AS FEATURED IN 'CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND'
Every once in a while, a band will come along and give not only a great live performance, but one so moving that you’ll be able to surrender your current state of being for a rip-roaring good time. In a town where the music scene is next to null with mediocre metal bands, crappy college rock and pretentious backyard music, Tallahassee’s own Lucid Blue manages to make people forget their lives for a while and kick back to basic fun and good times.
The band, which consists of bassist/vocalist Nate Long, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Stace Sirmans, lead guitarist Justin Johnson and drummer Jon Rousseau, has been rocking the capital of Florida for the past five years. With the exception of a three year gap due to Long and Sirmans’s missionary trip (both are strict Mormons), the band has recently reformed within the past year and has shown no signs of slowing down. Recently, the band performed their CD release party which I attended and without a doubt they know how to put on a live show. Not only are all the guys a bunch of laid back, ego friendly dudes, their music mixture of late 90’s pop punk and rock n’ roll sounds as fresh as a baked apple pie straight from the oven!
Lucid Blue’s debut EP, To Make A Long Story Short… in which the band recorded at the famous Vision Sound Studios in Jacksonville (Yellowcard, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus) is jam packed with good times and great melodies that resonate with the sounds of fun, frolicking unity. ..s such as “You Stop Time,” Long and Sirmans’ harmonies truly give a lot of bands a run for their money. Johnson’s guitar work is thick, chunky and crisp amidst the thudding and powerful drumming of Rousseau. The greatest thing this band has going for it is it’s usage of choruses. On “You Stop Time” the band pens a simple love message:
Time takes time, and it’s never on my side
It always seems so overrated
But you stop time, and the hourglass was wrong
You have made me feel alive again
Why not? Simplicity always works, especially for just a local Tallahassee band. What’s promising for this young quartet, however, is the delivery of the show. The fan encouragement is astounding; the crowd bounces to and fro as if time truly does stop.
Another one of their cuts, “A Fool’s Paradise” shows off the band’s great usage of guitar harmony and overall musicianship. When they opened their CD release show with this cut, the crowd went wild. After living in this festering town for almost five years, I’ve witnessed many local bands vying for king of the hill and none come close to Lucid Blue’s ever-climbing power. The band wails in songwriting and really makes you feel the overall fun factor without coming off forced or cheesy. Give them a spin and see how better you feel afterwards.
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