Friends since their middle school days, Summers and Weikel appear to have a bond that will not allow any obstacles to block their pathway to success, even if it means reconfiguring a primary aspect of their sound altogether. Though his vocal range and flexibility has diminished noticeably, he still carries himself well on all 10 tracks. On Keep Your Eyes Ahead, Summers takes a similar approach. Though Dylan was never the most powerful of vocalists (he let his music and lyrics do the talking), there is no arguing that he did the best with what he had. Yes, of course – Summers listened and sung along to Bob Dylan songs as an exercise of sorts, an appropriate method that turned out to work quite effectively. In addition to lots of Throat Coat Tea, Summers also attributes his vocal rediscovery to an artist who, despite a continuously weakening voice, continues to dominate the music industry whenever he releases new material. Nearly like a baby learning how to talk, Summers began a self-teaching process in 2005 that involved vocal exercises, jogging, and microphone techniques, all in an effort to revive an ability that was unfortunately all but lost simply because of the duo’s commitments to their show-going fans. It is demonstrative of the duo’s dedication to their work, as Summers has successfully overcome an obstacle that most vocalists would consider a career-ending plague. The Helio Sequence’s fourth album, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, is impressive in so many more ways than a listener without background knowledge of the band would even begin to comprehend. As he recalls, “Going into 2005 I actually had to think, ‘If I lose my voice, what will I do?'” Eventually though, it got to a point where he could not carry on. At one point, he resisted talking during daylight to save his vocal energy for gigs at night. Alongside the likes of Modest Mouse, Blonde Redhead, and Kings of Leon, The Helio Sequence chugged on as Summers’ vocal chords grew weaker and weaker as he attempted to wash the pain away with songwriting and whiskey. The beginnings of Summers’ vocal difficulties can be traced back to a lengthy six month stretch of shows after the release of Love and Distance. Jumping to such a prominent label meant an onslaught of back-to-back shows along with other media obligations, eventually taking its toll on Summers both vocally and mentally. About a year earlier, the duo had signed with the prestigious Sub Pop label, releasing their third album (and Sub Pop debut), Love and Distance, a few months later. After all, after nearly a decade of playing together, Summers and best friend/keyboardist/drummer Benjamin Weikel had finally hit the big time. As half of the Oregon-based duo, The Helio Sequence, he retrospectively knew that the precautions would be necessary. Though Brandon Summers will always have his skills as a guitarist to fall back on, one can only imagine how he felt when a doctor informed him in 2005 that he would lose his voice if he did not take an immediate break from singing. Taking a voice away from a vocalist is like taking away a pen from a writer, a brush from a painter, and the means necessary to express genuine ideals from any type of artist.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |