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fORMER is a band out of Murfreesboro, TN. Their music is lighter than what I normally listen to... no growling, no screaming, no insane drumming speed. Just an all-around good ol' "Pop-Rock" band is how I'd label them. My main question about fORMER is "What the freak are these guys still doing in Murfreesboro?" Denny was kind enough to burn me a copy of their Demo and I was blown away. They've got four songs on their Myspace.com page. When I heard their myspace stuff I emailed Denny and asked for a copy of the CD.

The lineup April, 2006 is Denny Smith (Vox and Guitar), JD "Techs" Garner (Guitar), Henry Go (Bass), and Billy Baker (Drums).

Not only does Denny play guitar, keyboards and sing, but he also writes the lyrics. Most of the time they are clever and catchy, although sometimes I feel like he's not really into the song on vocals. I find myself singing to "Let me let you down" all the time now; it even gets stuck in my head when I'm not listening. "Make it out" is my least favorite on the CD but I still like it.

These guys remind me of Jimmy Eat World and a friend told me they remind him of Better Than Ezra at times. Everyone that's heard it so far has liked it. On their website (http://www.formerband.com ) they compare themselves to a number of bands - Tom Petty, Jellyfish, Afghan Whigs...I don't get the Whigs comparison...but I can't stand the Afghan Whigs so it's probably better this way.

Since this is a demo, the production isn't perfect but it's good enough to serve the purpose. According to their website they went into the studio with a new production team early this month. I'd love to hear the finished copy. Ideally, they'd invite me to the studio to see how it's all done (that's a hint, Denny!). ..>..>

The weak points are few. I didn't like the vocals 100% of the time. Sometimes I felt like the vocals just didn't fit the song. It didn't happen enough for me to even write it down, but it was there. I'd even attribute this to being a demo. At the end of "Lies," the piano just keeps going, and keeps going, ...and going. That's really about it for the negative. Again, this was only a demo, so I can't do any bashing.

A few people I've talked to have heard of these guys and like what they hear. FormerBand.com says that they were scheduled to play the second stage, small stage, whatever it's called at the Buzzfest last weekend. I'm a little upset I just found that out or I think I would have gone.



Download the demo at http://www.formerband.com/music.html. You be the judge. I'd definitely give this 4 out of 5 whatevers. It only gets 4 because it's a demo. It doesn't count as much.

After P. Jones was done with their set, Former came on. Many people had recommended this group to me and Ernie Ayres’ recent review of their demo piqued my interest. While their material was strong in and of itself, it was their energy that bowled me over. Singer/guitarist Denny Smith has built a solid reputation around this town and he lived up to his hype; delivering the vocal and musical goods consistently throughout the performance. It’s hard to believe that drummer Billy Baker wound up in the hospital within weeks of this performance due to the fact that he was an absolute monster behind his drum kit. Get well soon Billy. The true star of this performance, though, was Henry Go, brother of our guest of honor Aljon Go. Henry has some serious stage presence. He also has quite a local band resume as was pointed out by Jimmy Chandler during his portion of the Roast. Exhibiting an up-tempo performance, Former definitely made me a fan. I look forward to seeing them again.

While taking my time to develop a surly approach to this review, I continously found myself thinking of Blink 182's "The Rock Show" considering (1) fORMER and The Beauty School Dropouts has been my only "rock show" since Buzzfest IV and (2) I left feeling like a big indie nerd at the rock show.

True: My music preferences differ from most rock fans and NR.net readers.
False: I am a music snob who can't enjoy a good show.
With that being said, I wrote this in the style of "The Rock Show" minus the aabb or aaabbb rhyme schemes. I may be clever, but I'm not that clever. Prepare to reply with how much you disagree with me, but thank you for reading it.

m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/ m/m/

Went to see fORMER and BSD last Wednes’dee
Ordering beer, waiting for the show to start
In a booth at On The Rocks, an hour past show time
Former’s drummer woke us like a tornado siren

Each player had his own personality
Denny was vulnerable, Ian was oozing sex
Henry was full of energy
Corey’s arms must be bionic, never ceasing

But I felt like a big indie nerd at the rock show
I didn’t wear vintage, spiked hair or a bandana
It was free, I was curious about all the hype
fORMER used drum tracks but good words
I won’t be surprised to see them in a film
As the band at the club where the lovers meet

The Beauty School Dropouts fivesome then began
A raucous crowd of two rows formed at the front
Foot on monitor, Jimmy sang to the back wall
Or he screamed at the right of the stage where nobody stood

I felt like an indie nerd at the rock show
Forgot about the prerequisite eyeliner
I don’t really enjoy being screamed at that much
But BSD did play the Foo Fighters’ “Hero”
While Josh gave good back-up, Jimmy shouldn’t Grohl
I just had fun watching them adjust their hair

“Radio” brought on the crowd’s nodding chins
Jimmy asked for Jager
And the wuss took three sips
He then told us four times about their shirts
Then played a t.A.T.u. song:
“All The Fucking Things You Said”

I felt like an indie nerd at the rock show
I was quite bored with the Beauty School Dropouts
I felt bad because the fans only knew two songs
Overall the Dropouts were a let down
Appearing pretentious and superficial

I’m glad I went to the show
I’m glad I went to the show
(It was good to see Denny’s band) after the Bombshell Crushed
(I liked fORMER’s old school 80s) nods with new rock tremblings
(While BSD isn’t) my cup of music tea
(Jimmy, please, stop giving) yourself the devil horns

fORMER took the stage first and I noticed something unique right off the bat. On the Rocks was actually almost full to capacity with people. It was truly refreshing to see a full house for the first band. As anyone who goes to shows in Nashville knows, usually the first band plays for very few people. Not only did fORMER have a big crowd, they won them over and by the end of their set, the whole place was cheering them on. My favorite songs from their set were ‘Never Come Down’ and ‘In the Gray’. I’ve always thought of fORMER as Nashville’s answer to Cheap Trick with their 70’s style pop rock hooks and frontman, Denny Smith’s vocal style. I was thrilled to see them end their set with a cover of Cheap Trick’s ‘Surrender’ that featured a guest spot of Caprice’s Tony Higbee on guitar. The whole bar was caught up in the song and it was a great way to start off the show.