“Other people’s
music is my biggest inspiration,” Sinch drummer Dan McFarland
says, “and I just want to create something that affects other
people in the same way that the music I listen to affects me.”
This pretty much sums up what Sinch has been doing in vocalist Jamie
Stem’s parents garage since their humble beginnings in 1994.
It’s no surprise that four bored, white suburban kids might decide
to start a band in high school, maybe play a few “gigs”, maybe
even stick together for a few years and try to make it in the “big
city”. Despite hitting a myriad of roadblocks along the way, the
group has remained completely intact for the past ten years and
continues their pursuit of a dream that never seems to die.
Sinch consists of
five essential members that come together to create, to construct,
and deconstruct the art in their surroundings. They seem to
interpret feelings and emotions in such a way that it comes out
through their pores when they play. From guitarist Tony Lannutti’s
dark ominous guitar tones, to Jamie Stem’s ability to switch, with
ease, from soft passionate melodies into taut unnatural screams, the
band creeps its way into explosions when performing. With Mike
Abramson’s driving bass lines and Dan McFarland’s intricate
drumming providing the engine and fuel, there is just something
special about this band that you can’t quite put your finger on,
and maybe don’t want to.
Anchored in the
Philadelphia suburbs, Sinch’s popularity has grown year after
year, and in 2001 it became impossible for record labels to ignore
their success. Sinch soon signed on with Roadrunner Records and
began recording their self-titled debut album with Malcolm Springer
(Full Devil Jacket, Saliva, Greenwheel), a producer known well for
his antics, but known better for his capacity to make an incredible
record. This artist/ producer combination proved to be quite
powerful and soon after completion of the record their first single,
“Something More”, was released to the airwaves of radio stations
worldwide. With no expectations and every ounce of hope Sinch was
able to witness their message spread at a frightening speed.
“Something More” became one of the top 100 active rock singles
of the year in 2002, and Sinch’s self-titled album had one of the
best first week sales in Roadrunner Records’ debut release
history.
Even with all that
and a video on MTV to boot, there is an element of Sinch that
remains in the shadows until you actually see them perform for
yourself. Armed with an Ocular Noise Machine and a hard drive full
of CNN footage and odd visual loops, (like Osama Bin Laden morphing
into Jesus morphing into Hillary Clinton, and so on), Sinch’s
fifth member Jay Smith, edits and cuts at breakneck speed on stage,
playing alongside the band, sweating out each and every loop of
video brilliance. His contribution is essentially unexplainable. You
really have to be there to see for yourself the connections between
the images, the lyrics, and the sound to completely understand what
Sinch is.
After ten years of
the same line up of players Sinch has progressed beyond the
boundaries of tradition and formed a creative brotherhood that is
not only apparent on stage, but also within their every note. There
are no choreographed antics or rehearsed speeches, just five guys
operating on a different plane than any band I’ve ever seen.
Taking chances and mixing innovation with tradition, the Sinch boys
have been dubbed the “brothers of invention” by Philadelphia
Weekly and continue to evolve their already intriguing live show
with each and every performance. With a new album, rumored to be
recorded with maverick producer Drew Mazurek (Dog Fashion Disco,
Linkin Park) and a documentary DVD on the way, Sinch’s future
looks brighter than ever.
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