Element 57 was born out of the ashes of nationally acclaimed Indie band 4th Plane Jaiant, who’s two albums, Tideline and Bipolar, received national college radio play with the band maintaining an incessant touring schedule. In 2004, founding members Chris Galyon, Andy Kallenberger and Jason Wilbur changed their musical direction from a Dave Matthews inspired progressive jam band to the riff heavy, groove oriented modern rock that Element 57 thrives on today. New band members Mark Banner and Justin DeFreece were added to complete the current line-up, a move intended to help further the bands musical vision.
Recorded with long time Portland engineer and producer Sean Norton, Element 57’s new record Ripcord, is a record filled with a strong sense of duality. On the one hand it’s chalk full of modern rock radio-ready songs such as “20 Minutes,” and “Weather,” while on the other hand it maintains a dark, more emotive demeanor. From the ever-climbing title track, “Ripcord,” to the driving pulse of “Lifeline,” the songs overflow with energy, while still focusing on melody and form. Guitar and saxophone rise and fall over a waterfall of sound and a pounding groove. All of which is led by Chris Galyon’s dynamic vocals, that simultaneously conjure up both Peter Gabriel and Chris Cornell.
Winning the 2006 Independent Music Award for best rock song, “Woke Up Late,” Element 57 is hoping for even more industry accolade with Ripcord, and they seem to be getting it. All forms of radio, traditional and online, have been quick to respond to the new record. Portland radio stations KUFO 101.1FM and 94.7FM KNRK as well as over 250 college, FM and public radio stations around the nation have added the songs “Ripcord”, “Weather” and “20 Minutes” to their play lists.
In the fall 2009, MTV, VH1 & The E Channel have licensed the new album for popular TV shows such as The Real World, Road Rules, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Bad Girls Club, The City, Cribs and several others. In August of 2008, the band was named as the MTV2 Emerging Artist, landing the band two live music videos and an interview broadcast on MTV2, NBC Sports, MTV2.com and Comcast On Demand. MTV2 also chose the band to represent the Portland Music scene during the Dew Tour 2009 by broadcasting live performances and interviews with the band across the nation.
Guitarists Chris Galyon and Justin DeFreece recently sat down with Guitar International Magazine to discuss the bands accolades, their latest record and how they plan to build on the bands early success.
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Matt Warnock: Being based out of Portland, Oregon, you guys are close to Seattle, which has probably the most well-known music scene in the Northwest. What’s the scene like in Portland right now compared to what’s going on in Seattle?
Chris Galyon: I think Portland actually has a more interesting music scene than Seattle does. There are a lot of old jazz and blues players on the scene in Portland, which gives it a distinct vibe. Portland’s also a big city with a small city vibe, so the music city has a small town feel to it, we all kind of know each other and there’s an intimate feeling to it.
I’m not really that in touch with the Seattle scene to tell you the truth. We play there every few weeks but I don’t know if that’s where I’m drawn to for live music. Portland’s got a great scene, so there are tons of great bands to check out here, and great places to play.
Justin DeFreece: My exposure to the Seattle scene has been playing in roots, rockabilly bands, so that’s the side of the scene that I’ve been exposed to. In Portland there’s this heavy jazz thing going on right now, and in the rock genre people tend to be pretty eclectic.
I hear things here that I haven’t heard in other cities. Bands are drawing from a ton of different influences, there’s the reggae influence, the folk influence, so we hear a lot of acoustic stuff here. It’s kind of all over the map, which makes it a very cool place to make, and check out music.
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