107.7 THE X is the greatist rock: alternative radio station on the planet. Not to mention the best morning show too with Tuttle and Kline. It is too bad you have to live close to Birmingham, AL to be able to hear it. Tuttle & Kline Weekdays: 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM Susan Groves Weekdays: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Luka Weekdays: 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM Mark Weekdays: 6:00 PM - 12:00 AM Geno Saturday: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Reg Sunday: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Smokey Sunday: 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM Coyote J. Saturday: 7:00 PM - 12:00 AM Sunday: 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Brett Elmore Saturday: 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM Sunday: 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM Radio Station of the Week Breaking Benjamin is definetely the band of the week. Their new CD is awsome. Rarely do you see a band with so many awsome songs on one CD. I defenetely encourage you to go out and buy "We Are Not Alone" now. They are scheduled to release an EP album on November 23. The tracks are as follows: 1.) So Cold (acoustic) 2.) Blow Me Away (from Halo 2) 3.) Lady Bug 4.) Ordinary Man 5.) Breakdown (Live) Breaking Benjamin Imagine an unsigned act so good, it persuades not one, but two musicians to quit their already signed band, join forces, and start the process anew. It happened in late 2000, when guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski bolted Universal recording artists Lifer to team up with vocalist Ben Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummell in Breaking Benjamin. "Everyone told me I was crazy," laughs Fink, "but I didn't see it that way. I've known these guys since high school, and heard hundreds of Ben's songs-all of which sounded like hits to me. I sat in with them one night and everything clicked. I thought, 'This is it.' How many musicians can say they were a fan of the band they joined?" Says group co-founder Hummell, "Ben and I opened for Lifer a few times, and always wanted the band to be the four of us because we're all friends, but it took some time. We talked about it for awhile, and I'll never forget the night Mark called while on tour in Arizona and told me it was official, that he was leaving to join us. When you think about it, it was a pretty big move. But we all knew this band was gonna happen." Adds Klepaski, "Every once in a while, I'd get up and do a song or two with them and it always felt good. It's like falling in love: you don't question it, you go with it because it feels right. When the opportunity presented itself, I went for it and never looked back. We're family." One listen to Saturate, Breaking Benjamin's explosive Hollywood Records debut, and Fink and Klepaski's move makes perfect sense. Uncompromising, cathartic and from the gut, the Ulrich Wild-produced (Deftones, Powerman 5000, Static X) album reveals a band with hard smarts, a keen sense of pop savvy, and influences that include Tool, Nirvana and Korn. Laughs Burnley, Benjamin's refreshingly candid main songwriter, "I find that music works best when you take a bunch of your favorite bands and rip a little something off each one to make something new. It works for us." Clearly, Burnley's learned his lessons well: tracks such as "Home" and "Water" are thick and heavy, with the songs accommodating the band's metallic crunch without relinquishing melodic ingenuity. Then there's the powerfully primal "Medicate," which fuses Hummell and Klepaski's iron-fisted backbeat to an undeniable addictive hook, and "Shallow Bay" which tempers the speaker-melting riffage of Fink with Burnley's soulful vocal grit. Lead single "Polyamorous" is arguably the best of the bunch, mixing amp-joy intensity and compelling atmospherics with tuneful urgency and poetic wordplay. "Listen to the radio today and you'll hear a lot of bands singing and complaining about how miserable life is," says Klepaski. "Maybe it's just me, but life can be shitty enough-music should make you feel good. Our songs give off a positive energy, and I think our fans appreciate that." Among Breaking Benjamin's fervent followers is "DJ Freddie" (Freddie Fabbri), an on-air personality at 93.7X WBSX, a modern rock station in the band's hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In addition to putting "Polyamorous" in rotation, where it quickly became the station's number one most requested track, Freddie then decided to give the band funding for their 5 song self-titled EP-a disc which sold 2000 copies locally. "It was amazing," says Burnley. "All of a sudden we were getting airplay and playing to packed-house crowds. We became sort of a local phenomenon." As Benjamin tore up the east coast club scene, word of their frenetic live show and hook-laden sound spread through the A&R community. When the band announced a two-night showcase in early 2001, over a dozen labels showed up, and the band subsequently signed with Hollywood Records. For Burnley, who taught himself to play guitar at age 14 by listening to Nirvana's Nevermind ad nauseaum, the recognition was a long time coming. "I've been at this for a long time," says Burnley. "It wasn't all that long ago that I survived by playing cover songs in coffeehouses for scraps. I was like an acoustic jukebox, playing for people that ignored me while they ate and drank. It totally sucked. You eventually get to this point where you really want to be signed and make something happen, but you get so frustrated from all the bullshit, that you just don't give a fuck anymore. But of course, that's when you get signed." "Now I wake up every day and can't believe it's finally happening, and that we get to do this for a living. Talk about a dream come true." Band of the Week This weeks song of the week has got to be "Cold" by Crossfade. It is the most played song on most alternative radio stations across America. This song has got it all. Its got the music, the lyrics, and the talent. Definetly a song worth getting. LW TW 38 33 CROSSFADE /Cold Columbia 205 08-10-04 34 33 GREEN DAY/Boulevard of Broken Dreams Reprise 205 11-02-04 34 33 MICHAEL TOLCHER/Mission Responsible Octone 205 --- 33 31 SILVERTIDE /Ain't Comin' Home J/RMG 192 08-17-04 35 30 U2/Vertigo Interscope 186 09-28-04 Song of the Week Jacksonville, Florida, has enjoyed a long and stirring rock and roll tradition. From the time the seminal guitar crunch of Lynyrd Skynyrd first put this vibrant city on the rock and roll map, J-ville has played an integral role in the on-going evolution of contemporary music. Now a young Jacksonville-based hard rock band named Shinedown appears ready, willing, and more-than-able to add another exciting chapter to their home town's noble rock history book. As proven throughout their debut album, "LEAVE A WHISPER," vocalist Brent Smith, guitarist Jasin Todd, bassist Brad Stewart, and drummer Barry Kerch have fully absorbed influences ranging from the classic sounds of Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin to the soulful stirrings of Otis Redding to the likes of Staind and Tool - and have filtered them all through their own unique musical perspectives. The resulting musical brew is a true feast for the senses, blending bold, strident guitar power, blues-driven vocal fury, and cutting-edge metallic mayhem into a swirling cauldron of bubbling rock reactants. This is heavy music that stands head and shoulders above today's field of cookie-cutter rock practitioners. Such songs as the powerful first single, "Fly From The Inside," the emotive "No More Love," and the overwhelming "Burning Bright" show that in the 24 year-old Smith, Shinedown sports one of the most talented singers and unconventional songwriters currently operating within a hard rock context. Shinedown delivers their musical goods with passion, power and a perception that belies their limited time in the spotlight. "I've wanted to do this all my life," says Smith. "Making music and being in a successful band is all I ever wanted to do, but it's never been easy. Music was never a big deal in my family. My parents just didn't understand what it was really all about. They were encouraging... to a point. But I always dreamed of being given the chance to stand up in front of people and try to move them with my music. I'm incredibly thankful every day that I've now been given that chance." Formed in early 2001 by these fast-found friends - after Smith left his previous band on the eve of landing a recording deal - it hasn't taken long for Shinedown to begin making their mark. First and foremost, there are the songs. Each one stands as a mini-drama unto itself, a full-fledged slice of rock and roll brilliance where the band's varying influences and tastes all magnificently battle with one another for prominence. "We don't like to do anything in a typical way," Smith says with a grin. "To our way of thinking, each song should be different - as far away from a formula as you can possibly get. We pride ourselves in taking some things you might think you know, and then twisting them around. We're not trying to necessarily be different - it's just the way we are. That keeps it interesting for us, and interesting for the fans as well." Once the members of Shinedown began to fully appreciate one another's talents and fully hit their musical stride, it didn't take long for the labels to take notice. It was early in 2002 that Atlantic sealed the deal, giving the band the opportunity to turn their rock and roll dreams into reality. Shinedown soon found themselves in a Los Angeles recording studio with producer Bob Marlette (known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Saliva, and Black Sabbath), laying down the tracks that would eventually form the core of "LEAVE A WHISPER." From first note to last, this is a disc that shows a band in control of the full spectrum of rock and roll ingredients. Heavy without being overbearing, insightful without sounding preachy, the music created by Shinedown is designed to send those proverbial shivers racing up and down your spine. While their approach on such tunes as "45" and "Better Version" can seem rather dark and bleak, there's always a positive thread running through the music, leaving the listener with the unmistakable feeling that this has been a musical sojourn well worth taking. "There were so many things that we wanted to try on this album," Smith said. "We approached it in as cool and calm a manner as we could, but there's no denying that a lot of the time we were like kids in a candy store. That's how excited we were. I think a lot of that energy found its way into the music, which was our intent from the very beginning. We want each song to carry the listener on a journey, and we want to make sure the ride is as interesting as possible. The best way I can describe it is to say that this band is a celebration of being alive. We all have our problems, but if you're honest with yourself, you can draw from that darkness and turn it into something great." April 2003 Atlantic Recording Corporation 1290 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10104 212/707.2020 Fax: 405.5475 3400 W. Olive Ave. Burbank, CA 91505 818/238 6800 Fax: 562 9211 http://www.atlantic-records.com Album of the Week