The Tories to bring lively, energetic tunes to Westwood Plaza
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 25, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Harper Public Relations The Tories will bring their
energetic music to Westwood plaza on Feb. 27th. The band is
currently on tour in support of its latest release "Upside of
Down."
By Chris Young
Daily Bruin Contributor
The Tories are coming!
Not the English patriots though, but the Los Angeles energetic,
pop band of the same name. The Tories will bring their enthusiastic
style to Westwood Plaza on Feb. 27.
“We think our music is powerful, uplifting, melodic and
rocking,” lead vocalist and guitarist Steve Bertrand said in
a phone interview during the band’s tour stop in Sacramento.
“We have a lot of positive energy, so we make people feel
good.”
The Tories, with influences including the Beatles, the Cars,
Squeeze, Cheap Trick and Mario Speedwagon, might target its music
toward a mainstream audience, but its songs aren’t just
shallow pop tunes.
“We also put in musical and lyrical things that are
heavier and deeper than what you hear in most mainstream
bands,” Bertrand said.
The Tories consists of Bertrand, J.J. Farris on guitar and
vocals, James Guffee on bass and vocals and Bryan Head on
drums.
Energy and spontaneity characterize the group’s live
shows. It has played worldwide to crowds ranging in size from 50 to
20,000 people, and enjoy both extremes.
“Some of the best shows we’ve played have been to
100 people in a club, standing two feet away from our
guitars,” Bertrand said.
The Tories formed in Los Angeles in 1995 through networks of
friends. In about six months time, the group was playing Hollywood
clubs such as the House of Blues and the Viper Room. Soon after
that, publishing and record deals came along with more extensive
tours.
The Tories started on the path to national recognition when it
recorded music for the TV series “Jesse” starring
Christina Applegate. After a performance at the Troubadour in
Hollywood, producer Gavin MacKillop, who was in the audience,
approached the band and asked it to write the music for a new
television show. The band jumped at the opportunity and wrote the
theme and underscore for “Jesse.” It went on to write
and perform all the show’s music. The Tories later won ASCAP
Film awards for the show’s music in 1999 and 2000.
“There’s nothing like the rush of hearing your music
on national television,” Guffee said.
In addition to landing the TV series gig, the band has two
albums. Its debut album, “Wonderful Life,” was well
received by critics and fans alike and, according to Guffee, was an
optimistic album.
The band’s newest album “The Upside of Down”
has a darker, more introspective mood than “Wonderful
Life.” Bertrand said that in the time since the first album,
the band had gained more experience, thus bringing a greater wisdom
to its playing in the second album. The themes are heavier but
elements of hope still permeate the collection.
“This album is a really good adventure,” Farris
said. “It has a definite beginning, middle and end.
It’s a unified collection of songs.”
The band also did most of “The Upside of Down” work
itself, using its own recording studio and doing all the photos and
artwork for the album.
While the band has two albums under its belt, it still prides
itself in doing live concerts.
“The artistic part of recording a record is definitely
something we all love and look forward to, but there’s really
nothing more exciting than playing in front of a couple thousand
people,” Farris said.
The Tories played with the VH-1 Rock Across America tour in 1998
and have appeared on TV shows such as the Magic Johnson Show, the
Keenan Ivory Wayans Show and E! Entertainment.
“It’s the best feeling in the world when
you’re touring and playing live,” Farris said.
“You don’t have to worry about what you’re
playing and just entertain for the sake of entertaining
people.”
The Tories uses a lot of vocal harmonies in its songs and
recordings. It doesn’t use the lead singer overdubbed on
vocals but rather, most of the band sings backup. In live
performances, the band sounds basically the same as a listener
would hear on records.
“Many groups don’t sound the same recorded as they
do live,” Bertrand said. “We feel proud that we deliver
the same quality in a live show as we do on an album.”
With the knowledge gained from its records and tours, The Tories
shared some insight into what separates successful bands from
unsuccessful bands. It suggested that band members should have a
good rapport and a lot of determination to make it in a competitive
music scene.
These qualities have taken The Tories far in the music
world.
“We’ve been pretty well received by audiences and
critics,” Guffee said.
During the record release party for “The Upside of
Down,” the group saw a crowd of about 50 people singing every
lyric to every song.
“We want to keep moving forward, sell records, gain
popularity and continue making music that we love,” Guffee
said.
MUSIC: Hear The Tories perform live at Westwood
Plaza on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from noon – 1 p.m. For more information
go to www.tories.com.
