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When the Modern Soviet Enemies parted ways in April, the BG music scene lost one of its finest bands.
Though this was the death of something great, the birth of something stronger was on the way. Welcome The Press Gang.
Made up of Nick Anderson (drums), Corey Baum (lead vocals), Mike Edwards (keyboard/organ), Blaine Fridrick (bass) and Ben Lucas (guitar), The Press Gang fuse together their long list of involvement in the music business.
The Pulse got to sit with the up-and-coming all stars to talk about their former music days, pre-show jitters and what it’s like to get a fresh start.
Jess Wagner: So how did The Press Gang come about?
Blaine Fridrick: The Modern Soviet Enemies broke up in April and within a month, we were pretty much concentrated on finding a new drummer because our old drummer, Mike, is still with us but he wanted to switch to keyboard and organ. We tried to find a new drummer and Ben tried to convince me to sing, but I wasn’t about to drop bass because I didn’t want to be a stand-alone [singer]. We ended up running into [Nick Anderson] and it ended up working out phenomenally.
JW: What has been your best experience so far as a band?
BF: Our first show was incredible. It was everything we tried to do in the past but weren’t able to do for whatever reasons. We weren’t per se going to be ready or on track to be ready to play a show by then because we weren’t expecting to play out until mid- to late September for the first time in Bowling Green.
JW: What was the hardest thing you’ve had to do so far as a band?
BF: The hardest thing we came across as The Press Gang was replacing Mike on drums because Mike is incredible; he’s the best drummer in the city. Replacing Mike on drums was impossible. Obviously, Nick exceeded our expectations. He was perfect for us. When we broke up with MSE, the hardest thing was breaking up and going on with the three of us without Steve.
Mike Edwards: I guess when we were forming this new band, we didn’t know that I wasn’t going to be playing drums. They asked me what I wanted to do, what I wanted to try and I said I wanted to try something different.
JW: Where do you find inspiration to write new songs and make music?
BF: Lately, it’s been a lot of politics.
BL: I usually write the music. I usually come up with the guitar riffs then maybe I’ll try to write some lyrics, but maybe Blaine will, maybe Corey will.
BF: From there we just hash it out. A lot of it is by ear.
BL: Mike and Nick are great because they are really well-rounded musicians and so they have a lot of good things to say about our direction.
JW: Have you had any problems with your former fan base accepting The Press Gang?
BL: Everyone has been really supportive.
JW: How do you think your music style has changed since Modern Soviet Enemies?
BL: I think it has sharpened. Because we have Corey, we’re able to focus more on our specialization.
BF: We can basically do everything we weren’t able to do and we wanted to do with this project.
BL: And it helps that [Corey] can actually sing.
JW: What is one thing you would like to say to your fans?
BF: I just hope that people who were into MSE will give us a chance.
BL: MSE was one thing; it had a lot going for it. But this is a different thing. People think of us as ex-MSE, but we’re not because of Corey, because of Nick, because of Mike switching.
You can decide for yourself; The Press Gang will be gracing the stage at Howard’s Club H tomorrow. For more information on the show and other acts, contact Howard’s at (419) 352-3195.
