Michael Withrow revives The Concept

The revamped Concept is (from left) bassist Cody Gurski, guitarist Brandon Cox, singer and guitarist Michael Withrow and drummer Neil Edwards. The band plays at the Empty Glass tonight.


Reposted from The Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Like many young adults in West Virginia, Michael Withrow decided to leave home in search of better job prospects. For the 24-year-old, though, his employment opportunities were wedded to his musical career.

The singer-guitarist left the Mountain State for Florida in February to join up with his friends in the Orlando (via Charleston) ska band 69 Fingers. His Charleston-based pop punk band, The Concept, had played its final show the month before at The Empty Glass.

Fast forward 10 months. Withrow has come full circle, and the new incarnation of The Concept plays The Empty Glass tonight.

Withrow wasn’t the only Concept member to head to the Sunshine State. His cousin and the group’s drummer, Ross Anderson, also went there to play trumpet in 69 Fingers.

“They were in a rebuilding phase and asked Ross and I to join, so I made the move down there,” Withrow said over the phone.

But after a few fun months in Florida, he came home.

“Everything went fine. I just wasn't satisfied with the job situation in Florida. It had nothing to do with music. The work down there is scarce. I wasn't able to make enough money to live down there, so I came back up.”

At home, Withrow entered his own rebuilding phase, re-forming The Concept in August with an all-new lineup. He recruited longtime friend and Dinosaur Burps DJ Neil Edwards as drummer and added Brandon Cox on guitar and Cody Gurski on bass.

“He [Edwards] and I had talked about it before,” Withrow said. “I actually texted him driving on my way back up from Florida and got to work setting it back up.”

He says that there weren’t any bad blood or chemistry problems with the original lineup; they had just run their course.

“We were practicing and working on new stuff. It was Ross, [bassist] Dave [Cantrell], [guitarist] Bryan [Flowers] and myself. At the time, I was wanting to tour and do more things with the band, and work schedules and conflicts like that for the other guys came up, so they couldn’t do it. We never actually split up; we just kind of stopped playing.”

According to Withrow, the decision to keep the original band name, despite him being the only original member left, was an easy one.

“I wrote all the songs, so it actually never crossed my mind that it would be anything but The Concept,” he said. “The songs I’d written had that name behind it. It was already established.”

It was his experience in 69 Fingers and friendship with the guys in bands like it, The Composure and Punchline that has given Withrow a renewed focus and appreciation of being the creative force in The Concept.

“There was a time when I wasn't focused on The Concept. But I wasn’t ever going to stop writing my own music. When I was in Florida, I was just concentrating on working with 69 Fingers, but the more I worked down there, the more I worked on my own songs and the more I got excited about reforming The Concept.”

While the new Concept is reworking some old songs, they also have new songs to play. And Withrow is very excited about those, as well as the direction the band is going in.

“We’ve been concentrating on playing four older songs in a new way that, I think, sounds better,” he said. “The new material has a bit more of an edge as far as guitars and drum technicality; Neil is an amazing drummer. The newer songs are way tighter, have more ‘oomph’ and better melodies and song structure.”

The new Concept has been getting its collective feet wet playing shows locally, but Withrow is aware that the band will have to leave the state to make a name for itself.

“We’re going to be playing a lot coming up. Maybe we’ll tour a lot in the spring and summer. We’re not going to concentrate on playing Charleston and Huntington as much as playing out every two weeks, doing weekend mini-tours out of town to kind of build up the reputation.”

In the meantime, the band is building its name here, gathering fans of the old Concept and attracting new ones, too.

“I think the crowds have liked it. They have kind of a refreshed look,” Withrow said. “And the more we’re playing out with new material, I hope there will be an even bigger response.”


WANT TO GO?
Dinosaur Burps, The Concept and Dennis Hopper's Army
WHEN: 10 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: The Empty Glass, 410 Elizabeth St.
COST: $5
INFO: www.myspace.com/theconceptwv or 304-345-3914

photo: Bill Hairston

CD REVIEW: The Empire Penguin Strikes Back

CD: The Empire Penguin Strikes Back
ARTIST: The Concept

It seems like a lifetime ago that I first heard "Guitar Pick In The Kool-Aid" on The Concept's MySpace page. I instantly fell in love with this catchy, quirky three-piece punk band from Charleston. Just as I was asking myself 'Why aren't there any rockin' punk bands in town?' I came across Mike, Ross, and Dave.

Compared to Huntington and Morgantown, Charleston is seemingly at the shallow end of the talent pool when it comes to bands. After hearing The Concept's first EP, and now this new effort, I must say they've come a long way.
It's not just media types like WVRockscene and Radio Free Charleston's Rudy Panucci that quickly got a Concept tattoo; the band earned their fans the hard way: by doing shows all over the place. From Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown to Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Florida and back, The Concept's version of punk, whether in bars like the Parrot or the Glass, or at all-ages venues, seems to have won over a lot of fans.

Now to the CD -- one of the first things you'll notice is the humorous spoof of Star Wars on the cover. One thing that comes through in the band's live act is indeed their chemistry and back-and-forth joking and tom foolery. I mean, who would let someone onstage to sing the NOFX hit "Linoleum" with them? These guys. That's who.

"Penguin" starts with a pretty cool noise intro before going into one of the coolest songs I've heard them do, "Ye To The 10th Degree." It's a harder song than something you'd hear from a "pop" punk band, with a nice little drawn out jam. Pounding tom rolls by drummer Ross Anderson pull you in, and the song punches you in the face, figuratively speaking, of course.

"Last Of The Emohicans" is a short lil uptempo number that fits in perfect with our attention span. If you'd heard their first EP (what a horrible idea that was) you'd recognize stronger, re-recorded versions of "That's The One," "Not The Only," and their screamo-meets-punk version of Tom Petty's classic "Learning To Fly," which I love.

If I hadn't heard most of the songs on the CD by the time I got "Penguin," I'd have pee'd my pants with joy having got this sent in. That's the only disappointing thing about "Penguin" -- not enough songs! Only eight, and I'd already heard half of them, but that's only cuz I'm totally gay for THC.

Check out the ska-intro turned balls-out rock of "Out Of Nowhere," a song that, with Scott Ilar on organ and Greg Hunt on guitar (who also helped mix and record the CD at Cerberus), bodes well for the future direction of The Concept's sound.

Lyrically, singer-guitarist Mike Withrow on most songs seems quite desperate, whether it's the band or relationship-type stuff. There are cool vocal harmonies on most of the songs and cool "nah-nah-nah's" panned from left to right on "Nowhere," which is pretty neat. The tone and the tempo of the music kind of remind me of my favorite older Face To Face songs.

"Penguin" closes with the instrumental tribute "Ben's Song" before going into some more random noise on a hidden track. The re-recorded versions are punchier and louder (note Dave Cantrell's bass), and with Withrow helping in the lab, honing his production skills and with the band's musical path, I think the future is kind of bright for these three guys.

The Concept never needed to put a CD out to have won me over. But this CD just reaffirms what I already knew: The Concept rocks, and helps to make what I've been doing the past two years way more enjoyable.