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Lansing artists cover songs of local acts for compilation CD

January 8, 2012
Jeremy Quentin of Small Houses performs Friday night at Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave. Small Houses is part of a compilation CD, Secret Identities, of Lansing artists covering other Lansing artists.
Jeremy Quentin of Small Houses performs Friday night at Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave. Small Houses is part of a compilation CD, Secret Identities, of Lansing artists covering other Lansing artists. —
Photo by Derek Berggren | and Derek Berggren The State News

No one seems to love the local music scene more than Sean Bradley.

Bradley, who currently is studying at Central Michigan University but is from the area, said he always has been a fan of Lansing-based musicians.

To show his appreciation for the scene, he recently released a compilation CD titled “Secret Identities: Lansing Covers Lansing.”

“I want people to be as excited about (the CD) as I am,” he said. “I want people to at least give the bands a shot — at least learn that these bands exist because they work hard, and I feel like someone should show the world that they exist.”

The CD, which was released Friday, includes 11 tracks in which Lansing-based bands covered the songs of other Lansing-based groups. It features a wide range of genres, including folk, metal and pop-punk.

“It’s not just one kind of cover album,” Bradley said. “It’s a bunch of different styles, which is really neat.”

Jeremy Quentin, one of the artists featured on the CD, said recognizing Lansing’s talent in this way is much needed and he applauds Bradley’s efforts.

“Music in general is what defines us as a city,” he said.

“You’re going to hear more about bands coming out of Lansing than you’re going to hear about any politician or any school board. You’re going to know about the bands, and that’s going to define us.”

When selecting a song, Bradley said he encouraged band members to choose one that was out of their comfort zone but still maintain their own unique style while recording it.

Some of the songs were straight covers of the original, but most were a completely different approach, with drastic changes made to lyrics and beats.

“It was really neat to have (the band members) work at it and come up with something totally different rather than just regurgitate the same song,” Bradley said.

Quentin said his participation in the compilation reconnected him with his town.

“Even though I’m traveling so much and hopping from town to town, I still represent Lansing,” he said. “It’s good to know that you have a home, and that’s what the compilation (has) done for me.”

Some of the bands that were a part of the compilation, including Small Houses, The Plurals, Frank and Earnest, Cavalcade and American Gothic, performed at a CD release party Friday at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, showcasing their excitement in being involved with the project.

Small Houses
Taking inspiration from Jen Sygit, one of his favorite local performers, folk artist Quentin, of Small Houses, decided to cover one of his idol’s hit songs, “Marshall St.”

He said he has a strong connection to the song because he is from Lansing ­— the city the song is about — and other listeners should be able to feel a similar connection.

“This (song) has always been a hit in my mind,” Quentin said. “It’s something that (Sygit) can relate with but also something that everyone in the town can relate with because it’s about us.”

The Plurals
Tommy McCord of alternative rock band The Plurals wanted to bring to life a forgotten song by one of his favorite local bands, Flatfoot. The band still performs locally, but they don’t perform the song “The Crawl” because the band member who wrote it is no longer with the group.

“It’s a really good song, and it was my favorite song that band performed,” McCord said. “I thought it would be cool to play the song and kind of pay my respects.”

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Frank and Earnest
Carrying on the sounds of a family band, Mystic Shake, punk-rock musician Ben Hassenger, of Frank and Earnest said he was excited to perform “Woman Like That” — a number originally written and performed by his father.

“It’s a pretty simple song, but it’s a good song,” Hassenger said. “We thought it was one we could put our own unique twist on, and we could keep it in the family. We thought it would be fun to sing lyrics that my dad sang ten years ago.”

Cavalcade
After the singer and guitarist of Small Brown Bike made a guest appearance on rock group Cavalcade’s second album, Cale Sauter of Cavalcade said he wanted to show his appreciation for Small Brown Bike by covering one of its songs, “The Cold.”

“We wanted to do it as an homage to (Small Brown Bike),” Sauter said. “We just thought we could do an interesting take on it, so we went ahead and did our own arrangement on it. Hopefully we did it justice while providing a slightly different take on it.”

American Gothic
Ben Jenson said members of his hardcore band American Gothic already were eager to cover The Fix’s song “Signal” even before Bradley had asked them to be a part of his compilation project.

Jenson said group members enjoy the song so much they stayed true to its original form, making few changes.

“Ryan was really set on doing (‘Signal’),” Jenson said. “He really enjoys the song, and The Fix is kind of an overlooked hardcore band that just happened to come out of Lansing. (The song) fit the way we do things, and everything else just kind of fell into place.”

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