RICK SMITH: vocals and guitars
DAN COLLINS: vocals and bass guitars
CURT LEFEVRE: drums and percussion
Influences
Influences: all songs old and new with great hooks, melodies, and passionate performances... originating from deep within the heart and groin. Nicks, flaws, growls, howls, fret buzz, rim shots, and assorted real-life blemishes that capture the spirit of a great moment. Guitar hooks and two-part vocal harmonies are essential, and important to our ringing ears.
Our Seeburg Select-O-Matics include great songs from the following artists who influenced the way we hear music:
Beatles, The Who, Replacements, Dylan, Bowie, Costello, Spooner, Freedy Johnston, Marshall Crenshaw, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Tom Petty, Big Star, Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Jason and the Scorchers, Jeff Beck, REM, Shoes, Morells, Nils Lofgren, Ventures, Springsteen, Patti Smith, Buzzcocks, Wire, Talking Heads, XTC, dB's, Pixies, Pretenders, Psychedelic Furs, X, Cure, U2, Ultravox, Roy Buchanon, Roy Orbison, Steve Earle, Alvin Lee, Johnny Cash, Trip Shakespeare, Byrds, Neil Young, Urge Overkill, Webb Wilder, Dwight Twilley, Plimsouls, Jimmy Silva, Bob Mould, Bill Lloyd, Richard Thompson, Matthew Sweet, Elliott Smith, Animals, Cream, Hendrix, Connells, Clash, David Gilmour, Dave Edmunds, and far too many others ... valedictorians and drop-outs from the classes of 1959 to 2006.
Sounds Like
REVIEWS OF NORTHERN DISTORTION:
Produced by the Shoes' Jeff Murphy, this is a hot collection of pure pop tunes with enough harmony vocals to fill an ocean. These tunes are clean cut and well written, with plenty of hooks scattered throughout. Pop purists will certainly want to check this out. Twelve tunes of crystal clear pop.
-Babysue.com.
Fun With Atoms is kind of a surprising addition to the Black Vinyl Records roster, as the band's brand of chunky-chord power pop has more to do with the Replacements or prime Soul Asylum than the more polite jangle of label owner Shoes. The album title is right on, as the guitars are suitably loud and crunchy -- kind of surprising, since the album is produced and mixed by Shoes' Jeff Murphy, whose own albums are nowhere near this noisy. Guitarist Rick Smith's songs are uniformly catchy, and he has a particular knack for bridges that modulate, go into different time signatures, or otherwise vary the songs, a facility that frustratingly few power pop songwriters seem to manage, and his gruff vocals are a nice change from the usual Chris Bell-style tenors. The choruses and riffs are memorable, and Murphy and fellow Shoes singer-guitarist Gary Klebe add their trademark high harmonies to several songs. The soaring "Turn and Go" is the highlight, sounding like Hüsker Dü re-recording a classic Big Star tune. Northern Distortion is one of those albums that puts the power back into power pop, always a good thing.
-Stewart Mason (All-Music Guide).
Well, I'm in love. It's still pretty early in the year, but it will take a batch of very substantial releases for this Green bay, Wisconsin guitar pop trio not to make my Best of 1996 list. this is a rock solid album that rocks from beginning to end. The band has a mature and distinctly American sound that doesn't really sound like anyone elso to me, so coming up with a comparative reference point is difficult. I listen to this album, and I can hear lots of influences. Country and western, American roots, sixties garage, and certainly American and british pop. Bits and pieces, a phrase, or a guitar lick here and there remind me of REM, the Raiders, Flaming Groovies, Springsteen circa 'Born to Run', Plimsouls, Grass Roots, Jimmy Webb, Grin, manfred mann, and the Beatles, but the synthesized resultis a collection of distinctive and well-crafted pop songs, with layered backing vocals and dense, slightly dark, beautiful arrangements. Fun w/Atoms, as their name implies shows you can make a big noise and a 'serious' record without sacrificing the melodies, pop elements, and well, the subtle humor and Fun.
-Gary Littleton (Audities magazine).
Dan Collins and Rick Smith grew up within a stone's throw of one another, in the shadow of Lambeau Field on Green Bay's west side. 'Our fathers actually worked at the same company'. It was a time when it seemed like every kid owned a guitar and dreamed of being the next Brian Jones or George Harrison. After a dozen garage bands and a few thousand versions of 'Jumpin' Jack Flash', early versions of the band started to emerge. Dan could sing, play guitar and piano, but chose to play bass because nobody else could. 'It was obvious that we were musically and rhythmically connected'. Curt Lefevre, an east-side kid with a great sense of rhythm and a cool record collection, eventually joined us. The fit was perfect....and still is to this day.
DISCOGRAPHY:
National Geographic Girl/I'll Be There (BOAT records) 45 single
Main Street LP (BOAT records) produced by Butch Vig
Northern Distortion LP (Black Vinyl Records) produced by Jeff Murphy
3 Below (forthcoming new record currently mixing)
CURT, IT WAS A TOTAL HONOR AND MUSIC EXPERIENCE OF PLEASURE AND AWE IN YOUR DRUMMING!!!! YOU HAVE BECOME A WORLD CLASS PLAYER IN MY MIND WITH FULL CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ARTISTRY!! WILL PLAY WITH YOU ANYTIME , ANY WHERE ON ANYTHING. AFTER ZAK, YOUR THE BEST!!! YOU--W E R E ---AWESOME!!!
HELLO RICK, IT WAS A HUGE HONOR TO PLAY WITH YOU MY FRIEND!!! YOU ARE A SUPERB GUITARIST AND MY FAV SONGWRITER!!! STRANGE THINGS WAS THE MOST FUN FOR ME. YOU AND CURT ARE WORLD CLASS PLAYERS WITH WORLD CLASS MUSICAL HEARTS N SOULS. I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY, JAM AND WRITE WITH YOU ANYTIME--ANYWHERE!! IT WAS A HONOR. FUN WITH ATOMS IS GREEN BAYS BEST BAND AND IN THIS STATE THERE IS NO ONE BETTER OR MORE TALENTED. IT TAKES A BOAT LOAD OF GUTS TO PLAY YOUR OWN MATERIAL WHILE ALL THE SO CALLED HOT BEST BANDS PLAY NOTHING BUT THE SONGS THA APPEAL TO THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR. THOSE BANDS ARE WORTHY OF PLAYING FOR ANY TEA BAGGER RALLY OR AMERICAN IDOL CROWD. KEEP UP THE ARTITIC WORK!!!!
Just wanted to say once again.What a joy it was for me to mix your show last night.It brought back so many memories of all the great and sometimes scary times at all the shows we did together in the late 80's and early nineties.For me it truly was a musical homecoming. My friends anytime anywhere.My skills are at your command. You friend and fan FISH
Hey Fun With Atoms!! Come check out Von Din THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at Cherry Lanes 127 N. 4th Ave in beautiful down town Sturgeon Bay as a part of the Steel Bridge Songfest 09! The show starts around 9:00! Be there and help support the bridge!
Sheet,, it's "the" party tonight, and with my broken leg I won't be able to keep youse guys from "re-living your youth".. I hope the gig was GREAT, and you behaved!
Yes Greayt show indeed. I believe we could go on the road. Berken / Fun with Atoms....Nice combination . If nothing else , three months down the road we'll do it again at Riverside. So good to give the money and food to Paiul's Pantry....we should feel good. Good music, happy people, helping out the community.....was anything bad....I don't think so! Rock ON.
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