One of the more interesting aspects of rock music is the dichotomy of the rock band. When you look out at the rock 'n roll landscape every band seems to fit into one of just a few molds. There are those that are influenced by only one member. Not only does this person write all the songs but they are the force behind the band. They are the leader. For all intents and purposes, without them there is no band. With this creativity, generally comes immense stubbornness and a tremendous ego. This tends to lead to a revolving cast of band members.
Then there are those bands that have a melting pot characteristic to their music creation. The band comes in and works together at creating their sound and in writing their songs. The fact that they work together does not allow any member of the band to become bigger than any other member. It also opens the band up to the many disparate influences of each of its members. Thus, the bands identity comes from the homogenization of the ample creativity of all its members, not just one incredibly creative member.
Finally, there is the third mold. In this mold each member of the band has the incredibly creative attributes that would befit them being the single driving force in the band. With each member possessing this refined talent, the band is able to avoid, at least in the early stages of the band's incarnation, succumbing to the pitfalls of stubbornness and egos. They do not do this by homogenizing their talents but rather by allowing each member to create loud enough so that their personality is not only represented but succinctly understood.
I bring this up because the music market is littered with bands that fit into the first two molds. Bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails fit tightly into the first mold. Meanwhile, just about every other band fits into the second mold. Mind you, I am not judging any of the bands that fit into these two molds but, nevertheless, it is a very common phenomenon. On the other hand, rarely does a band fit into the third. The Southern Californian band Sense Field is one of the few bands that does.
Back in 1985, good friends Jonathan Bunch and Chris Evenson were playing in a few garage bands that never really made it out of the garage. Then in 1988 they put an ad in the local paper for a "Drummer Wanted". Rondey Stellers answers that ad. Shortly after that, John Stockberger joins and the punk rock band Reason to Believe was formed.
"We did a tour with Reason to Believe but we thought that the punk thing was dieing. Although, it did come back a few years later. Anyway, we were starting to get into different kinds of music like the Pixies and stuff like that, so we started another band on the side that turned out to be Sense Field. At that time, Sense Field really didn't have an identity. It just came out of left field," says Evenson.
With the thought of creating well crafted pop songs in their collective minds, Sense Field took their cumulative music career earnings of $800 and some borrowed money and bankrolled an untitled five song EP. They released it on their own Run H2O label and sold all 500 pressings at their shows. Finding musical success and building a loyal following throughout their native Southern California, Sense Field put out another EP on their own label. This seven song EP, titled Premonitions, caught the ear of someone at the predominately hardcore label Revelation Records. The label offered to distribute the EP.
"When Sense Field started we wanted to distance ourselves from the hardcore scene. Because it really wasn't our thing," says Evenson. With that said, the band realized that Revelation could give them much better distribution than they could do on their own. So, in 1993, they signed on to the label. This began a quite confusing time for the band, as well as their fans.
In 1994, Sense Field record Kill For Less, their debut album on Revelation. Sense Field was not aiming to create hardcore/punk music. Nevertheless, Kill For Less had very obvious hardcore/punk influences. "Once we started working with Revelation and we started touring, we, I don't know, rediscovered our punk roots. So, all of a sudden Sense Field got a little more punk," says Evenson.
Even with these hardcore/punk influences, Sense Field was able maintain their task of creating emotionally charged melodic songs. Sense Field was signed to the predominate hardcore/punk label without really having a hardcore sound. They were getting noticed but it was hard for the label, the band, and their fans to fit Sense Field into a musical category. Some where the band's wildly creative and extremely difficult to pigeon hole sound received the label Emotional Hardcore, Emo-core or just Emo for short. Essentially, Sense Field had created a new identify for rock bands who wanted to write songs that had a high standard for lyrical content and melodic interpretation while fusing into the songs a straight edge hardcore beat.
With the release of Kill For Less, came Sense Field's first national tour. "When we first stared touring we were always the band that would be playing this melodic guitar music and the rest of the bands would be really heavy militant hardcore bands," says lead vocalist Jonathan Bunch.
Without fitting in, Sense Field continued to play on bills with hardcore acts. "I think the reason got lumped in with all the hardcore bands was because we were on Revelation and that was their audience they were playing to. So, we were kind of out of place on some of those tours," says Evenson.
Then in 1995, while touring Europe the major labels began knocking on Sense Field's door. After talking with a few labels, the decided to sign with Warner Brothers. "We just liked the vibe over at Warner Brothers. It is really laid back there and very non-corporate. Also, there were a lot less creepy people and Warner Brothers than there were everywhere else," laughs Evenson.
Part of the agreement they signed with Warner Brothers was that the bands already recorded second full-length disc Building, which was set for release on Revelation, be available to Warner Brothers for a re-release a few months later. In 1996, the disc is released on Revelation, then re-release on Warner Brothers effectively giving Sense Field major label distribution.
It took them a while but Sense Field finally did it. They were signed to a major label and getting set to write and record there major label debut album. "We always believed in what we were doing. We always thought that what we were doing was really good. I mean we figured the other people just haven't caught on yet and we thought that once people hear it they are going to love it. I don't know if we were delusional or what but for some odd reason we decided to stick it out and really neverthought about quitting," says Evenson.
Bunch adds to that thought, "Also, it seem to me that no matter what there would always be something else for us to do. In the early nineties we put out a couple EP's ourselves. Then we got a recording contract with Revelation Records and we kept on working with then. That kept the momentum going. We did a couple records with Revelation and we did a lot of touring".
Realizing that your only as good as your latest record, the guys in Sense Field took most of 1997 off from the road so they could concentrate on writing songs for their first release recorded for Warner Brothers. When Sense Field got into the studio they along with the label realized that they had a collection of songs unlike any written by Sense Field before. They totally removed any punk or hardcore influences from their music, opting for the pop/rock sound they were aiming for when they originally started Sense Field. Lyrically, the eleven songs on the self-titled album are personal and emotional. They appeal to a much deeper and more reverent aspect or our conscience than other Sense Field songs.
"This record is a little more like when we started off as. I think it is going to trip a lot of our fans out when the hear it. We kind of feel like we reinvented ourselves with this record. It is like of like a new beginning so we figured why not name the album Sense Field. We are not afraid to say that we want to appeal to a slightly larger audience. I am sure people are going to say that we sold out or something but we really had total control," says Evenson.
Unfortunately, success in today's music market is very much sales driven. Artist don't have much time to show a profit. "This is the cumulation of 8 years of work. I mean we have gotten this far and this is our first major label record. The label is really behind it and excited about it. So, I think there is a lot riding on it. Especially for us because it is do or die time," says Evenson.
However it works out, Sense Field has put together a well written, very intense and emotional major label debut. "We are really excited about these songs. It is something that we are proud of and it took a lot of time," says Bunch.
Being proud of your work. Isn't that what its all about for an artist?