THE SIGHTS
The Album
The Sights
The Label
New Line Records
Liner Notes
Looks like Detroit's well-kept secret is out of the bag. The hottest band to come out of the motor city since the White Stripes is a slam-dunk favorite of James Iha, the ex-Smashing Pumpkin guitarist. He recently signed the trio to his own label. Conjuring up grand images of late '60s Brit-pop psychedelia, The Sights successfully channel The Beatles, The Who and The kinks, among others, with their unique stew of garage rock, Motown/soul and '60s pop/rock. The band has definitely done their homework listening to early Small Faces records; they even close out the album with a hidden track, a faithfull cover of the Faces' classic "Stay With Me."
It all began in the summer of '68, oops...I mean '98, when high school pals Eddie Baranek (singer/guitarist and chief songwriter), Mike Trombley (drummer) and Mark Leahey (bass player and singer) started gigging around their hometown, eventually recording their debut album, Are You Green? at Jim Diamond’s Ghetto Recorders in Detroit and releasing it the following year. In 2002, their second album, Got What We Want won the band critical acclaim in Britain and the U.S. The Sights toured both countries, lost Mark Leahey and added keyboard player Bobby Emmett but continued to endure lineup changes. In the spring of last year, James Iha signed them to his own Scratchie Records (an imprint of New Line Records) for the self-titled third album, The Sights, produced by Diamond. The band's rollicking showcase was a favorite at this year's South By Southwest conference. AAA radio favorites on the new album include originals like “Circus,” "Backseat," "Waiting On A Friend" and “Frozen Nose.”
Influences:
The first Nazz record with Todd Rundgren, Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book, The Band’s Music from Big Pink, the self-titled Small Faces, the Jam’s Setting Sun and Sound Affects, Zombies’ Odyssey and Oracle, Nina Simone’s Pastel Blues, Traffic’s Mr. Fantasy, Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, The Who/Pete Townshend, Edwin Starr, Solomon Burke and Ike and Tina.
Site
www.thesights.com
On
WDET Detroit
KCMP (The Current) Minneapolis-St. Paul
KMTT (The Mountain) Seattle
KEXP Seattle
WKVL (West 105.3) Knoxville
KPEZ, Austin
KZPL (Planet Radio) Kansas City
WMMM (Triple M) Madison
WRNR Annapolis/Baltimore
WTTS Indianapolis
KUT Austin
WHRV Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News
WUWM Milwaukee
WORT Madison
WDBM Lansing
WXDU Raleigh
WITR Rochester
Crossover Airplay
KDKB Phoenix
KIHT St. Louis
KGON Portland
WCKG Chicago
KKLZ Las Vegas
KCQQ Quad Cities, Iowa
Press
"At last, a new Detroit-garage band that comes in colors."
—Rolling Stone
Performances/Tour
The band will performing at the upcoming NON-COMMvention, Saturday night, May 21st in Philadelphia.
4/29 Tempe, AZ, Marquee Theatre
4/30 Tuscon, Plush 21
5/02 Denver, Larimer Lounge
5/03 Lawrence, KS, Granada
5/04 Des Moines, Vaudeville Mews
5/06 Milwaukee, WI Onopa Brewing Company
5/18 New York, Bowery Ballroom
5/19 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
5/20 Cambridge, T.T. the Bear's
5/22 Arlington, VA, IOTA Club & Cafe
5/23 Lexington, KY, The Dame
5/24 Columbus, OH Little Brother's
5/26 Indianapolis, The Patio
5/27 Newport, KY Southgate House
Retail
The Sights is now in stores.
Contact
Kevin Kertes, New Line Record
