American Minor preview

American Minor
Elbo Room, Chicago
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Recalling the halcyon days of Humble Pie and Free, when everyone’s idea of rock ‘n’ roll heaven was guitars through Marshalls, lead singers with scratchy vocals, and skinny band boys tossing long hair, American Minor arrive. On their recently released self-titled debut, American Minor, they play Big Guitar Riff American rock that sometimes veers off into Big Guitar Riff American Southern rock. Somehow, American Minor missed the post-modern ironic geek period that all but did away with larger-than-life rock. Instead, they play to inspire air-guitarists everywhere.

Originally from West Virginia, the five-piece of Robert McCutcheon (vocals), Bud Carroll (guitars), Josh Gragg (guitars), Bruno (bass), and Josh Knox (drums) formed a little more than two years ago and almost immediately relocated from West Virginia to Champaign, Illinois. Within a year, they’d made a demo and soon after were signed to Jive, a label better known for Britney and boy bands. After the release of their Buffalo Creek EP, they began work on their full-lengther.

Their path to the brass ring is an eccentric combination of logic, luck, and ambition – which itself harkens back to the grand days of ’70s rock when bands made it to the Major Label table by means strange and circuitous. It’s as far a cry from the packaged bands that dominate radio as their music is from the mopeyness of indie rock or the showbiz of their Jive labelmates. It will be interesting to see if there’s room for them in the ’00s.

The Sleepers open.

— M.S. Dodds

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly