Meet the band: Album Cover

David Lindquist

September 17, 2008 by David Lindquist

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Group will re-create 'Tommy' in live show at Birdy's

Cover bands and tribute bands are long-established fixtures of the live music landscape.

But a band known as Album Cover appears to be something new.

The brainchild of bass player Brian McKenna and percussionist Matt McEllhiney, Album Cover aspires to perform landmark recordings in their entirety -- with a rotating cast of musicians joining McKenna and McEllhiney.

Up first in this ambitious experiment is the Who's "Tommy." Released in 1969, the definitive "rock opera" tells the tale of a messianic adolescent who can't see, speak or hear.

Album Cover will perform all 24 songs of "Tommy" Saturday at Birdy's.

McKenna pinpoints scheduling as Album Cover's biggest test. "Everybody is in other bands," he says.

Featured players for the "Tommy" performance are vocalists Stone Martin (a member of the Rift) and Cynthia Layne (solo artist), guitarists Gregg Jones (Vestiges of Ecstasy) and Kolo Bell (solo artist), keyboard player Kevin Silva (Rock Soup) and Chad Wells (Lines of Nazca).

McKenna and Martin talked to Indy.com about the show that will cap months of preparations:

On the challenge of "Tommy": "I've been trying to get people to do 'Tommy' for years," McKenna says. "They'd say, 'Oh, no, you can't do that.' But I think we do a pretty good job."

On new collaborations: "(Album Cover) gives us a chance to work with different musicians throughout the area," McKenna says. "With each album, Matt and I are going to try to pick the right musicians to come together."

On the Who's forceful nature: "The Who were the ones who came out, put it in your face and jammed really loud," McKenna says.

On the Who's softer side: "Stylistically, this is very different for me," vocalist Martin says. "I'm used to playing a lot of the harder rock stuff. "Tommy' has some real laid-back parts to it. It has some real adjustments in vocal style."

On the future of Album Cover: "We're going back and reviewing great albums, and some of them came out not too long ago," says McKenna, citing Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Prince's "Purple Rain," Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" as possible projects to tackle, without committing to any.

Album Cover

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept..20.

Where: Birdy's, 3121 E. 71st St.

Admission: $7. For more information, call (317) 254-8971 or visit www.birdyslive.com

Forum: Music

Tags: 

The Who, tribute bands, cover bands, Album Cover

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