Artist description THE MEDIUMS are a blast of refreshing, noisy, unpretentious power pop rock and roll. Without claiming authenticity, brilliant originality, or lofty artistic merit, THE MEDIUMS steadily and increasingly deliver their own kind of adventurous thrill-ride live shows to a broad and fanatical fan base. In a New York scene saturated with bands brandishing the sword of rock and roll salvation in an attempt to stamp their name on what the MC5 and Iggy Pop did right the first time, THE MEDIUMS prove that song-based pop rock is the only real rock and roll truth.

Music Style Crunch Pop

Musical Influences David Lowery, Elvis Costello, Ryan Adams, Frank Black, Paul Westerberg...

Similar Artists Elvis Costello, Cracker, Replacements, Gin Blossoms, Green Day...

Artist History With a history stemming six years plus, their melodic sensibility and relentless drive whirlpools a listener into states of noisy pop bliss, adding depth and sensibility to a generation yet undefined. Lead singer/guitarist James Schaffner, trained opera singer with rock and roll flowing in his veins; drummer Mark Anderson, steady, spunky, pillar of rhythm; bassist Michael Cain-jazz saxophonist turned four string , combine, creating a silky, ever-flowing web of garage pop mastery. Creative, whimsical, catchy, addictively dismissive, sweetly saturated with ringing of a crash cymbals and humming of amplifiers; once experienced THE MEDIUMS become a necessity. The summer of 2003 marks the release of their highly anticipated EP OH SO FABULOSO. All heart all the time, these days they find themselves scooping up New York with a fan base born Nebraska. It was, after all, in Lincoln, Nebraska that THE MEDIUMS were, for four years, an integral part of an explosive local scene. It was there that they honed their skills as a party band; or perhaps more accurately, as a band that CREATED the party wherever they played. It was in Nebraska that THE MEDIUMS (with previous bassist Tim Moran) released their two independent full length CDs, Caved In and The Mediums (must-have for any developed collection). Impossible to pass by, THE MEDIUMS reachability never stales. THE MEDIUMS embrace the future of the modern, rock band: slaves to the song--yet trendy--yet unique. Theyre equally influenced by such artists as the Replacements, Big Star, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, the Cars, the Ramones, the Clash, Frank Black, and David Lowery alike. THE MEDIUMS are so powerful, you need this band. THEY WILL BE YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND. - Joseph Greene

Group Members James Schaffner (Guitars & Vocals), Mike Cain(Bass & Vocals), Mark Anderson (Drums & Vocals)

Instruments Loud Guitars, Growling Bass, Bombastic Drums, Smooth Vocals

Albums Oh So Fabuloso EP 2003, Caved In 2000, Self-Titled 1998

Press Reviews Fun to look at and fascinating to know about, the Mediums half-jokingly claim that they got their name because a higher power works through them, but the Harlem-based garage-pop trio might just be channeling the spirit of affability. Theirs is an all-encompassing zeitgeist—a party band that hasn't forgotten how to connect with an audience. Singer-guitarist James Schaffner has a gosh-golly good nature when communicating with the crowd between numbers, and he gets passionately red-faced when commanding his voice through the Gin Blossoms-y palette of their songs. He also has a master's degree in opera singing from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under the tutelage of Maitland Peters (yes, the one and same who taught Kip Winger to belt). "I try to separate the two worlds of arty, intellectual opera and my rock," he says, looking every bit like Hugh Grant. Being that Schaffner reveres revolutionary acts like Iggy Pop, the Ramones, and the pop-sensible Elvis Costello, while equally idolizing opera singers Alfredo Kraus and Nicolai Gedda, it's not surprising that the Mediums perform a unique brand of pensive pop-rock—pop because of catchiness, rock due to the king-size sound. "We see the trends and clicks in music, and we appreciate that," says Schaffner, "but the one true and genuine thing is the basic pop-rock song. It's never disappeared." Ladies and gentlemen, the Mediums, an unlikely variety show that formed in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1997 before moving to the Big Apple in 1999 to escape the ever spreading "Emo-ha" scene. Drummer Mark "Thunder" Anderson is a sweaty, extra-large Medium who looks like Charlie Daniels, lashes his skins incongruously to the flowerier airs of his singer, and says he wants to drum like NYC street-scenes photographer Gary Winogrand shot ("seizing each vulnerable moment"). Bassist Mike Cain is a classically trained jazz saxophonist who picked up the bass to "avert the dreadful course of ennui," loves Merle Haggard, and doesn't fancy performing stone sober. Today's Mediums play the shadier bars in NYC, hoping to become buddies with everyone in the room by the end of the night. And after a nine-minute locomotive of a rendition of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," where all three guys perform drop-jaw solos, they usually do. Cover tunes are just the party in them. But it's the Mediums' original songs, notably the mood-enhancing single "C.S.T. (Central Standard Time)," from their third record, Oh So—Fabuloso, that contain the grit. In "C.S.T.," Schaffner pours a strong, intense vocal over a White Stripes-ish guitar-'n'-drum canvas. What the Mediums can do musically with their instruments, as with their homage to Cash, is impressive, but the thing that they've absolutely mastered is peering into life's little problems from a benign, beer-soaked place. "It's all about a sense of community, especially here in New York," says Anderson. "Some bands are so concerned with making scenes that they forget to make music. We stick to music." Party on, Thunder. -CM, Village Voice

Additional Info All Songs Written by THE MEDIUMS, Produced by THE MEDIUMS and Jayson Dizuzio, Recorded and Mixed by Jayson Dizuzio at Stained Glass in Paramus, NJ, Mastered by Nick Ryan at In The Hole in Denver, CO

Location Brooklyn, New York - USA

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