MP3 Steve Ewing - Common Side Effects

It's funky, rock music that makes you say Hyaaah.

9 MP3 Songs in this album (32:58) !
Related styles: ROCK: Funk Rock, ROCK: Modern Rock

People who are interested in The Urge 311 Living Colour should consider this download.


Details:
With new band, Ewing goes back to just singing
By Kevin C. Johnson
POST-DISPATCH POP MUSIC CRITIC
Thursday, Jul. 31 2008
It took only five CDs to get there, but former Urge front man Steve Ewing
(photo below) may be at his Urge-like best on his new CD "Common Side Effects."

Ewing's first four post-Urge CDs were his own projects, but "Common Side
Effects" is a Steve Ewing Band release, which takes it back to the old school
for Ewing.

"This might sound closer to what the Urge used to do, though there's no horns
or keyboards," Ewing said.

"There's not a lot of stuff going on productionwise. It's just straight-up
rock, and it sounds like what I always used to do in this capacity. It's the
first record I've cut with a full band," said Ewing, who had gotten used to
performing in an acoustic duo.

Drummer Tony Barbata, guitarist Adam Hansbrough and bassist Nick Jost fill out
the band.

Much like his time with the Urge, Ewing is allowed to simply sing on "Common
Side Effects" rather than doing nearly everything to make a record "Prince or
Lenny Kravitz style,"

He hadn't been able to just sing for a long time.

"I can see myself doing this for quite a while. I've formed a great bond with
them, and they're top notch," Ewing said of his band mates. "I have a lot of
trust with them."

The band recorded everything in a couple of weeks, mostly in one or two takes.
The idea of holing up in a studio for six months to record was thrown out the
window in favor of getting in and out quickly.

"I wanted to go back to the simple process of making a record, and you can only
do that with a good band," Ewing said. "We knew what we wanted to do, so we
said let's not take a lot of time."

The title track to "Common Side Effects" likens love to a drug.

"It's something that's great, fantastic," Ewing said. "Then there's the side
effects, the other part of being in love, being responsible to another person."

The song "Sweetest Enemy" follows a similar theme.

"It's about how the people you love the most will probably cause the most
heartache and pain," he said.

"Common Side Effects" also comes with an unexpected cover: the Jacksons' "This
Place Hotel."

"I always wanted to play that song with a band, so we did it," Ewing said. "I
really don't know what Michael was talking about when he did that one. I get
the feeling at some point the girls got overwhelming, and he had a hard time
dealing with it."

As for the Urge, Ewing said there is no news, although the members sometimes
update each other on their projects.

The Steve Ewing Band will perform tonight at the Bottleneck Blues Bar at
Ameristar Casino; Friday at Jay's Pub in Farmington; Saturday at Café Eau: and
Sunday at Jive and Wail in Maplewood.

More information: www.steveewingmusic.com or www.myspace.com/thesteveewingband.