One of the best kept secrets in rock ‘n’ roll is hitting the road, and they’re ready to let their music do all the talking.
Armed with a bright outlook and trucker’s freedom, pop-punk/New Wave outfit Damone will be swinging by Philly’s Electric Factory on May 1 to support their debut album, From the Attic.
Joining the band will be fellow pop-punkers The Ataris, along with supporting acts The Juliana Theory and Further Seems Forever.
Fronting Damone is 17-year-old singer/guitarist Noelle LeBlanc.
Not even old enough to vote, her larger-than-life wail rivals that of any seasoned vet.
Rounding out the group is singer/guitarist Dave Pino, bassist Vazquez and drummer Dustin Hengst.
History has shown that many female-fronted bands have imploded due to internal love triangles or some other form of animosity.
Other times, bands will be tagged as another Blondie or No Doubt rip-off, but don’t expect Damone to fall into that category.
“There may be a stigma attached to it that other people may manufacture in their minds and not give it the chance it deserves to be what it is, which is a good rock band,” said Hengst.
“But that’s their problem.”
The group honed their skills in the little town of Waltham, just outside of Boston.
There, they began construction on the rock ‘n’ roll machine that would later become Damone.
From a local car wash to Pino’s basement, the seeds of Damone’s furious, yet more than catchy, tunes were planted.
The eighty-plus songs that would come out of these sessions were mostly directed at Pino’s ex-girlfriend.
Word spread about the recordings and demand for Damone surfaced around the Boston area.
Buzz surrounding the band increased and soon they received regional airplay before being tapped to tour with Injected, Mooney Suzuki and techno-metal guru
Andrew W.K.
Eventually RCA Records caught wind of the group’s energetic appeal and signed the band to a major-label deal.
Interestingly enough, their debut is virtually the same album the band recorded in Pino’s basement.
One of the freshest and liveliest albums to hit shelves in years, From the Attic shows off the group’s wide variety of influences – from skating and BMX biking to the snarling riffs of Queen and Cheap Trick.
Songs like “At The Mall” and “Driveway Blues” swell with the intensity of Queen and Husker Du.
“Feel Bad Vibe” and “Carwash Romance” are drenched in classic-rock swagger and New Wave sizzle.
But what to make of the group’s edgy, yet straightforward arena-sized punk rock?
“Our music is definitely pleasantly devoid of any irony whatsoever,” said Hengst.
Looking to capitalize on their critically acclaimed brand of non-ironic pop-punk, the band is ready to win over audiences nationwide.
“We want to really beat you over the head with something that actually is kind of poppy, not that aggressive at all, but in a certain way, kind of is,” said Heng.
Dustin Schoof can be reached at schoofy@att.net.
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