel Arnim _________________________________

 

"I have to say it was nice to get back to  the smaller venue cause it was a much better opportunity to make a connection with potential fans. It's a whole new experience when you can only see the first three rows out of 1000 to 2000 people." Hanbury mentions. Its that connection that sets Absentstar apart from other bands. The band makes a conscious effort to get to know their fans, both at their shows and on the group's MySpace page.

"We're not famous or anything, so we can just walk around and watch our friends play after us. We can go back by our merch booth and meet people and talk to people. On the bigger stages, we've had such a  good response that we were able to talk to people at length and make really nice connections with people. We got so many MySpace messages that read 'Its so incredible that you guys talk to your fans'," says the bands bassist, Noel Arnim. "There is part of me that never wants to lose that ability to meet people and be amongst people".

"Theres so much competition if fans get a bad taste in their mouth from bands that may not be friendly to people, or spend the time talking to them, that one thing can turn fans off," Dixon expresses.

Drummer Heath Hamilton adds a refreshing perspective: "Aside from fans, it's like making new friends. Its added a lot being able to talk to people after a show that are younger or older than me, and asking 'what kind of stuff are you listening to cause I hate every song on my iPod, so why don't you send me your top ten playlist' so I can download new songs to listen to. And you keep in touch. I enjoy that." Hamilton does just that as he updates the bands MySpace blog frequently.

"We don't feel the need to be persuadable with our fans, we just do it because we like that interaction," shares Hanbury.

Many musicians have publicly denounced much of what the internet has inflicted on the music industry, most notably the ability to share files with no monetary compensation received by the musicians. Though their peers may regard that with disdain, Absentstar does not scowl at the thought of digitized music.

"To me there's a fundamental human needed for art. Of any kind. You get into the things like intellectual property and who owns what, but people are always gonna want to listen to music. How they get it, the medium, what label it says, it doesn't matter. For us, and for all bands before us, the way that we will succeed is getting in the van." Arnim states. "Whether we sell a million records or people download a million of our records for free, the need for people to see a band live is always gonna be there. The function of how you connect with people, and how people get their music, it doesn't really matter anymore. You're still gonna get in the van."

"I think for the better that music has been reclaimed. I have just as good of a chance to be heard as the kid who sits in his garage and puts his stuff on his Myspace page. Ingersoll says. "We kind of set out, I don't know if it was necessarily conscious or not, but after being in other projects and doing other things, we're at the point where we musically wanted to be 15 again and just said 'let's have a good time'…. Whatever happens is gonna happen."

Absentstar is not out to prove anything. They love their music, and want to share it with the world, however they can. "Our label is into us. Which, not everybody gets to experience that" Arnim reveals. "The definition will come, regardless of whether we get out there and say this is what we are or not. Hopefully it will reach enough people that people will make up there own minds. We will just do what we do. If people dig it, then that's all we can hope for."

"It's just silly friends playing rock music at the end of the day," Ingersoll affirms.

With a fresh outlook and an album worth of irresistible music, Absentstar stand in an enviable position. No matter what their future holds, their present will always be about making lasting connections with their fans, be it through the music or otherwise. Ready to take on all comers, the band is increasingly gaining popularity, one connection at a time.