The Merediths:Velocity Review
Rock this Town
The Merediths are young and bristling with pop energy
By Joshua Hammann
Rock 'n' roll — it's a young man's game. What with all the lifting of amps and dodging of panties, you have to have the knees of a spry youth to succeed. And the Merediths have youth in spades. With all five members younger than 25, the Merediths are one of a handful of bright, young bands revitalizing the local music scene. It's morning again in Louisville, and the Merediths are a big reason.
Background
These kids and their bands. The beginnings are always so damn convoluted.
To summarize: Bassist Jesse Lucas, 22, and keyboardist Jonathan York, 24, played in Audio/Video Club together. York left the band and drummer Brian Haulter, 24, replaced him. Also, Lucas had played some acoustic gigs with singer/guitarist Joe Meredith, 21, in Lexington. In early December, the four of them, along with guitarist, Mike Pfaff, played a handful of shows and recorded a seven-song EP. When Pfaff left to fight evildoers with the Army National Guard in the spring, the band tried to make its way as a four-piece but, admittedly, struggled.
"After a while we realized we needed it (another guitar) for that sound," Haulter said.
The first replacement didn't take, and York remembered a high school friend from Elizabethtown. With little more than high school marching band performances on his stage résumé, Mark Bryant, 22, came on as the second guitarist.
Sound
The Merediths don't sound like a band comprised of hardcore punk castoffs from Louisville satellites such as Elizabethtown, Rineyville and Leitchfield. Meredith writes melody-heavy pop extravaganzas in the vein of the Anniversary, T. Rex and the Pixies. While he still plays bass and writes some music in the hardcore band Ten To Midnight, Meredith finds writing for the Merediths' sweeter sound, "more fulfilling."
Outlook
As an engineer at Downtown Recording, Haulter gets the band free studio time, but it has to squeeze in when the space isn't booked and gets booted when paying customers show up.
But the band takes advantage, having recorded a three-song EP to give away at shows.
"I think we sold like three of them for a dollar," Lucas joked.
In a few months, a split EP with Cabin will be available, and there are plans for a future full-length.
Until then, the Merediths will continue to wrangle shows and fans through its popular MySpace.com profile. The Friendster-like website, on which the band has loaded MP3s of its songs, blossoms with gushing testimonials from adoring fans.
"MySpace has been huge for us," Lucas said.