Everyone But Pete frontman Jim Fanale might have best described the Manassas-based band’s new EP, Carry On, simply by relaying one difference from their previous work.
“We used to be an acoustic-electric band,” Fanale says. “On this new album though, the acoustic guitar just couldn’t keep up.”
That should tell you something about the forceful foursome of tracks that comprise Carry On. Combined with a brief drum intro that rekindles thoughts of Alice in Chains’ “No Excuses,” the statement serves as your only warning heading into the series of four, three-minute explosions that recall turn-of-the-millennium groups like Hoobastank and Default before culminating in the Our Lady Peace-esque “Let Go.”
“I really, really like where we’re going with the rock stuff,” says Brian Fanale, the group’s bassist and Jim’s brother.
That enthusiasm certainly holds for lead guitarist Cal Stamp, a local product who attended both Chantilly and Falls Church High School. A self-professed fan of the Offspring with punk roots, the trend towards heavier rock appealed to Stamp when he signed on about three years ago after Brian and Jim moved up from Harrisonburg and James Madison University.
Over that time the group has rapidly risen to the top of the Washington, D.C. scene, last year winning the DC 101 “Last Band Standing” battle of the bands and claiming the opening slot of the 2006 Chili Cookoff.
“We really got a taste of what big bands get everyday,” Jim Fanale says of the experience that allowed them to share the stage with Tonic, Better Than Ezra and Hoobastank.
“Of course,” Brian Fanale adds, “They roll up in their big busses with their nice equipment and we roll up in our Honda CRV.”
The band is now hoping that the three new tracks (“Fallout” was previously recorded) on Carry On will land them some label interest and get them their own “big bus” experience. They’re set to kick things off with a release show at IOTA Club and Café May 25 at 8 p.m. The EP will also be available on iTunes and CDBaby.com.
A little further down the road, June 29, the band has its eyes set on another hallmark show at TT Reynolds in Fairfax. There, Everyone But Pete will headline a show with The Datamines, featuring … Pete.
“Pete was my freshman year roommate at James Madison … and now he lives in our basement,” Brian Fanale says of the enigmatic man who serves as the namesake of a band that doesn’t include him. “When we got our first gig, we didn’t have a name yet. Pete works at Guitar Center, so when he was explaining how the band consisted of the four other guys living in his house, another worker said ‘Well, it sounds like everyone, but Pete.’ It stuck.”
• For more on Everyone But Pete, visit www.everyonebutpete.com or www.myspace.com/everyonebutpete . For more on Pete and his band, visit www.myspace.com/thedatamines.
Off Track: Pete Responds
The man who inspired the moniker of Everyone But Pete sounds off about living with the band and his status on the sidelines.
Press Pass: How do you feel about loaning out your name to a band you’re not part of?
Pete: I’m indifferent.
PP: What’s the best part of living with the guys in EBP?
Pete: They’re all my good friends and then we get to jam … we play loud music all the time.
PP: What’s the worst part?
Pete: Our laundry room looks like a bomb went off.
PP: If you were to join the band on stage, would they have to change their name to just “Everyone”?
Pete: No, it would be “Everyone But Pete With Pete. Geez, next question.
PP: Any gripes you’d like to air about the band pilfering your name to reap fame and fortune?
Pete: Only thing I don’t like is when people think I’m in the band and then hug me … and when strangers think they know me because I’m “Pete.” Sometimes I want to just be a fan, but sometimes I like being “Pete” too.
Survey Says …
Last week we asked what the most respectful and social area music venues were, as well as how you deal with Gabby McGabberson yakking away through a show. The results are in.
Most Respectful Audience: The Birchmere.
Most Social: 9:30 Club / Whitlow’s on Wilson
Best Way to Deal with a Talker: “I’m a fan of shining my cell phone or blackberry directly in their eyes. That way you can annoy them back without talking and missing any of the concert yourself.” / “Deal with them like Samuel L. Jackson deals with snakes on his plane … tase them in the face.” It should be noted that the News-Press does not endorse the second course of action … but maybe if you have a really good lawyer on retainer.
— MH
