The Retro's
New Wave never sounded so good! Article written by Arny Bailey Back to Cover
Although a childhood fan of ________
of the San Diego Chargers and adult fan of the Seattle Seahawks, I’ve only been to one professional football game my entire life. So, 11 years ago, when I was offered free tickets to see the Seahawks in a Saturday preseason game against the Colts at Husky Stadium, I jumped at the chance. It turned out to be Shaun Alexander’s debut, give me my first chance to see an NFL game live & hear a local New Wave cover band called The Retros.
During game time-outs, The Retros entertained while live images flashed on the Jumbo-Tron pushing their sound piped through the traditional echo-y stadium PA and coming to very abrupt stops at awkward places during the songs when queued by someone I couldn’t even see. In spite of the weird acoustics and cutting the songs short, they sounded great and appeared to be having a fun time. Now, a decade later, the sound is tight while the timing & choreography is even tighter.
The Retros on Stage.
Last weekend, Jackie and I headed over to the new Big Daddy’s Place in Woodinville to a steak dinner and a packed house. If you’re a fan of a pure New Wave soundtrack, you can’t miss with this band. In addition to the top New Wave favorites of Madona, The Go-Go’s and Depeche Mode, you’ll also hear near perfect renditions of one hit wonders like Come On Eileen and 99 Luft Balloons. The band doesn’t stop with just the music. They also have professional wardrobe, choreography and a video system that allows them to sync their music to the original videos as seen on MTV. A very professional and entertaining show to go with their stellar renditions of these classic New Wave hits.
In their own words, the rules for their wardrobe/costuming are as follows;
About their video show, Todd offers, “We don’t think of this as any kind of gimmick but rather a necessary and integral part of our show. We are re-creating the long-lost MTV era. How can we pay tribute to the New Wave and not have video element? This idea was our own and, to our knowledge, no one else is doing this. Yet...”
Their history….in their words;
The Retros had their beginning many years ago when guitarist Todd and vocalist Kevin both had a dream of forming a new wave resurrection band that played all the really cool and fun music of the 1980s. Trouble was, Todd and Kevin, had never met. Todd had mentioned his idea of a New _____
Wave band to his lifelong drummer friend, Bill. Bill had always said that he was interested but doubted that enough other interested musicians could be recruited for such a strange project. In fact, Todd and Bill had been laughed at numerous times regarding this idea. No one really thought it was a worthwhile endeavor. In fact, some thought it was downright silly.
In the spring of 1995 a man named Steve Larsen approached Todd at a Seattle club on a night that featured New Wave music. He had seen Todd play in an original band a few years before and asked if he would be interested in a new project. Todd assumed he meant an original band and said that he wasn't particularly interested. Steve said, "Oh well, a singer friend of mine (Kevin) is interested in putting a New Wave cover band together and is looking for musicians." Todd couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Todd and Bill arranged to meet with Kevin. They spoke and were mutually delighted to find out that everyone had the same direction. Following some ___
lost time and rehearsal space rental on a bass player that didn’t work out, Kym joined at bass at brought rehearsal space and a PA! Bill was appointed musical director and soon they were learning songs.
Now all the boys needed was a female vocalist to add some spice and variety to the band. Robin was the perfect addition to the band. She was a great singer and she knew how to play keyboards!
Soon the band was learning songs at record pace. Top Seattle booking agent Dean Zelikovsky of Machine Entertainment heard about the band through the grapevine. Dean arranged for the band to open for national act, Berlin featuring Terrie Nunn. The response was incredible. Dean then decided to start booking the band every weekend in Northwest area clubs.
Eventually Robin left the band to start a family and soon Laurey was on board and she proved to be the savior of The Retros. Laurey is now a permanent member of The Retros and we are really thankful to have her!
Band members include:
Todd Nelson- Guitar, keyboards, vocals, vocoder, says he prefers Fender American Strats and US Masters Le Grandes which, as he put it, “is basically a glorified Strat.” Todd adds, “I always opt for the HSS pickup configuration with coil tapping. In an evening I'll use every pickup configuration it offers. Strats sound good no matter what song you're playing and that's the most important thing.”
Todd uses Line 6 AX2 amplifier with matching floorboard but states, “Line 6 is not the best gear out there by any stretch but they make it reasonably easy to emulate another guitarist's rig and effects. When you have to sound like 40 different guitar rigs in an evening you need that kind of versatility.”
He useds D'Addario strings, Furman Power Conditioner, X-Wire digital wireless guitar receiver and a Shure PSM-400 In Ear Monitor.
“Chorus, compression and delay, along with my Strat's pickups in the 2, 3 or 4 position is used almost always when I'm using my clean setting. My guitars are unique in that the 3 pickup position has been modified to select the bridge and neck pickups together (rather than the middle pickup alone) giving it a glassy Telecaster type sound. This is not possible with stock Strats. I find that to be extremely useful. I depend heavily on my clean sound which new wave music demands.”
When I asked Todd about the presence, or lack thereof in much of the New Wave genre The Retros play, he responded, “Guitar isn't prominent in most New Wave music. That's fine with me since I'm pretty close to being the world's worst guitar player. I'm actually a bit scared of songs that feature the guitar more. When it comes to lead guitar, I couldn't lick my own lips. ;-)"
Todd works during the day as a Software Engineer.
Kym Wells – Bass, currently plays exclusively Steinberger basses, a ____
genuine relic of the New Wave period. “I struggled for years at getting a bass sound that I truly liked. I knew what I wanted things to sound like and had tried many combinations of basses, amps, cabinets and so on to no avail. After picking up my first Steinberger and giving it a go, I knew I was onto something good.” Explains Kym. “They are loaded from the factory with EMG pick ups and are nice and bright. They are also light compared to most basses out there(graphite composite) so when playing a long show or several shows a week, it doesn't feel like hanging a coffee table around your neck for 3 hours a night a couple times a weekend.”
In addition to sounding the part, the headless bass fits the genre and according to Kym is the topic of many conversations with people wondering out loud "WHAT is that you are playing?"
“I have (2) 4 string versions (one serves as back up) and a really rare "Wide 5" 5 string model,” says Kym. “When Steinberger first made a foray
into the 5 string market, they retrofitted their 4 string model with 5 strings. This example was virtually impossible to play because the strings were too close together and was a complete failure. They decided to retool and produce a 5 string with a wider neck (hence the name). As I understand it, they produced roughly 100 of these.”
For his amp, Kym prefers GK heads (800RB primary with a 400RB on hand as back up) and 2 – 4x10 Hartke cabinets with aluminum cones. “For strings I am at the mercy of what's available because it takes a specially made double ball type for a Steinberger,” admits Kym. “Of those that are available, GHS, Steinberger and Rotosound, GHS roundwounds are my preference.”
For his day-job Kym owns and operate an arcade business primarily repairing and restoring antique to modern pinball machines. For more information about Kym’s business go to: www.PinballTime.com
Laurey Carolus– Lead Vocals/Keybaords…bills herself as “the girl”. Seriously though she is a powerful presence on stage in spite of her 5’ few inch frame. “Vocalizing is second nature to me. I would say the musical form is much easier for me than just plain speaking. I have a great love of music in all forms as long as it is done well. I sing many styles and love to create, record, and perform,” she says. “What is fun about The Retros for me is trying to capture other singers’ vocal-abilities, being able to use the different sides and tones of ___
my voice to portray these songs.” She attributes her abilities to watching Disney shows as a child and trying to recreate the voices.
As for Keyboards, Laurey loves Kurzweil & Korg but admits for a straight piano she always seems to migrate to Yamaha. “At home I enjoy working with my M-Audio Keystation Pro88. It has nice weighted action and is a good slave to and works well with Reason and Ableton Live. Affordable and meets my needs. If given a choice, I would have to say that I would sit down at a live grand piano first......then make my way over to the keyboards.”
On stage she prefers anything of quality that is small. “There is a lot of movement on stage for us,” she says. “No space hogs and easy to get around…oh, and speaking of space hogs, I think something of great value for us all is the use of In Ear Monitors. We have more room on stage with no monitor wedges and a great quality mix with what each individual needs. Really saves your ears and your _____
voice. Pretty funny when someone in the audience is trying to say something to you though. I don't think they realize we just can't hear them very well......with our ears plugged and all.”
For microphones Laurey uses Sennheiser and Shure and has found that using a Shure Beta 57 helps her voice cut through in live situations. “You need to have a good sound engineer to mix it properly. Your quality in a big way is only as good as your sound engineer. Studio wise ....depends, what are we trying to capture? My new favorite mics are quickly becoming Blue Microphones - great quality and innovation. They are just too cool.”
The clothes come from all over. Most things are just a find when she is out and about. Some things have been created by a long time friend and fan Teresa Payne while others are found in thrift shops as well as Diamond Dogs (formerly known as The Future) in Portland, Metro in Seattle, and of course, on the Internet!
Laurey works in the accounting division of a UK based company called Nikwax. www.nikwax.com and describes it as an excellent environmentally friendly water repellent for your outdoor wear-ables.
Kevin Lindeman – Lead Singer/snappy dresser. Kevin prefers the Shure Beta for it’s higher quality durability. “I have many that have taken many hard falls to the stage and even though their not pretty they keep on working.” Like the rest of the band _
he uses in-ear monitors but prefers to use one ear bud so he can hear
the live stage sound along with the mix.
Kevin’s high points include purposely turning his back to the crowd at
the front edge of the stage and falling backwards, blindly into the crowd. “I've
only done this a few times and luckily they've never dropped me. There's
always a brief moment of crowd surfing and then they pass you back to the stage.”
Another highlight was a time the band dressed up in Leiderhosen for a Halloween
show. “We bought ropes and ropes of German link sausage and strung
them on the drum set and around the stage. During one song, which I think
was ‘You Spin Me’ by Dead or Alive, I was suddenly inspired to twirl
one long strand of sausages above my head like I was about to rope a calf. Well,
the strand broke and a 3 to 4 linked sausage strand of meat lovers delight went
sailing into the crowd. I believe they were fully cooked so we weren't
too concerned.”
His low-lights include slipping on ice cubes from spilled drinks that people set on the edge of the stage and, as he put it, “falling on my ass.”
Kevin works as an accountant for a Seattle area restaurant.
Bill Becker – Drums, plays a mix of brands that he uses for his kit, including his own. Most are Yamaha recording customs (standard size); 12 x 8, 13 x 9 rack toms 16 x 16 floor tom and a 22 x 16 kick drum with two snares; a Pearl 14 x 5 Free Floating ___
- The Retros always change costumes between sets. Three sets = three costume changes.
- It is inappropriate to arrive at a gig wearing clothes that you will be wearing on stage. I suppose the same goes for leaving a gig.
- Friends don't let friends shop for band costumes at Hot Topic.
- The Retros firmly believe that wardrobe that is appropriate for the stage CANNOT be found at Hot Topic. (OK, perhaps belts and socks from Hot Topic can be worn on-stage but that's about it.)
Maple Shell Snare and a back-up 14 x 5 Chad Smith Pearl Signature Series Snare. “I have a 10 x 6 Yamaha mini snare drum that I use for Timbali effects. I took the bottom hoop off of it to get a little more ring and for what I am using it for I think does the job,” says Bill.
“For the Cymbals I use all Zildjian except for the China type that is an 18" Wuhan. I have two 18" Zildjian A Custom crashes, one 16" Custom A Projection crash, two 10" Custom A splashes, Zildjian New Beat hi hats, and a 20" Zildjian A custom ride.”
The hardware is also a mixture of different brands. DW, Yamaha, Gibraltar, and Roland. “I have two small Gibraltar "mini" drum rack systems that I custom made myself to eliminate the typical tripod cymbal stands and to have more of a cleaner look. I use Yamaha cymbal holders for all of the cymbals. I use a DW 9000 Hi Hat Stand a Yamaha DFP 9415 Double Pedal and another one that is a bit older for my back- up. I also use a Pork Pie Round drum throne,” explains Bill.
Along with this Frankenstein set up, Bill also sports a Roland SPD-S Sampler trigger pad along with a Roland PD-8 external trigger pad which he uses for a combination of factory samples and some that he has made on his own using his home Pro-Tools Studio.
“For the drumheads I use Clear Evans Genera 1's on the toms a coated G2 on the Floor Tom and the Evans EMAD bass drum head for the bass drum. I use a clear Remo Ambassador for the 10" timbali and I use my own coated snare heads on my snare drums. Those are called Goodhead Drumheads.” www.myspace.com/goodheadinc.
Like the rest of the band, Bill uses in-ear monitors but a different set up with Klipsch brand powered by a Alesis 6-channel rack mounted mixer that he uses to hear the click (so it syncs to the sequencer) and monitor mix.
__
They’re busy. Likely making good money for their shows too, but it’s obvious when you see them that they’re having fun. Proof of this is in their band cheer, which dates back to their first show in 1996 when opening for Berlin. Since then, they’ve faithfully said it before each of their 1,100+ performances:
[All] And number one!
[Todd] We're gonna do this sucka again!
[All] And number two!
[Todd] We're gonna do this sucka again all the way up your @$$!
[All] And number three!
[Todd] We're gonna !@~ yo @$$ up like in a car crash!
[All] And number four!
[Todd] We're gonna !@~ you up like an automobile accident
[All] Number five, JESUS is the answer!
Todd finishes by saying, “Why do we say it? I suppose for
our own amusement. We also like to confuse people. What does it
mean? It means we intend to play an excellent show. On occasion
we welcome guests to join in ‘the cheer. First-timers often
stumble away with wrinkled foreheads. Blinking rapidly and laughing
nervously they scratch the backs of their heads.
Perfect...
Arny Bailey
MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY
President of In Form, Inc. Media Design and Chief Editor of Weekend Musician is a licensed architect practicing in the Pacific Northwest and weekend musician currently fronting ABOUT FACE, a classic rock cover band and The Grand Delusion a Tribute to the music of Styx and Journey.
