Artist description Hard hitting, melodic garage power pop for the masses

Music Style Indie Rock/Rock n' Roll/ Power Pop

Musical Influences Weezer, Superdrag, Guided By Voices, The Get Up Kids, Teenage Fanclub, way too many others to list here

Similar Artists See above

Artist History Formed in the summer of 1997

Group Members Kevin Firestone- Vocals, Guitar... Joe Renaud- Vocals, Bass... Nick Nye- Drums, Percussion

Instruments Epiphone SG, Kay SG Bass, Pearl Drums

Albums Between The Lines (1998), Scotland Yard (1999)

Press Reviews The Schooners' "Scotland Yard" starts off with a rocking song written by bass player Joe Renaud and starts it's momentum. This time, though, there's no let down. The energy keeps building up until Firestone ends it all with "Speedway," the 13th song on the album. The Schooners manage to keep the pace high as they go through all of their songs in under 45 minutes, all of them with the same power-pop rock feel. Even the songs that Renaud describes as his "mushy boy ballads" are high energy rock songs. There's nothing weak about it. Renaud and Firestone split up the songwriting duties, as well as the singing, with Kevin singing on the seven songs he wrote, and Joe singing on his six. The trio, under the guidance of Gary Lansinger, has made a very definitive CD, and the listening public can openly hope for more great things from these boys. "Targeted," the first song on the CD, is Renaud's pointed song expressing his anger at one local group begins the CD in classic Schooners style. The next, "Chip On Your Shoulder," was written by Firestone and keeps the momentum going, right into "Keep It Stupid" - the band's "hit" that helped them win the Newark High School Talent Show. The next song was written originally as a song about physics for a high school class two of the boys (Renaud and Firestone) were in, but the lyrics were changed to create the first of Renaud's four "mushy boy ballads." Next comes "Dodger," which to any listener who knows the story, is pretty obviously about local Newark band Lauren Hospital, of which Kevin is the ex-drummer. Followed by "Needless To Say," and then the unforgettable "Malt Shoppe." "Malt Shoppe" and "Keep It Stupid" are the two songs that have been going through my head ever since my first listening. They're catchy without being annoying, poppy without straying from their rock roots. Which could, in fact, be used to describe the band as a whole. The final five songs on the CD are equally classic, but what got me the most was the way the whole thing meshed together. Not just the songs, though they all work well together, but the entire experience. The CD covers, the inset, and even the CD itself (which features a picture of a fire from a New Years Eve party) all come together nicely to add to the experience of the CD. Obviously a lot of time and effort was put into this CD, which makes it among the best $5 I've ever spent. -Brandon Scherer

Location Newark, Ohio - USA

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