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).
Like every kid in America at the time, the British Invaders turned our heads and hearts from the straight and narrow of grade school and Cub Scouts, creating a fork in the road that we still walk today. My earliest recollection of singing along with a pop song on the radio was 'Every Day', by Buddy Holly...the roller coaster song. Also around that time, local radio stations were playing "Ghost Riders in the Sky". That song was chilling when riding in the car at night, probably planting a seed for my love of twangy guitar parts.
Although great songs were plentiful at the time, the Beatles were an obvious quantum leap and a half above the status quo. Circa 1964, our transistor radios blasted the exciting sounds of each new pop rock band that crossed the Atlantic. Sunday nights, as we struggled to finish our homework, we patiently waited for Ed Sullivan to get past the puppets and comediens so we could watch the Cyrkle, Beau Brummels, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Donovan, and Rolling Stones showcase their new hit singles. Yeah, 45-RPM singles in the paper sleeves .... always available at Woolworths, right across from the downtown bus stop where we blew our paper route money every Saturday morning. My friends and I began to grow our hair as long as our parents would let us, as we begged in vain for Beatle boots and dickies.
There was no turning back at that point. Cub Scouts and knot-tying couldn't hold our interest any longer, as we shared hundreds of songs, ripped from vinyl to an old monoural Webcor reel-to-reel tape recorder. An old acoustic guitar was discovered in my Grandfathers attic. The strings were about a half inch from the neck, but it was a vast improvement over the cigar box guitars that my friends and I made prior to that. That shitty old guitar with the glitter pickguard still hangs proudly in the FWA home studio, strings now about 2 inches above the neck!
Dan Collins and I 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 has been for the past 25 years.
The early 1980's were busy, with hours of driving to play $300 gigs in smoky little bars all over Wisconsin. At the time, we crossed paths with many great musicians who were true believers of their craft, and we became fast friends and supporters of each other. A Madison band called Spooner was very original and special, performing frequently to capacity crowds in our local rock club. We began to play some gigs together, as they shared their local haunts with us. Spooner had a hip little studio in a warehouse on Madison's east side, and they knew how to use it to make great records. We made our first record there, with Butch Vig at the controls. It was called it 'Main Street' ... in honor of the seedy little Green Bay strip where most of our gigs were played, and where our sound was nurtured and defined with the energy of hundreds of loyal supporters and friends. The record was released on Boat Records, an indie Madison label owned by Spooner. That recording garnered some national (and international) attention, enabling us to expand our horizons beyond our home base, playing many club and college dates. It was a time in which good indie rock music received airplay on college radio. Reviews were good and plentiful, including London's New Music Express.
A few years later, the band recorded 'Northern Distortion' at Short Order Recorder in Zion, Illinois, with producer/engineer Jeff Murphy. We had been longtime fans of Shoes, his legendary pop-rock band that had previously released three wonderful records for the Elektra records label. Jeff had also recorded two Material Issue records that really got our attention for their production value. 'Northern Distortion' was released on the Black Vinyl Records label, and distributed nationally.
We thank you sincerely for your support and interest in our music. We have made many friends over the years, while doing this thing that we love.
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.
As a matter of fact, that's my dad! He's been retired for a few years now, and doing well. The copy of "Main Street" that you gave him, I claimed as my own. It's still one of my favorite albums, and it's a friggin' crime that the whole world doesn't feel the same way.
Dear Rick, Thank You for the New Year Greeting. You Guys are THE best. Great to see you & Pam in C-bus. Speaking of which, I'm sure Mitch is Marriage Morphing as we speak. Can't wait to see you guys play. My son rec'd a Birthday card that played The G, The B and The U. Funny how two of those three are GB. Thought of you. The Good part. Love you man ! Take care. Tom
