Posted on: May 22, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

L.A. BASED ROCK POWERHOUSE PEOPLE SETS OUT TO ROCK THE U.S. WITH THE CLICHÉ, WHICH WAS PRODUCED BY THE LEGENDARY DAVE JERDEN (JANE’S ADDICTION, ALICE IN CHAINS) AND FEATURES THE FINAL RECORDED PERFORMANCES BY BASSIST GIDGET GEIN

The brash and edgy sarcasm of Jimmy Young, frontman, guitarist and songwriter of rock powerhouse People, inspired him to dub the L.A. based band’s debut The Cliché—but in reality, between their blistering live performances, hard hitting, deep and melodic songwriting, futuristic space punk rock vibe and inspiring star-studded rock collaborations make them pretty damn original.

While the album’s first single and video for “The Kids” hit nationwide and build mightily on People’s intense West Coast cult following, old and young modern rock fans looking for the real deal will love the fact that Young got veteran punk/metal producer Dave Jerden (Jane’s Addiction, Alice in Chains, Mary’s Danish) to produce and Jerden’s right hand sound guy, Bryan Carlstrom (Billy Idol, The Offspring) to engineer.

Before they even get acquainted with Young’s sharp, cliché free songwriting, these discriminating fans will no doubt claim the ten song set as a piece of rock history because it’s the last recording to feature former longtime Marilyn Manson bassist Gidget Gein, who died of a heroin overdose in October 2008, five days after he played with People at The Roxy and just before the band was set to do a Northeastern tour with Semi Precious Weapons.

While the current lineup of the band—including co-founder and Chicago bred drummer Matty O. (aka “O”), keyboardist Grant Rhodes and new bassist Matt Powers—is excited about celebrating the legacy of Gein and the inspiration his musical and visual art brought to People’s first full-length recording, they’re definitely focused on the incredibly bright future. The major buzz they’ve generated from the two years the group has headlined in L.A. (at The Troubadour, El Rey and Sunset Strip landmarks like Viper Room, House of Blues) is about to reach the Midwest as People performs in New York at Sullivan Hall in June and at the indie rock festival D-Fest in Tulsa (known by many as “the next South By Southwest).

The video for “The Kids”—a track lamenting the lack of social consciousness and political motivation of those who grew up in the grunge era—will soon air on outlets like MTV2, Fuse and Much Music, and People has over 30,000 online fans between the band’s myspace page and that of Powers, a solo artist in his own right who released his debut album Neverending Aftermath in 2007. Another cut getting major traction is the blistering “Song For The People,” which addresses the hypocrisy of bands who act too good for their fans and reminds them that at the end of the day, we’re all the same, and no matter what we go through, we’re still alive and kicking. “Cheap Money” is Young’s ode to the way materialistic people in L.A. think they can use money as a way to manipulate people.

Dave Jerden says, “I’ve made my share of records, but every once in a while a project comes along that is just plain fun to do. Working with People was not only fun but a creative experience for myself.”

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