Quietdrive’s Drive Anything But Quiet
BY ROSS RIHALA
Pop Music Critic

From the outside, it looks like Quietdrive has already lived a rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale. The Minneapolis five-piece signed a contract with Epic Records in 2004, not long after the group formed. Label reps were impressed by the band’s sharp salable songwriting and flew in to catch a local live show that sealed the deal.

But after Quietdrive finished recording its debut album last year, band members quickly realized their work had just begun.

”We were, like, 129th out of 130 bands on the Epic roster,” says guitarist Matt Kirby. “Why are they going to want to work hard to help us out when they’ve got million-sellers to deal with” We weren’t a road-ready band yet. We had a lot of work to do.”

So instead of releasing “When All That’s Left Is You” when it was finished last year, the band hit the road and started building an audience, fan by fan. Locally, at least, Quietdrives following has grown to the point that the band’s concert Tuesday at the Varsity, which coincides with the nationwide release of the new CD, sold out in a flash.

”From the moment we signed, we felt like we had something to prove. We wanted to show Epic that we can tour,” Kirby says, “that we can tour a lot and we can tour for cheap.”

Lead singer Kevin Truckenmiller echoes that sentiment: “We wanted to be known at the label as the hardest-working band on the roster. The byproduct would be that all of our fans could see us every other month.”

And so, Quietdrive hit the road running, playing rock clubs, bars and anyplace else that would have them.

”At first it was so hit or miss,” says bassist Droo Hastings. “One night, we’d play a show to 12 people. The next night, it was three people, and two of them were our merch guy and the bartender

We played in a Mexican restaurant for four people, all over the age of 65. And it wasn’t a place that could be considered a bar where you could understand hearing live music. These people were sitting down eating a nice meal.”

While those dinners may not have picked up on Quietdrive’s vibe, plenty of kids did, thanks to the band’s tireless self-marketing.”

We would go out to shopping malls and hand out free CDs,” says Kirby. “We’d walk up to people and say: “This is our first time playing in this town. We don’t know anybody here and we don’t have any friends. Please come be our friend, come hang out with us.’”

It helps that the band’s music is almost instantly accessible. Songs like “Rise From the Ashes’ and “Take a Drink” draw from the intensity of the current wave of emo punk acts (think Fall Out Boy or Panic at the Disco) and add a hint of pop classicism (think Elton John or Paul McCartney).

Quietdrive makes music meant fo the masses, songs perfect for cranking from the car stereo in the summertime or for scoring that teen-movie scene where the guy realizes he has done wrong and races to recapture the girl of his dreams.

That unapologetic enthusiasm, coupled with a perceived lack of indie-level cred – it is easier, after all, to tour on the cheap when you’re holding an Epic Records credit card in case of emergency – has led to skepticism about Quietdrive among some folks who follow local music.

”We’re not reinventing the wheel,” says Hastings, “we’re just trying to play music that we’re passionate about. We were all pretty average kids, non of us were really cool or anything. I think the people who listen to our music are a a lot like we were when we were their age. They’re not hipsters. They just love music.”

The social-networking Web site MySpace was another tool for Quietdrive, with the band’s songs getting downloaded by hundred of thousands of potential new fans.

”It’s a way to get in touch with kids, let htem know that you’re coming to their town, given them a free sample of four songs off our new album, show them pictures of what we like to do and where we’re from,” says Kirby.

”It’s all the information you’d ever want to know about a band and, boom, it’s right in your face. We’re playing all these cities where we’re not getting any radio play and we’re not getting much media attention, but there are kids in the crowd singing along to the songs.”

After “When All That’s Left Is You” hits the stores Tuesday, chances are even more kids will be singing along to the songs. The band recorded two tracks with Butch Walker – who has helped shape big hits for Avril Lavigne, pink and the Donnas – and the rest in Minneapolis with producer Matt Kirkwold. The disc also includes a cover of Cindi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” a song Truckemiller suggested to the band on a lark after hearing it playing over the speakers in a Kmart.

”I’m going to guy buy one on Tuesday,” says Hastings. “It’s like on Election Day when a presidential candidate goes to vote for himself. That’s how I justify it.”

Add’s Truckemiller: “The way we look at it, every day is an opportunity for us to show people how much this music means to us, and it’s an opportunity for us to get better at what we do. If we keep putting in this much energy into every single one of our shows, we’re only going to get better and better. I want to tour as long as it takes for this album to really, really hit people.”