“This CD marks a new chapter in the life
of Blessid Union Of Souls and that’s what makes this so
cool, getting to start over with a bit of a head start”,
says lead vocalist Eliot Sloan, pointing to the fact that this
is the Blessid’s first CD since 2001’s ‘The
Singles’. Most of that is due to the band continuing to
perform live, recurring airplay from some radio faithfuls but
most of all.. The fans! With two new members, new management
and new energy, things have been clicking on all cylinders since
recording of this CD commenced in late 2003. Bryan Billhimer
and Shaun Schaefer have been longtime friends and band mates
since junior high (one has never been in a band without the other).
They joined the Blessid shortly after the departure of C.P. Roth
and Eddie Hedges in 2002, and the new lineup immediately hit
the road and began working on new material for this CD. What
has emerged in the last 2 years is this 16-song collection of
new material called ‘Perception’.
Working with different producers for the first time in their
10-year career to put together some of the band’s most
innovative work, it was the relationship with longtime friend
and producer Matt ‘Emosia’ Senatore that set the
tone for this record in the 8 songs he produced. “Matt
always brings out the best in us when we record” says Sloan. “There’s
never any pressure, never too much over-thinking. He just takes
the song where it’s already going”. The CD’s
first track ‘Could’ve Been With You’ was one
of the first songs Matt insisted on recording. “I heard
the demo Eliot recorded and basically said ‘that’s
a hit’, says Senatore. “Then I heard ‘I Still
Believe In Love’ and said ‘that’s a smash’!
These guys always had a knack for writing good pop songs and
though I produce all genre’s of music I could always envision
where this band is going with their music.” Recording their
first studio album in four years, it was time to make some changes.
So they acquired the guidance of manager, Tommy Quon, who was
personally responsible for the 17 million records sold that launched
the career of Vanilla Ice in the early 90’s as well as
other acts on his Dallas based Ultrax Records Label and TQ Management.
Says Quon; “This was a situation where we needed each other.
The guys were looking for new direction and I was looking for
a new challenge so it was a perfect match. There’s so much
untapped talent within the band and I felt like I could help
them network with people outside their normal realm.” It
was Quon who introduced Blessid to producers Rich E. Blaze (TLC,
Ricky Martin, Diane Warren, Leann Rimes) who produced 3 songs
on the CD, Eddie Head (Sony Recording Artist and 2002 Most Talented
Teen Contest Winner, Cheyenne Kimball), who produced two tracks,
country/contemporary Christian producer Andrew Frye (Charley
Pride, Michael W. Smith, Ray Price), Jerome Harmon (Kirk Franklin)
and Wayne Stalling (“Mutt” Lange, Chuckii Booker)
who each produced one apiece. “Tommy basically came in
and said OK, let’s finish the record that you guys have
already started and go from there, which is exactly what we wanted
to hear” says bassist Tony Clark. “He heard some
of the tracks that we had already done with Matt and a couple
of ideas Eliot had done in pre-production and loved what he heard
so the logical thing to do was complete the album”. Recording
and writing in various locations was key in inspiring some of
the songs. “I went out to L.A. to work with Blaze and he
just knew where I was going with some of the lyrics,” says
Sloan. “He reminds me of myself in a lot of ways so he
was easy to write with. When we wrote ‘Wild Side Of Me’ all
I had was a hook and he helped take it somewhere I wouldn’t
have taken it by myself. The same with ‘Closer’ and ‘I
Have Just Begun To Live’. There were places in my head
that I didn’t want the song to go, I wanted a different
perspective because sometimes you get bored with where a song
goes in your own mind. It’s like you don’t know where
it should go but you know where it shouldn’t and he knew
exactly where to take it”. The remaining production took
place in Dallas where Blessid put their more aggressive ideas
into the capable hands of Eddie Head with ‘A Thousand And
One’ and ‘Redemption). “Eddie gave those songs
the edge it needed without overdoing it and without losing the
feel I was hearing,” Sloan says of Head. The 3 remaining
ballads were also recorded in Dallas. ‘Let’s Get
Out Of Here’ is actually a re-make of song previously released
on Eliot Sloan’s solo EP ‘Words and Music’,
and formerly titled ‘Decision’. Co-produced with
Andrew Frye, this song deals with the sensitive subject of abortion. “Andrew
heard the song and loved it immediately” says manager Quon. “Then
after I told him what the song was about he took it personal
as if he’d written it himself to make sure the production
delivered every aspect of its powerful meaning”. Quon then
solicited the talents of longtime friend, Wayne Stalling, to
produced ‘Better Side Of Me’. “I didn’t
think too much about this song” admits Sloan, “…but
it’s always been one of Tommy’s favorites. It went
through various stages during production but after it was done
I was pleased with it”. The album closes with ‘I
Was Never Here’, which was produced by Jerome Harmon and
assisted by engineer Chris Godbey. “Those guys really brought
this song home. I love the “lazy” feel of it and
it’s totally different from the original demo”. Adds
Sloan…” I got the idea from a movie called ‘Clockwatchers’ with
Parker Posey. She was this neurotic office assistant who, after
she was fired, etched into her desk with a knife the words ‘I
was never here’ and it just reminded me of a relationship
that I was in a while back where the girl I was dating, after
she dumped me, just moved on with her life so fast without missing
a beat, like I had no emotional effect on her. You don’t
forget that type of emotion, so what do I go and do? Write a
song about it to remind me of it even more.” That’s
been pretty much the M.O with this band; writing about experiences
derived from their own lives and of those around them to create
something universal that everyone can relate to. Since their
platinum debut ‘Home’ (1995), their sophomore self-titled
follow up (1997) and 1999’s ‘Walking Off The Buzz’,
which spawned the pop-culture hit ‘Hey Leonardo (She Likes
Me For Me)’, Sloan and co-founder Jeff Pence have always
managed to do that without really trying. “We just write
what we feel, that’s all you can really do to stay true
to yourself”, quotes Pence. “Music is an accident
and in approaching it that way, sometimes you do something that
affects people’s lives in a way you never imagined. That’s
the unexpected beauty of doing what we do.” That’s
what the band hopes for with ‘Perception’. With simple,
catchy pop melodies like ‘She’s The One’ and ‘Reminds
Me Of You’ to lyrically clever ‘Bittersweet Sublime’ and ‘How
Does It Feel Coming Down’, to fun sing-a-longs like ‘Say
Hello To My Little Friend’ (Yeah, they know it’s
from ‘Scarface’), the band tries to reach a multitude
of emotions in people which, says Sloan, is why there are so
many songs on this album. “It’s hard to express all
of your ideas, gather all your thoughts and beliefs, put them
to words and music, and still feel like you’ve completed
your best work because, with me, ideas are always flowing. So
even with 16 songs on this record, I’m already in the mindset
of writing and recording another one. It’s like I say to
myself, ‘OK, this is great but I know we can do better
on the next one’.” Not that the band is dissatisfied
with what they’ve accomplished on this album. Just the
opposite, actually, especially with newcomer Bryan Billhimer. “This
is a solid album altogether, “ says Billhimer who also
serves as Emosia’s chief engineer… “And even
before Shaun and I came on the scene they’ve been pretty
consistent in giving fans a complete package of good songs, not
just one or two radio hits and then a bunch of fillers.” Adds
Sloan, “We’ve always taken pride in that. That’s
probably the best compliment we’ve gotten from our fans,
that they can listen to our CDs from start to finish without
having to fast forward through a bunch of crap to get to the
singles.” Another one of their biggest compliments, says
drummer Schaefer, is that, “We sound as good or better
than the record, so when Bryan and I joined the band our intention
was carrying on that tradition. I had some big shoes to fill
because (former drummer) Eddie was stellar and a good band is
only as good as it’s rhythm section so I had to take my
skills to the next level at both ends, in the studio and live,
with the emphasis on LIVE-not pre-recorded and lip-synced like
some artists are known to do.” Adds bassist Clark, “I
hate that! When I go see a band I want to see them perform, not
watch them pantomime to a DAT. That’s what I grew up with
and that’s what this band is all about and at the end of
the day I think fans appreciate that more.” Now that ‘Perception’,
a title that Clark came up with, is complete, Blessid gets to
do just that, hit the road and perform live. “It’s
really our first love”, says Pence. “We love performing,
it’s a different experience every night. Different city,
different people, different type of energy. You spend so much
time in the studio recording and making a good sounding record
that we get a little stir-crazy from being cooped-up in the studio
for six months at a time because we’re a family and we
tend to get on each other’s nerves after a while. We need
that balance of being on the road and then back in the studio
writing and recording.” Adds Sloan, “That’s
where the songs come from, being out on the road and meeting
the people who have supported us for so long. The stage brings
to fruition ideas you just can’t come up with locked in
a studio. You have to see what moves people and be genuinely
interested in what they have to say and in tune to what they
are feeling because they’re the reason we’re doing
this in the first place. You can’t lose sight of that no
matter how many records you sell or how much money you make.” With
2005 well in their sights, Blessid plans to make the most of
the upcoming year. With Sloan, Pence and Emosia co-producing
and writing for outside projects, as well as Billhimer and Schaefer
pulling double-duty in another up and coming band, The Vinyltones,
Blessid’s focus will be challenged but their goals not
deterred. And while their success lies mainly here in the states,
they plan to hit markets in Southeast Asia and Europe, where
they have not been since touring with Mike and the Mechanics
in 1996. “Taking our music abroad has always been a vision
of ours,” says Sloan. “We had a Certified Gold Single
in Australia and never toured there. And in Indonesia, our first
single (‘I Believe’) went to number 1 so we know
we have fans all over the world, which is very humbling to us.
To know that songs we’ve created have a lasting effect
on people’s lives worldwide is daunting.” Keep checking
in for updates and tours in your area, as Blessid is sure to
have a show coming your way soon. Down to earth music from down
to earth people, BUOS is sure to spread their positive music
in a way no other band can.
