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SportsTrancers chip in cash for newest Hines EP
Friday, Aug. 8, 2008
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Shane Hines recently recorded a new EP.
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Taking a break at a roadside stop, Hines happily described the trip as ‘‘uneventful.”Hines, no doubt, has spent plenty of time on the road. Surely he is used to being cooped up in a van for 12 or 13 hours. This, however, was an atypical voyage, and Hines’ sounded like a man on a mission (and perhaps extremely caffeinated as well).
Hines, in fact, was so motivated for this trip to Nashville that he woke up early and cleaned out the van, ‘‘Bessie,” through which he recovered winter clothes, some Euros and a Starbucks cup filled with ‘‘dip and assorted floaty things.” (The full list is posted in a blog on the band’s MySpace page.)
Recent news for Shane Hanes and The Trance is loaded with accolades (an XM radio global broadcast at Abbey Road studios, a Washington Area Music Award for best rock band, Trance tunes used on MTV programs, ‘‘The Hills,” ‘‘Road Rules Challenges” and ‘‘Real World”), and rather than revel in it, the band appears to be steaming forward.
Awaiting the band in Music City was a renowned producer, Chris Grainger, who has worked with bands the likes of Wilco, Ludo and Sixpence None The Richer.
The plan: Record for 11 days. Return to the East Coast with a fresh EP.
Hines’ past efforts include 2003’s ‘‘Sweet Soul Suicide,” 2005’s ‘‘Zoe” and 2006’s ‘‘Satellite Go Boom.”
The music, for the most part, tiptoes back and forth between pop and more alternatives notions of rock. It often seems as if Hines has been sampling from various commercially viable strains of the genre in hopes that his own strain of it will someday magically appear.
Take a quick spin through his catalogue: ‘‘What a Beautiful Day” is a powerful, modern rock ballad. ‘‘Need” is edgier and less melodic; it even has a brief hardcore interlude. ‘‘We Can Never Be” conjures a less piano-centric Coldplay tune.
All in all, Hines can take a listener on a trip through recent rock history — the power pop, the emo, the ‘90s, the bubblegum, the indie rockers, the pop punksters and pop soulsters.
His songs often portray a world of chaos. Hines faces up to reality and delivers accessible lyrics that are usually based on intense experiences, and he does not brighten these tales for the sake of creating songs some listening closely might find easier to digest. Propelling it all, meanwhile, are driving hooks, recognizable melodies and Hines’ powerful and yet extremely versatile vocals. As good, in a sense, as most of these songs are, it is difficult initially to associate the tunes with Hines instead of somebody else, and, from a listeners’ standpoint, that feeling is often unsettling or perhaps disruptive in the effort to embrace the music.
In Nashville, Hines and The Trance, which has been through its fair share of arrangements, will record seven tracks. If the sessions go well, the result will be a snapshot of the band’s current form. Additionally, Hines hopes the live approach The Trance will take to these recordings could strain out a more authentic, organic sound. ‘‘We’re going to put together a cohesive batch of songs that make sense,” Hines said, and that’s the opposite approach he has taken to his three previous recordings.
Hines, it seems, is looking for artistic direction from Grainger, not slick production. ‘‘We want a little better representation of who we are when you come to us see us live,” he said. ‘‘It’s a pretty rocking show.”
In choosing the songs for this EP, Hines put his entire catalogue up for grabs. Most songs are new or from recent demos. ‘‘Need,” however, is from ‘‘Sweet Soul Suicide.”
Hines has not been disappointed with previous recording efforts, but he has not been entirely satisfied either. ‘‘We have yet to capture us,” he said. ‘‘I feel like this time around it is going to happen.”
While Hines has achieved some commercial success, as Hine’s long-time collaborator Brian Keating writes on the website www.teamtrance.com, he and Hines still have some dues to pay before they can ride motorcycles through motel halls.
The group remains independent (they are the only unsigned band played on Washington, D.C.’s 94.7 FM), and while there have been some offers from record companies, Hines has found none to be particularly appealing. ‘‘I don’t want to get a record contract just to tell my friends I have a record contract,” he said. ‘‘That’s idiotic.”
But Hines also understands the business side of things, and he is more than aware that if you want great results in the studio, sometimes it does not hurt to have a company willing to pony up some cash. On the other hand, if the material is ready, one can’t just sit around and twiddle thumbs.
Hines’ manager recently came up with the idea for Team Trance, a Web site which asks fans (Trancers) for donations to fund the new EP. Team Trance was formed in early July, and in two weeks nearly $25,000 of the desired $40,000 had been raised.
‘‘I am so humbled,” Hines said. ‘‘It pumps me up to go to Nashville. I don’t want to screw it up. And we won’t.”
