[radio.wazee] Modern Alternative Rock

Outspoken
Jan 2003

From the band's website... funny! [howard]

Below is the official ::cough cough:: Outspoken story. Although some things have been hyped up to make us seem way cool, we can't escape the fact that we're just plain boring. Yet we implore you to read and judge for yourself!
Also below the story is a decently up to date list of the equipment that is used by Outspoken. If you like some sounds you hear from us, go check out the companies. If not then just tell them you saw Element H playing their gear.

The Outspoken story begins in January 2000,in Nashville,Tennessee. Guitarist Kevin McCreery was looking to relocate from his hometown in Saginaw, Michigan when he came across an ad on the Internet posted by a vocalist/songwriter looking to form a band.

"David(E) was the first call I'd made in hopes to find a gig in Nashville.The call lasted about 45 minutes and by the end of it we knew had something special without even hearing each other's music.We talked about our previous bands, musical influences, and our goals.It was a very exhilarating conversation"said Kevin.

That conversation led Kevin on a 600 mile drive that would happen many more times after this meeting.

"My first night in Nashville, we went to the Bourbon Street Blues Bar for a night out and our manager Scott Frazier asked the band that was playing if I could sit in and jam. They said yes and that was my audition for E, it was a blast."

After that night it was decided that i would move to Nashville as soon as possible. It took a few months driving back and forth from Michigan to Nashville but I finally made the move in July. I left everything behind, basically. I sold almost everything that i owned, and what i didn't sell got packed in my truck and I hit the road. Lucky for me i have friends in Nashville and they invited me to stay for as long as I needed.
E and Kevin started writing and recording while looking for musicians to complete the project. E, originally from Louisville, Kentucky, decided to go home for a visit one weekend in August. He went out to a local club for the evening to see a band called What Ever Will.

They were the most popular band in town and that night he discovered that they were breaking up. He approached guitarist Shaun Kennedy and drummer Donnie Highland that evening. They were both into the idea of getting together and seeing what happened. E gave them a 3 song demo of the newest songs they had written and set a date to get together. Also contacted was Jason Stepp, an old friend of E's, to fill the bass slot.

"Things started happening pretty quickly once we all got together" Kevin remembers. "E and I would write during the week and then go to Louisville every weekend to rehearse. Finally we decided that we would move to Louisville so we could all be together in the same city. It was the most logical decision" Kev said.

The band started writing new songs and performing around Louisville. By January of 2001, Outspoken had a buzz going in the music industry and lined up a trip to New York City to play a string of showcases. But three weeks before leaving for The Big Apple, Jason announced that he was leaving the band. The band was faced with the task of finding an ample replacement for Stepp with the added pressure of the upcoming showcases. Shaun and Donnie knew exactly who should be the new bassist, Fank Green from What Ever Will. Frank was given a demo and knew it all by the next day.

"Frank came in and just fit...it was right." Shaun said. Frank was hired virtually on the spot and Outspoken was out playing again within four days.

The time for New York City had come. With a handful of new songs and a new bassist, the band was ready to give it their best shot. "I was completely overwhelmed when we arrived in NYC, it was a dream come true for me." reflects Kevin."We got to New York on Tuesday at about 2:30 am and just walked the streets in and around Times Square for 3 hours...It was unreal." The first showcase was to be that evening at Arlene Grocery located in the Bowery. Outspoken played to a packed house with 3/4 of the crowd being in the music industry.

"We were hyped and we had something to prove, to ourselves and the labels." Donnie remembers. " I have this memory," says Frank "of somewhere in the middle of Revolving, saying to myself "Oh my God...I'm in the biggest city in the world playing in front of everyone who can make all my dreams come true".

It was the most surreal thing I've ever felt. Like i was actually witnessing a turning point." After the set they were introduced to execs from Atlantic, Universal/Republic, Elektra, Roadrunner, and Warner Bros. Another showcase was set up for Thursday night at Don Hill's in Greenwich Village(where coincidentally they went after the Arlene Grocery showcase to see Stabbing Westward and generally got to taste the nightlife for the first time) for Elektra Records only.

The day before the Elektra gig the bands management was contacted by the director of A&R for Lava/Atlantic and was told that he and Lava President Jason Flom(the man responsible for the careers of Skid Row,Twisted Sister,Kid Rock,Matchbox Twenty,Sugar Ray,The Corrs and so many others) wanted to meet the band before Thursdays showcase for drinks.

"We went out for drinks earlier in the evening with Jason Flom and Andy Karp and they seemed genuinely interested in the band." E said. "So they were invited to the showcase as well." Which they originally balked at because, after all, it WAS Elektra's showcase.

The 5 song set that night seemed to seal Outspoken's fate. Both Elektra and Atlantic were ready to talk and Warner Bros scheduled a meeting and lunch for the next day.Then,lo and behold,after a whirlwind week in New York City, it was time to go home.

Once back at home, the band immediately headed into the studio to cut two new songs, Deeper Than Down and Judging, that they were sure would seal the deal with someone. The day after the songs left Louisville via Fed Ex, Atlantic called and put an offer on the table. After some amendments to the original offer Outspoken signed with Lava/Atlantic Records.

"I know we're in good company with Jason and Andy" Frank said."They signed Kid Rock, Matchbox Twenty, Sugar Ray, The Cult, and now us!!! Plus I remember Jason telling us that he isn't in the business of selling 500,000 albums...So that told me that he saw lots of potential in the songs and the band."