the faint stench of stale beer, smoke, and sweat seeps up from the Mohawk Place below; up and into the cramped second-floor practice space of the Exit Strategy. This is where much of the material on City of Microphones, the four-piece band's second record, was hammered out from countless writing sessions and free-form jams.
Microphones sees the band trading in much of their angular post-punkisms for more rounded-off muscular riffs and song structures. The result is more a compact and focused sound, ironically a sound they feel is more representative than their eponymous first album.
"on the first one you could definitely tell what our influences were," laughs Tim Turcott, drummer for the band. "(This record) is more of our own thing."
mark Constantino, Steve Kabza, Tony Flaminio, and Tim Turcott have all know or played music with each other for 12 to 15 years and their interpersonal chemistry is evident. They often finish each other's sentences without missing a beat. It seems only natural that City of Microphones is mostly a product of collaboration, a departure from their previous album.
"this one was definitely more -- all four of us in the practice space coming up with stuff," vocalist Constantino says. "A lot of the last record was Steve (the band's guitarist) coming in with these ideas; because he had tons of these ideas that he had written over (that) year."
the band recruited J. Robbins to help produce the new, beefed-up songs. Robbins' reputation proceeds him in many circles: he has produced iconic indie bands in the past such as Jawbreaker, Clutch, and the Dismemberment Plan. The result of the Exit Strategy's sessions with Robbins are guitar sounds that blaze like four-log fires and rhythms that rumble the cheapest of car stereos.
the album opens with "X-rays", a song that was written just days before the band left for Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore to record with Robbins.
"he needed to hear demos of every song we were going to do so he had a rough idea and that was kind of troublesome," said bassist Flaminio. "He was fine with it. It ended up being one of his favorite songs."
the band said they knew what they had immediately after writing "X-rays".
"we got done playing that song, it was the first time we went through it," Constantino said. "And Tony looks at me and goes, 'I guess that song's done.' "
constantino's job as a Buffalo Police officer gives him a unique perspective as a songwriter and lyricist. The eleventh track on City of Microphones, "He has a Bright Future with British Steel", is about his view on lay-offs within the BPD.
"about four years ago, these guys that I was good friends with just got laid off and kinda left in the dust," he said. "A few guys I knew went from health benefits, a good job and a pension to tending bar three nights a week."
according to Constantino, the band is a relief from work and a chance for him to vent his frustrations. He said, surprisingly most of his material doesn't come from the streets of Buffalo.
"most of the lyrics don't come from dealing with people, like on a call." he said. "It comes from... (being a police officer) you get a really nice view of how screwed up government in this area is."
after their Cd release show, the band has a national promotional campaign being launched by Yarr PR in Detriot and plans on supporting the Cd with some dates on the East Coast including a One Percent Press Showcase in Athens, GA, the Lemuria Cd release show, and a stint with the Failure's Union, Tony Flaminio's other band.
city of Microphones will be available locally at Exit Strategy shows and in local stores after the Cd release show at 9pm on Saturday, Nov.24 at the Mohawk Place, their home away from home.
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