We just plain don't talk enough about local music around here lately. There's more to the North Idaho music scene than acoustic jazz as a backdrop for your tapas or cover bands performing "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Although there are plenty of fine examples of those types of acts that I'm sure we will be covering here in our new weekly feature, the "Monday Local Music Shindig".
We start this week with Sandpoint's "We As Human", an act which very few local people seem to actually be even aware of (as far as I can tell), but they have more Facebook (2,479) and MySpace (14,641) fans than probably any other North Idaho band. These fellows are beyond ambitious, in fact their Facebook page includes the boast, "someday we will open for the moon!" Now, the moon hasn't even put out a new album since the late '70s but it remains as popular as ever, so that's a pretty lofty goal for a group of five local boys, I'd say.
They seem to have a marketing and promotions budget enormous enough that if they keep on keeping on, they may one day at least open for Pluto, or maybe one of Saturn's moons. Their various websites are filled with perfectly posed, airbrushed images of five handsome, almost boy-bandish young men who look fresh from Rock and Roll School. They're clean-cut but not TOO clean-cut and edgy but not TOO edgy. Their imagery is full of graphics that teeter between goth and metal and conjure the obligatory feelings of coolness and angst. Unfortunately, it does come across as a bit contrived and gives us that old we've-seen-it-all-before-and-it-was-done-way-better kind of feeling. Still, their shtick is extremely professional and they could do worse as it appears to be working in their favor.
Their music is cut from the same basic cloth as Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, and Disturbed, and while it doesn't quite bring anything fresh to the nu-metal table, its glossy production, hi-octane crunch, and soaring overdramatic vocals ought to keep the fists pumping and the black mascara flowing indefinitely.
How did this group of sharp young rocker types go from the wee berg of Sandpoint, Idaho to having thousands of fans internationally, you may ask. One word: Jesus. Yes, they're a Christian band, something which is reviled by the majority of music geeks, but to the band's credit they manage to pull it off without really bashing the listener over the head with a hardcover bible. That is, within the context of their actual music.
Contrarily, We As Human is quoted on their MySpace page as saying "If I could get on a megaphone to the entire world right now I would want to tell them that there is hope in Jesus and that their life can be changed entirely by Jesus...when the lights go out and everything is over that's the only message that I would really want people to know--and that's the only message that even matters in this world."
That, and apparently to make sure that in your publicity photos, your hair looks perfect and your bum looks good in those designer jeans.
Notably, their single "Dead Man" reached number 24 on the UK Christian Rock charts (in other news, the UK has a Christian Rock chart.)
We As Human links:
Website
MySpace
iTunes
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