The People's Temple wsg The Amoebas, Kastanza, Cardboard Swords
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
May 3, 8 p.m.
$8 advance, $10 day of show
pyramidschemebar.com, (616) 272-3758
In 2007, two sets of brothers out of Perry, Mich. got together and decided to make some music. But they weren't reaching for the polished, over-processed sound that saturates the airwaves today. Instead, these four embraced the raw, unrefined style of 1960s garage rock, with some psychedelia thrown in for good measure, and formed The People's Temple.
Given their focus, it's no wonder they found themselves on the radar of Third Man Records, Jack White's independent record label out of Nashville. So in July 2012, the band – which Third Man Records calls one of "the most intriguing and rawkus bands currently blowing up the rock-n-roll underground" – traveled to Tennessee to record a live single.
"We drove all night to get down there," said Lead Guitarist Alex Szegedy. "It was really fun, and it was actually our first live recording we've ever done. We got to listen to it right after recording. It was very interesting."
That live single, which included the songs "Never More" and "Miles Away," was released under the Third Man label on 7-inch vinyl in February. Add that to the band's already impressive discography, which includes three EPs and two full-length albums, as well as a consistent touring schedule, and it's safe to say these guys keep busy.
"Right now we're just trying to go out and spread our name around," Szegedy said. "We have a whole other bunch of May dates ...We'll be sticking around the Midwest and the deep south, take a month off, then go out to the west coast in July."
Yet even with that kind of schedule, the band is looking at more recording.
"We're going to be putting out another single in July," Szegedy said."I don't know about a third album yet. We have a lot of material, just nothing specific in the works right now. What we do have is not necessarily very good, or at least what I consider very good ... We'll see, you never know. Right now we're just trying to keep playing shows and keep going."
