Cops. If you think they only show up at anti-authoritarian punk rock shows in Putin's Russia, think again. They also showed up at blues-rock band JuxTApose's CD release party ... twice.
"Not everybody can handle blues rock the way JuxTApose does it," said keyboardist Cassidy Warner. "And apparently, not our neighbors. But the cops were really nice. They decided everything we were doing was fine, we just needed to keep the noise down."
JuxTApose released its debut EP, World of Trouble, in the upstairs garage of the band members' home (affectionately referred to as the "JuxTAcrib"), in a manner that blurred the lines between underground rock and alternative college party.
Admission was free. Kegs of beer were provided at the cost of $5 a cup. Opening bands came from as far as Chicago. After the first visit from the police, members of the band and their friends lined the walls with mattresses to dampen the sound. After the fact, Warner is still adamant that this do-it-yourself approach has been — and will remain — the core of JuxTApose.
"We've always had this in-house mentality," Warner said. "This is a local blues rock band. No one is going to do it for us, and we have all these skills in our group of people. Why shouldn't we do it? Being the way we are, we like to go over the top. Having a traditional CD release at a bar or venue — there's no way we would've been able to do it the way we wanted to. Having it at our house, everything is in our control."
For the band members, this creative work ethic runs through everything they do. World of Trouble is a collection of songs written over the past three years.
"This is really the cream of the crop," Warner said. "The title of the band is JuxTApose, and I don't think it's egotistical of me to say we live up to the name quite well. This is not a carbon copy blues rock album. Every song is completely different from the one before it. If you're looking for an eclectic mix of music, this is it."
World of Trouble is available on iTunes and Amazon.com.
