Ten Grand
“This is the Way to Rule”
(Southern Records)
I went to a luau last night. It was way fun. We listened to Don Ho and a bunch of Hawaiian guys while we sang karaoke and drank kava. I picked to sing a Ten Grand song for karaoke. It didn’t go over well because their post-hardcore brand of indie rock didn’t really fit the mood of the party. It’s tough to pretend you’re out in the middle of the Pacific surrounded by crashing blue waves when lead vocalist Matt Davis’ powerfully emotive lyrics are smacking you upside the head with their oh so Midwestern feel. I chose “RESPECT me”, the third track off of this album for my song because not only do I love the layered guitars at the beginning but the chorus has just enough of a breakdown that I thought it would really be a crowd pleaser. Still, I was wrong, and the next thing I knew my friends Hailey and Meghan were pushing me out of the way so they could sing The Bangels. It hurts when people don’t appreciate good music and it took a few more coconut cups of kava to get over my hurt feelings. But then I was happy again. Fans of At The Drive In and Tooth & Nail’s The Blamed will definitely want to check these guys out. www.southern.com
