Untitled Document
In 2002, Springfield-based rock group Enamel released
debut CD Cleaner than Ever with high hopes and great expectations. The band spent the
next few years working in support of the disk, but by the summer of 2005
everything had disintegrated, leaving Kevin Wasmer — guitarist,
vocalist, and main songwriter — as the only original member of the
group. Last year, through a fortuitous meeting at a Springfield open mic
and other interesting quirks of fate, drummer Sam Ganci and bassist Zack
Gray joined Wasmer to give Enamel a fresh look, sound, and attitude. “We’d all been in bands before as the guy
that holds it all together,” says Wasmer of the bond between his new
bandmates. “Everybody was on the same page for a big push. Now we had
the right ingredients, so we recorded a new CD.”
The band produced and recorded Stray This Way using contemporary
computer technology and Wasmer’s expertise in home-recording
techniques. Even after the CD was complete, though, something was missing.
Enter Danny Eng, an
experienced touring guitarist, who will make his debut with the band at
this weekend’s show. “We’d been a three-piece for quite
awhile. Finding that other right guitar player is so elusive,” Wasmer
says. “Danny was looking for a project, and we hit it off. Now
it’s like four cylinders all firing at once.”
Wasmer takes pride and care in his songwriting, and
it shows in his well-crafted, personally tinted songs. The process of
fine-tuning his initial creations into Enamel material evolves as a group
project. “I write all the lyrics, vocal melody, and
usually the verse and chorus on guitar, with the bass and drum work being
crucial to the arrangements,” Wasmer says. “It’s like
showing up at building site with the materials, then we all put it
together.”
After completing the local CD-release shows, the
group intends to travel this summer to push the disk, hoping to generate
enough interest and sales to attract the attention of record labels. The
real question, then, is: What makes this group stand out from the hordes of
other bands trying to make the same dream come true? “Enamel’s music is music people can latch
onto but different enough to stand out,” Wasmer explains.
“We’re not going to slave ourselves out to stupidity to make
it, but I think we’re ready for something.”
Enamel celebrates the release of Stray This Way, at 9 p.m. Friday,
May 18, at City Nights, in the Capital City Bar and Grill (3149 S. Dirksen
Pkwy., 217-529-8580). Modern Red and So Save Me open.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2007.
