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the Volumes are:
Morgan Schick - vocals, guitar, harmonica
Matt Parenteau - guitars
Andy Kaufman - guitar and bass
Aaron MacDonald - drums and such.
they're from portland, oregon. they play rock music, feverishly. they mix up the punk and the soul. bruce springsteen meets the dirtbombs.
PRESS: ABOUT THE BAND
TURN UP THE ROCK The Volumes Just Wanna Help
by Chazz Madrigal
"These days, when the word rock is thrown around more as an ironic statement than a musical style, being in a rock 'n' roll band can be trying. To really grab the attention of a jaded audience, you have to be doing something pretty extraordinary (like be from Sweden or get produced by Jack White). Luckily for The Volumes, they not only play rock, they believe in it. Their music itself conjures images of gritty juke joints on rural highways: visceral, primitive and damaging. Vocalist Morgan Schick bellows and howls like a man possessed by Mike Carroll (not dead) and the ghost of Otis Redding (way dead). Bassist Andy Kauffman and drummer Aaron MacDonald provide the type of no-frills, all-balls foundation that makes your gut wrench."
- Portland Mercury
"The Volumes' soul-punk hybrid is certainly a weighty mass of energetic garage rock, but it doesn't suffer fool's gold by aping the currently popular distortion-ravaged rock of the Hives, White Stripes, et al. Instead, the Volumes play it cool with neo-Estrus style rhythm 'n' surf that only needs to kick when it wants to attain critical density." (DC)
- Willamette Week
"The Volumes hit listeners with a hard fusion of punk-soul that makes you want to dance on the inside and out. Frontman Morgan Schick plays up his impending stardom perfectly with screams and inspired head bobs, while moppet-haired guitarist Matt Parenteau almost scares you into thinking he may collapse in a fit of ecstasy because he loves playing music so much. When I saw them live they did a smokin' Raspberry Beret cover, earning them mucho points in my book." NICOLE WARREN
- Portland Mercury
"The Volumes purvey Television-y, guitar-melody-centric, punky art-rock, but singer Morgan Schick plays a more evocative Verlaine--and not at all whiny, which is good for us." JS
- Portland Mercury
"...if you'd consider attending such spectacle, then you can probably stand some loud rock 'n' roll. But be serious about it, because the Volumes are. And if you're unprepared, you might get blown out the back window of the establishment by the gale storm of their punky, soulful, and commanding enthusiasm." MARJORIE SKINNER
-Portland Mercury
"Bands are often quick to announce that they "don't give a shit" or "just play the music they want to play and don't really care what people think." But these kinds of statements are themselves bullshit, propagating a myth that art, in order to be pure, must be detached from its audience. The best music doesn't ignore its audience, but engages it. Though it shouldn't pander too much to prevailing tastes or fashions, a good band knows that it exists for its audience, not vice versa. The Volumes are such a band. They make an effort to excite you and, with their searing guitar riffs and manic preacher-man vocals, they give enough of a shit to get the proverbial party started." KB
-- Portland Mercury
PRESS: ABOUT THE RECORD, LOVE & SQUALOR
"The Volumes are fucking addictive. When you first hear them, it's like meeting someone who reminds you of a friend, in this case the band formerly known as John Spencer Blues Explosion. The comparison means they have a degree of cool, but the association waters it down. As you spend more time together, however, The Volumes assert their own personality. You see beyond the simple garage rock/blues veneer and love them for recklessly chunking on their guitars and growling more than singing -- all in their own special way. It doesn't matter that they don't hit each note with precision. Their music is about energy not accuracy. Love and Squalor explodes from the get go with the track Light of Day, an assault of guitar and harmonica while singer Morgan Schick shouts how he's "got sixes." I have no idea what it means (lyrics aren't my strong suit) but damn if I don't want these sixes, the way he talks about 'em. There are some other great tracks including Six Foot Four and So Long, showing that The Volumes' four previous recordings (all modest and limited-release) have taught the band to kick some serious ass on this magnum effort." --mhw
-Music Liberation Project
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