NEW YORK (CURB Records) - Curb Records Pop/Rock band FEEL has announced their summer tour dates and are ready to hit the road in support of their new single "She Makes The Makeup Look Good."
Fronted by former Wanderlust singer-songwriter and guitarist Scot Sax, the popular LA-based band also includes bassist Mark Getten (also from Wanderlust), drummer Dave Shaffer and guitarist Billy Alexander.
Since their formation in 2001, the band has enjoyed two top 25 singles ("Won't Stand in Your Way" and "Got Your Name on It") and toured the country extensively, cultivating fans all along the way with their energetic and charismatic live shows.
Scot and his songs are receiving critical praise and have been featured in numerous movie and television projects, including:
- "I Am The Summertime" American Pie Soundtrack
- "100 Girls", "Dream I'm In" "Where Has Your Lover Gone" 100 Girls Soundtrack
- "I Am The Summertime" CBS Television
- "Avenue Of The Stars" Jennifer Love Hewitt's Barenaked CD
- "National Anthem Of Love" Joey McIntyre's Meet Joe Mac
- "I Walked" (Scot Sax) Wanderlust - "Prize"
- Prize - Wanderlust, called by the Sunday London Times "One of the greatest rock records of all time"
- DMX Music has FEEL's songs currently in heavy rotation in retail stores nationwide.
Their debut self-titled album has spawned two radio hits so far. "Won't Stand In Your Way" and "Got Your Name On It" both reached the top 25 most played songs from November 2002 to June 2003.
They are the very first Rock Band signed to Curb Records, a label known for country giants like LeAnn Rimes and Tim McGraw.
Band mates, Sax and Getten had previously received a Gold Record for their song "(I Am The) Summertime" from the American Pie Soundtrack under the moniker "Bachelor Number One" as well as played in the very successful band Wanderlust, RCA Records.
Of the record, Album Network said, "Each song is a fully realized showcase for a band that sounds like it's been playing together for much longer than a year. The combination of acoustic and electric guitars, picture-perfect melodies and strong, confident performances across the board makes it all seem like old hat for this quartet from the city that produced Gram Parsons, Jackson Browne and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young."
The catchy hook and jangling guitars of "Won't Stand in Your Way" are amplified by the chorus' positivity: "You can let the bad days wash down the drain/You can lift your head up out of the rain/Look in the mirror and start again/I won't stand in your way." Other highlights on the album include "Got Your Name On It," "Under the Radar," "Until They Close the World" and "Girl in a Raincoat."
Defying conventional music industry wisdom, the group didn't have a record deal but found major support in producer Dusty Wakeman, who donated his expertise and studio time. The group's singer/songwriter/frontman Scot Sax says, "I just thought that we had a really good record in us, and that we had an album to make. And that's what we did." So Sax and his FEEL bandmates - guitarist/singer Billy Alexander, bassist Mark Getten and drummer Dave Shaffer - made the album they wanted to make, then found a record company that appreciated their music.
"It's certainly been an interesting set of circumstances that brought us to today," says Sax. "We hadn't been together all that long, but had scheduled to do a bunch of club shows on the east coast September 2001, even though we didn't really have the money to do (them), but we really had a feeling that it was something we needed to do then. After 9/11, in addition to all of that horror, we couldn't get flights, so we rented a van and drove cross-country and went and did the shows anyway."
To the group's surprise, the gigs were packed and the crowd's energy was infectious. FEEL made their way back to Los Angeles and hit the studio to make that album. Their live shows are legendary and the boys have toured the U.S. nearly non-stop since December 2001.
FEEL Review by Pulse Magazine: "With melodies so natural they sound like they've been plucked right out of the air, singer/songwriter Scot Sax and FEEL spend most of this fine debut dancing in the rarefied area between familiar and fresh. Uber-catchy cuts such as 'Got Your Name on It' and 'Until They Close The World' touch on the expected Beatles/Byrds/Kinks references, but bring nothing to mind as much as the best Crowded House (a very good thing).
That's because Sax sings with the same tuneful, reedy tenor as erstwhile Houseman Neil Finn, something rock 'n' rollers first heard in the Everly Brothers. That said, Sax's influences don't keep him from establishing his own songwriting voice. In fact, his work is best when it's closest to the impetus stage - pared down to the fewest elements - as on the gentle, acoustic guitar-driven verses of 'Under The Radar' and 'Girl In A Raincoat.' This is near-perfect pop. All it needs is a world to match."
FEEL tour dates:
Jul. 16th Hollywood, CA, International Pop Overthrow
Jul. 17th Hermosa Beach, CA Pitcher House
Jul. 23rd Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
Jul. 25th Ashburn, VA
Jul. 27th Butler, NJ Jigg's Corner
Jul. 28th Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony
Jul. 29th Philadelphia, PA The Point
Jul. 30th Lewistown, PA WMRF Concert
Jul. 30th Rochester, NY Montage Grille
Jul. 31st Buffalo, NY Concert Series with Eddie Money
Aug. 1st Manchester, NH Hogstrough Saloon
Aug. 3rd Erie, PA
Aug. 4th Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
Aug. 8th Chicago, IL Schuba's
Aug. 11th El Paso, TX Aceitunas Beer Garden