Hailing from Chico, California, Number One Gun has already made its way to notoriety within an active music scene that is little watched by most of the indie rock world--the Christian music scene. While in most situations lyrics matter little to a band's overall value, Christian bands, for some reason, have always gotten a bad rep for simply... well, being Christian. However, although Number One Gun accredits God for their music, the band seems to require very little divine assistance in making some undeniably impressive music.
It was actually my younger brother who saw Number One Gun live back in 2002. I went with him to the show, but only stayed long enough to greet the members of the band--which to me was no big deal, seeing as how they were at the time virtually nonexistant in the mainstream galaxy. Though I must have missed a great live show, I was lucky, and thought to ask my brother to pick me up a CD. He obliged and was even thoughtful enough to get it signed by the band.
I put the record into my CD player that night; the album was Number One Gun's first EP, Forever, which they'd recorded themselves in a garage that August. Not even aware at first of the band's religious values, I listened to all 5 of the EP's tracks with great respect and appreciation growing by the song. Every now and then a song's tone would fall slightly flat, a fault attributed to lack of professional studio mixing on the track. All the same, I developed a good deal of admiration for the band, and added the CD to my album playlist.
From then on, Number One Gun received moderate record-play, but for the most part I'd forgotten about that Christian indie band whose EP my brother had picked up for me. Then, a good friend of mine pulled me out to his car and played a new CD he'd just gotten for me: Celebrate Mistakes, the new full-lengthed album by Number One Gun. Listening to the songs, this time recorded with a professional studio budget, kindled my interest in the band to an even greater place than before. I promptly purchased a copy of the album for myself.
So the album came to be: Whilst touring in support of the Forever EP, Number One Gun hooked up with Salvage Records, who took great interest in the band. (Although by the looks of Salvage's website, Number One Gun seems to be their only interest.) Through Salvage, however, Number One Gun became affiliated with Floodgate Records, an indie label based mostly on Christian-oriented bands. Floodgate agreed to co-release Celebrate Mistakes, the band's very first LP. (For those who are constantly confused by the use of the terms 'LP' and 'EP', an LP is a "full-length" record, usually containing 10 to 15 songs; this is usually what you see for sale at record stores. An EP is shorter, generally 4 to 6 songs long, and is most often used for demo purposes).
Celebrate Mistakes is the physical application of Number One Gun's potential as a band. Jeff and Ben each hold their own as competent guitarists, producing strings of melodic harmonies that float over well-fitting chords. Jeff's vocals are passionate and heartfelt. Furthermore, the backup vocals Ben and Jordan provide are of more use than simple "ooh-ah"s embedded into the background of the song--they simply give Jeff's voice a greater sense of depth, adding a strong base to the chrouses. The band's bass and drums, skillfully handled by Trevor and Jordan, keep up the pace set by the others and even at some points lead the tempo and vibe of a song.
Taking full advantage of their journey out of the garage, Number One Gun laid down not only new tracks for the LP but also re-recorded songs that originated back on Forever. Stars like "The Starting Line" take on new life with the addition of professional mixing done on the new album. Forever's "You're Alive" was redone under a new name as the LP's title track "Celebrating Mistakes." The slower, more melodic tune "These Things" was taken down a notch as the drums were left out of the new recording. Overall, if Forever had been Number One Gun's appetizer album, Celebrate Mistakes was an entree worth salivating over.
Regardless of your own religious standpoint, Number One Gun is a band worth listening to. Don't miss out on listening to an awesome group of musicians playing some awesome music.
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R.S. '03 |
