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Back in mid 1980s Rob Stuart, a student at the University of North Carolina, inspired by the burgeoning music scene exploding out of Athens and led by REM, traded in a boom box at a local pawn shop and bought his first guitar which he diligently set about learning to play. He was working at the Subway sandwich shop in Chapel Hill when a fellow co-worker mention that his band One Plus Two needed a new bass player to replace Eric Peterson (who was later in the final line up of the DB’s).
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Back in mid 1980s Rob Stuart, a student at the University of North Carolina, inspired by the burgeoning music scene exploding out of Athens and led by REM, traded in a boom box at a local pawn shop and bought his first guitar which he diligently set about learning to play. He was working at the Subway sandwich shop in Chapel Hill when a fellow co-worker mention that his band One Plus Two needed a new bass player to replace Eric Peterson (who was later in the final line up of the DB’s).
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So Rob pawned his guitar in, got himself a bass and joined the band. Holden Richards was the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of One Plus Two and they were signed to Homestead Records and in 86 put out their only album Once In A Blue Moon.
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It’s a pretty good album of jangley guitar pop in the Let’s Active style though obviously not in the same league, vocally a tad tentative and the production is a bit weak. So a good rather than great album but one on which Rob contributed his first published song "Can’t Go Back". One Plus Two played a lot of support slots for bands like The Replacements, The DB’s. The Hoodoo Gurus, Beat Rodeo, Let’s Active. 10,000 Maniacs, Rain Parade, Swimming Pool Q’s and the Three O’Clock when Jason Falkner was in that band. They played a headline shoe with Guadalcanal Diary in support. It was an heady and exciting time that came to an end in 86 when the band broke up. Richards went on to form the excellent Swarmis while Rob, after graduating college moved to Decatur near Atlanta with his future wife, got married, started a family and got a proper (and rather successful) job. Still bitten by the music bug he tried to hook up with various bands to continue music as a hobby but came up blank in finding anyone like minded enough to work with. Inspired by the golden age of Power Pop that sprang up in the 90’s he continued writing songs and eventually bought himself some home recording equipment to indulge his creative urges when he had time.
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In 2007 while driving home from work one night listening to NPR he was intrigued by the announcement of the second annual RPM challenge. The idea was to record a whole album in just one month, there was no prizes to be had, this was not a competition but just a way of inspiring artists and bands to focus themselves and get something done. Rob rose to the challenge and that February he sat up every night, often to well past midnight recording his new songs in the power pop style he was such a big fan of. Songs Of Hypocrisy And Hippos was the result and it was released on I Tunes and self released CDR under the excellent name of Broken Promise Keeper.
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In 2007 while driving home from work one night listening to NPR he was intrigued by the announcement of the second annual RPM challenge. The idea was to record a whole album in just one month, there was no prizes to be had, this was not a competition but just a way of inspiring artists and bands to focus themselves and get something done. Rob rose to the challenge and that February he sat up every night, often to well past midnight recording his new songs in the power pop style he was such a big fan of. Songs Of Hypocrisy And Hippos was the result and it was released on I Tunes and self released CDR under the excellent name of Broken Promise Keeper.
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The Avocado Age Of Radio followed a year later but it was with Ice Cold Pop released in 2009 where everything fell into place. While the previous albums had lots of great songs and playing, the production was not polished enough to really do them full justice. On Ice Cold Pop he nailed the production and as a result the Power Pop internet scene went crazy in its appreciation of this classic release. The album lodged itself firmly in all the top ten lists and suddenly Broken Promise Keeper were a name to be reckoned with.
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Now I love a bit of Power Pop myself, every since the days of Jellyfish and Beagle kick started the genre back into life in the early nineties, but I’ll admit that only the cream of the multitude of pop bands that have sprung up since then will hold my interest for long. Power Pop is such a seductive musical form that a lot of bands can sound better than they actually are, the guitars and harmonies and all those tricks can mask a fundamental weakness of material at first. I discard such albums quickly enough, being power pop is not enough on its own to justify a place in my collection. My first hearing of Ice Cold Pop was all it took to convince me that this time the lavish praise heaped upon this fine album had not been in anyway misplaced.
Now I love a bit of Power Pop myself, every since the days of Jellyfish and Beagle kick started the genre back into life in the early nineties, but I’ll admit that only the cream of the multitude of pop bands that have sprung up since then will hold my interest for long. Power Pop is such a seductive musical form that a lot of bands can sound better than they actually are, the guitars and harmonies and all those tricks can mask a fundamental weakness of material at first. I discard such albums quickly enough, being power pop is not enough on its own to justify a place in my collection. My first hearing of Ice Cold Pop was all it took to convince me that this time the lavish praise heaped upon this fine album had not been in anyway misplaced.
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Rob Stuart obviously loves Power Pop and that is a good thing but more importantly he has the talent and the chops to take it that vital step further. Power Pop bottom line is all about the songs and his songs are as great as the very best of them, witty, smart, melodic and imbued with pretty twists of melody. Hooks are also vital and Rob has that knack in spades. Great classic honey tinged pop voice, and playing the majority of the instruments he has that ability like Jason Falkner and Roger Klug to light up like a band rather than like a Mike Oldfield. And though he is unashamedly and purposefully power pop there is enough individuality in the playing and lyrically to, after a few listens, make him sound unmistakably Broken Promise Keeper first and foremost.
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Rob Stuart obviously loves Power Pop and that is a good thing but more importantly he has the talent and the chops to take it that vital step further. Power Pop bottom line is all about the songs and his songs are as great as the very best of them, witty, smart, melodic and imbued with pretty twists of melody. Hooks are also vital and Rob has that knack in spades. Great classic honey tinged pop voice, and playing the majority of the instruments he has that ability like Jason Falkner and Roger Klug to light up like a band rather than like a Mike Oldfield. And though he is unashamedly and purposefully power pop there is enough individuality in the playing and lyrically to, after a few listens, make him sound unmistakably Broken Promise Keeper first and foremost.
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A few weeks after I first discovered the treasure that is Ice Cold Pop for myself out of the blue I had an email from Rob who had stumbled across Art Into Dust and having had some fun times here. He wanted to know if he could send me a copy of his next record when it was finished. Well you can guess my surprise and pleasure when he went on to explain exactly who he was. So a few days ago Poptimized dropped through my letterbox and here we are. Broken Promise Keeper’s forth album is effortlessly as great as you would hope and expect. This is classy and beautifully rendered power pop stuff, a bit Greenbury Woods or The Semantics here, a touch Vandalias there. A whisper of Jason Falkner on some of the sublime middle eights and sophisticate word playfulness reminiscent of Roger Klug but mostly an individualistic take on the classic power pop template. On thing that stands out is the superb bass playing through out, melodic, inventive and clever in many ways it is often the musical heart of the band and it gives a unique flavour to proceedings. Rob handles all the other instruments with masterful aplomb, with a bit of lead guitar help from Mark Tornstenson on four of the eleven tracks and old One Plus Two band mate Bob Cook laying down some fine keyboards on another two. As with Ice Cold Pop this album is a bit of a tour de force masterclass in the full and rich gambit of power pop glory. It is too early to say it might be even better than its predecessor but it is certainly its equal so far to my ears and the pruduction is his best yet. The song writing is consistently excellent throughout, like The Pillbugs Mark Mikel, Rob seems to have a endless invention for melody line and hooks. If you already have Ice Cold Pop then getting hold of Poptimized as soon as possible is an obviously smart move . If Broken Promise Keeper are a new name to you but you are up for top flight Power Pop of the highest order then you can do not better than start here. A quick word with the man himself seems in order.
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So it must have been great times playing gigs with all those legendary bands back in the day.
A few weeks after I first discovered the treasure that is Ice Cold Pop for myself out of the blue I had an email from Rob who had stumbled across Art Into Dust and having had some fun times here. He wanted to know if he could send me a copy of his next record when it was finished. Well you can guess my surprise and pleasure when he went on to explain exactly who he was. So a few days ago Poptimized dropped through my letterbox and here we are. Broken Promise Keeper’s forth album is effortlessly as great as you would hope and expect. This is classy and beautifully rendered power pop stuff, a bit Greenbury Woods or The Semantics here, a touch Vandalias there. A whisper of Jason Falkner on some of the sublime middle eights and sophisticate word playfulness reminiscent of Roger Klug but mostly an individualistic take on the classic power pop template. On thing that stands out is the superb bass playing through out, melodic, inventive and clever in many ways it is often the musical heart of the band and it gives a unique flavour to proceedings. Rob handles all the other instruments with masterful aplomb, with a bit of lead guitar help from Mark Tornstenson on four of the eleven tracks and old One Plus Two band mate Bob Cook laying down some fine keyboards on another two. As with Ice Cold Pop this album is a bit of a tour de force masterclass in the full and rich gambit of power pop glory. It is too early to say it might be even better than its predecessor but it is certainly its equal so far to my ears and the pruduction is his best yet. The song writing is consistently excellent throughout, like The Pillbugs Mark Mikel, Rob seems to have a endless invention for melody line and hooks. If you already have Ice Cold Pop then getting hold of Poptimized as soon as possible is an obviously smart move . If Broken Promise Keeper are a new name to you but you are up for top flight Power Pop of the highest order then you can do not better than start here. A quick word with the man himself seems in order.
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So it must have been great times playing gigs with all those legendary bands back in the day.
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Rob. "The "North Carolina/Athens" scene back in the mid 80s was a lot of fun and everyone felt like they were really part of something that was about to explode. While it never really did on a national scale, I'm amazed that today a lot of those bands are so well remembered and even influential. I just wish I had better appreciated getting to be on the same bill with folks like Alex Chilton or Paul Westerberg, but I was in my early 20s and was more interested in getting another beer."
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Rob. "Funny but true story, one of One Plus Two's more memorable gigs was at the legendary 40 Watt in Athens where we'd landed an opening spot back in October 1984. Athens had a more established scene than the NC Triangle area of Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham, so it was like we were on a pilgrimage. Once we got there, we found out the band after us was Buzz of Delight (featuring Matthew Sweet on bass) and the headliner was Oh OK - it was the final show for a band that featured Lynda Stipe on vocals. So naturally her brother and the rest of REM were in the crowd along with all the Athens scenesters. At that time, our opening number began with our drummer, who came out alone and started a big beat, then I'd come out and add bass, and then Susan and Holden would come jump in with guitars and vocals. So the place is packed and I'm nervous as hell but go out when I'm supposed to, start to play and... nothing. No sound. As I panic, this cute girl at the front of the crowd starts laughing at me. I'm sweating, Mary Clyde the drummer's giving me the stink eye, the crowd's starting to wonder, and finally Matthew Sweet jumps onstage, reaches behind me, and - turns on the amp. It was loud in the club but I'm pretty sure I heard him mutter "dumbass" as he jumped offstage. But it worked out OK - we played a good show. And the pretty girl who laughed at me has been my wife for 22 years and counting."
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The response to the last album must have come as a pleasant surprise, being a big powerpop fan yourself it must be surreal to now find yourself up there with the best of them?
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Rob. "I'm continually surprised people seem to like my songs because I can't possibly take this too seriously - I am way too old now to have any aspirations of "making it" in the music business. But to get to be part of Art Into Dust or to have somebody take the time to review my stuff positively is "making it" in my book. I'd be recording these songs anyway, but to know a few folks out there like what I'm doing - what more can you ask for?"
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So tell us about the new album, how it all went and what you feel about it?
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Rob. "This one took me a lot longer as I really wanted to take the production up to the next level. The tunes were written over the course of about a year but each song came together pretty quickly. I spent a lot more time trying to learn from those much better than me when it comes to mixing. I've still got a long way to go but I enjoy the production side as much as the writing, so that will be a fun journey. I'm pretty happy about how "Poptimized" sounds, it's definitely punchier than my previous stuff. I didn't realize it until the album was done and somebody else pointed it out to me that there's sort of a thread about maturing relationships. It starts out all about the looks and the excitement, then goes into keeping it fresh thru the ups and downs, and ends looking back and happy to do it all over. If anybody else gets that out of the album, well, that makes me sound like a better songwriter than I am because it' wasn't planned that way."
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Obviously you now what these mighty fine albums. Well head over to Rob's site here:
http://www.brokenpromisekeeper.com/
Obviously you now what these mighty fine albums. Well head over to Rob's site here:
http://www.brokenpromisekeeper.com/
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Ooh we just have time to squeeze this in before tea.
Ooh we just have time to squeeze this in before tea.
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1. The Beatles, of course - anything from their mid period
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2. Boston - I know, it's not powerpop, it's an overplayed AOR machine, but I completely get Tom Scholz overdubbing guitars on guitars in a home studio - and unless you're completely jaded you have to agree that "More Than a Feeling" is a great song
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3. Trip Shakespeare - these guys (and girl) were just amazing and I'm glad I got to see them at their peak, as they were both fun and totally rocking - "The Crane" or "Bachelorette" are just perfect
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4. Judybats - another band that was, on a good night, just incredible
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5. Jellyfish - like The Beatles, an obvious choice but so influential - another band I'm glad to have seen; their Atlanta stop on the "Spilt Milk" tour was literally the best show ever in my book
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6. Dada - OK, maybe they weren't technically a powerpop band but were a huge inspiration for me in that they really rocked hard, complete with guitar hero theatrics, but in a very catchy way
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7. REM - again, not powerpop in the traditional sense but just so unique sounding - their high-energy shows around the Southeast in the early 80s must have inspired more bands than anybody since The Beatles - Mike Mills in particular is really somebody I look up to as a bass player and for his spot-on backing vocals
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8. The Who - another no brainer; the way Townsend could package such a feeling of aggression about to blow is almost scary, but the songs were also catchy as hell
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9. Fountains of Wayne - I am a huge sucker for a sense of humor that rocks and these guys pull it off time after time
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10. Hoodoo Gurus - while their stuff can be all over the place musically, when they do a powerpop song, they do it right - in my book, it's hard to top "Bittersweet" or "Come Anytime"
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Great Article
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