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The track begins with a florid burst of hippie guitars. As the riffs peak, they dissolve into something unexpected: a well-crafted song.
“Wake Up Alive” is the title cut from PictureMeFree’s debut EP. The rest of the five-song set follows a similar flight plan. In making the record, the group wanted to distill tie-dyed live jams into four-minute pop songs. The end goal, according to the band’s singer Josh Risley, was radio airplay.
“Not for the purpose of being a radio band, but we wanted to reach some of the kids who only listen to the radio. We figured if the songs were catchy enough, they would come and see us play live, where we’re a lot more about the Allman Brothers or Grateful Dead sort of experience,” Risley said.
PictureMeFree’s appeal owes much to the dual lead guitars of Daniel Collins and Mikey Jerolamon. Since both guitarists brandish Les Pauls and play in sunny, melodic clips, the Allmans influence is apparent. There’s also a slinky Steely Dan vibe to their weaving, according to Collins.
“Mikey gets a lot of ideas from jazz saxophone players,” Collins said.
A longtime devotee of classic players, including Robert Cray, lately Collins has been listening to discs like The Beatles’ “Abbey Road,” U2’s “War” and the posthumous Jim Morrison release “American Prayer.”
Jerolamon distilled his own influences to a single guitarist:
“Hendrix, no questions asked. He wrote the book on what I try to do.”
Even with similar idols, two guitarists don’t always mix. But Jerolamon said six-string chemistry isn’t a problem in PictureMeFree.
“We definitely have two different styles of playing, but we both have the same roots,” Jerolamon said.
In a live setting, guitar solos can quickly become superfluous. To avoid self-indulgence, Jerolamon remains all-ears on the bandstand.
“You can pretty much hear where it needs to end or go to something new and different and where you gotta bring it back,” Jerolamon said.
THE WHEEL WITHIN THE WHEEL
Although “Wake Up Alive” is best filed under “jam band,” the disc also exudes rock elements. The post-modernism of latter-day Red Hot Chili Peppers is audible, particularly on “Pick Me Up.”
“The Chili Peppers have this amazing instrumental potential, but they control it,” Risley said. “You don’t want to give everything away constantly.”
PictureMeFree’ rhythm section shows similar restraint. While Collins and Jeramon stretch out, bassist Fred Gessell and drummer Justin Sims keep the engine running.
“You don’t play bass to show off or be on the cover of magazines; you play to make people dance,” Gessell said.
Gessell gives props to low-end monsters, like Jaco Pastorius, and more melodic players, such as Paul McCartney. Sims is inspired by drummers like Steely Dan’s Steve Gadd and Steve Jordan, skinsman for both Keith Richards and John Mayer.
Said Sims: “Our goal as a rhythm section is to be the heartbeat of the band. When the band is improvising, we can have some freedom to help build intensity, but we need to maintain the steady groove.”
As the band’s lyricist, Risley pens his verses whenever inspiration strikes. His journals are crammed with pages of free writing, which the singer later goes back through to cherry-pick the best couplets.
“With the writing, I’ve been sober and I’ve been intoxicated and I won’t tell you where my best songs come from,” Risley said. “Let’s leave that up in the air.”
GEORGIA PEACH
“Wake Up Alive” was cut last December at Pigpen Studios in Athens, Ga. The facility’s on-site apartments allowed PMF to totally immerse themselves in the music. No classes (some members are Clemson University students), gigs or day jobs. Producer Daniel Maldonado Collins assisted in the song craft: cut a verse here, add a bridge there, etc.
“He did a good job helping us focus the sings to their essence,” said Risley, who enjoyed Collins’ previous work with Blue Flashing Light.
The band decided against cutting a full-length release because time was a factor. Eager to play out-of-town markets after nine months of steady Clemson gigs, PictureMeFree needed a polished recording. With a show at The Handlebar, a premier Greenville venue, the move has already paid off. Next, PictureMeFree hopes to crack other prime Southeastern stops, including Asheville, N.C., Atlanta, Charlotte and Tallahassee, Fla.
Things are going well for the band on its home turf. On April 12, Risley and company played a triumphant set at the debut Solid Orange Live festival. PictureMeFree secured the booking after playing around 60 shows in the preceding seven or eight months. (In May, PictureMeFree will play no less than three Clemson gigs, see Bootleg calendar for dates.) For SOLive, PictureMeFree scored a juicy 6 p.m. Saturday slot, immediately before acoustic pop princess Colbie Caillat. Risley estimates the band played to more than 1,000 people that day.
“The response was far beyond anything we ever expected,” he said. “I’d never heard crowd noise like for our songs.”
In late April, PictureMeFree received more good news out of Athens. Pigpen Studios announced it would be starting a record label, Pigpen Records, and PictureMeFree would be the first band inked to the imprint.
Future PMF records are likely to include some of band’s live staples not included on the EP. At SOLive, the group closed with “The City,” an intense guitar guzzler with vocal effects reminiscent of My Morning Jacket. Also unreleased at this point: the upbeat reggae of “Never Stop” and the epic “Chasing the Sun.”
As of press time, PictureMeFree didn’t have a timetable for a full-length album. But when that day arrives, will an 80-minute CD be enough to contain the tracks?
For more on PictureMeFree, visit the band’s Web site, www.picturemefree.com.
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