The BoDeans haven't lost the love of performing
Veteran roots-rockers the BoDeans have seen a lot in the more than 25 years they've been together.
They've been on a major label, earned raves from Rolling Stone magazine, played huge stadiums with U2 and had one of their songs chosen as the theme for a hugely popular '90s television show.
This year, the BoDeans are touring behind their latest record, “Mr. Sad Clown (429 Records), a meditative album full of songs that look back not just on their career, but on their lives as well.
“Well, we've reached middle age, and that seems to be what you do then, said BoDeans singer, guitarist and co-founder Kurt Neumann on the phone from his home outside of Austin, Texas. “You take stock of the things you've done, the good things that have happened, and the time you've wasted.
“It's not a ‘down' record, necessarily, but it's more serious than most of the stuff we've done before.
Songs like “Today and “All the Blues, for instance, deal with depression. “Headed for the End of the World addresses social and political extremism. The song was used to promote the documentary “Countdown to Zero, which is about nuclear weapons proliferation.
But while the lyrical content might be different, the music is classic BoDeans: no-frills rock 'n' roll highlighted by the unique vocal harmonies created by Neumann and the band's other driving force, singer and guitarist Sammy Llanas.
“I'm proud of the record, even though I wasn't very sure about it in the beginning, Neumann said. “I worked on the songs in my studio here, but didn't know if I had an album or not. I sent it out to some friends, and they loved it and said ‘put this out, now!' And I'm glad we did. Sometimes it makes things worse if you think about songs and tinker with them forever.
The BoDeans burst out of Waukesha, Wis., in the mid-1980s. The band's debut record, “Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, became a college-radio favorite because of its twangy, stripped-down sound and the combination of Neumann's warm baritone and Llanas' higher-pitched gravelly voice.
“When people heard it on record, they said we sounded like the Everly Brothers, Neumann said. “I said: ‘Shut up! There's no way we sound as good as that!' I've come to appreciate the sound we make, though. It's definitely part of what makes the BoDeans unique.
The success of the debut album and its successor, 1987's “Outside Looking In, led Rolling Stone to declare the BoDeans “Best New Band for that year and secured them an opening slot on U2's mammoth “Joshua Tree tour.
“That tour really helped open up our audience, Neumann said. “To this day a lot of people tell us that they first heard us opening for U2.
The band's next taste of huge success came when “Closer to Free, a song from the 1993 album “Go Slow Down, became the theme song for the popular TV drama “Party of Five. Neumann said the song's popularity was good for the band in a lot of ways, but also resulted in awkward situations where the BoDeans played in front of crowds who didn't really know the band at all.
After a brief hiatus from recording in the late 1990s, the band returned with “Resolution in 2004, and has released records regularly since. The recording, though, is just a prelude for what Neumann and Llanas really like to do play in front of a live audience.
“It's always been our goal to be a great live act, and we look at our records as advertisements for the shows, Neumann said. “A live audience is what gives you that spark, that energy. Even though we've been playing some of these songs for almost 30 years, a crowd makes it all seem fresh and new and different. That's what we love about this job.
The BoDeans
<p>When: 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15</p>
<p>Where: The Arcada Theater, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles</p>
<p>Tickets: $49 to $75; <a href="http://www.thearcada.com">thearcada.com</a> or (630) 962-7000</p>