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<\/p>\nThe concept of Album Attack is quite simple: a band shows up at a club\/bar\/whathaveyou and plays the entirety of a single, classic album. That’s all there is to this simple, straight-forward creation and cross to bear of Long Beach musician\/impresario Jesse Wilder who is quite clearly out of his music-loving mind.<\/p>\n
Wilder, who should know better, given his long and varied musical career, not only goes about the business of choosing the albums and procuring the gigs\u2014pains enough\u2014but insists on building each of the bands from the ground up, matching each musician to each album, kind of how “Seven Samurai” or “Magnificent Seven” were put together, minus the violence though not the pain.<\/p>\n
“I ain\u2019t gonna lie, it\u2019s rough,” Wilder said. “Musicians are hard to deal with. I should know, I am one. What I do is try to find the most reliable cats that I know will really put in the effort. Ones that love the record or just really love giving that blood, sweat, and tears so we can all smile and look at each other and say, ‘Man, that was fucking awesome.’\u00a0It\u2019s crucial to me that the people involved are huge fans of what they are playing.”<\/p>\n
What they will be playing this summer in single performances at the Prospector and\/or Costa Mesa’s Wayfarer\u00a0are the Cars debut album (June 1, Prospector; June 18, Wayfarer); Supergrass’ “I Should Coco” (June 19, Wayfarer); The Strokes\u2019 \u201cIs This It” (July 6, Prospector; August 15, Wayfarer) and Peter Gabriel’s “So” (August 3, Prospector).<\/p>\n
So it is for Album Attack as it has been when the format gave forth with X’s “Los Angeles,” The Damned’s “Damned, Damned, Damned,” Pixies\u2019 “Doolittle” and so on, that is, before Wilder came to his senses and ended the madness five years ago. Now that he and Attack have returned, he’s added another, inarguably bitchen\u2019 layer to the thing: This Thursday, each of the bands playing both venues will appear at Fingerprints, beginning at 7 p.m., to play a two or three song tease to show folks what they can expect later this summer.<\/p>\n
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Sometimes, the effects of the Attack can last beyond the gig. At least one band, Pixies tribute outfit, Debaser, were formed after performing their Attack. Wilder says that one of the things that drove him to do the Attack again was to make the kind of local connections he can’t normally make.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve been in bands in Long Beach for quite a while but there are still so many people I have never played with, I like that aspect of it,” said Wilder who formed Teen Heroes with the late Ikey Owens and had gigs with the likes of The Specials, Reel Big Fish and All-American Rejects.<\/p>\n
“A good example is Matt Fry from many bands\u2014he also works at Couch Guitar Straps\u2014he played an Attack with me. Before that, we’d go out and see each other, have a beer, talk and our bands even played together, but we were never in the same project, ever.\u00a0 After doing that show, I thought to myself, ‘I would love to work with Matt again!’ If I hadn\u2019t done that, I would\u2019ve never known.”<\/p>\n
Not that everyone loves the experience, Wilder says there have been occasions where sudden bandmates have communicated to Wilder they aren’t thrilled with the situation, especially when it comes to\u2014Surprise!\u2014lead singers. He has received more than one phone call from guitarists saying a singer is “being a dick” but finds that when the show rolls around, “it always seems like the spirit on stage is genuine and earnest.”<\/p>\n
As for what the bands play, Wilder says that’s a rather organic and collaborative process.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve been doing it for so long that one of the best parts is when someone walks up to me and says, ‘You know which album you should do?’ I\u2019m always so curious to hear their suggestions. Especially if I\u2019ve known them or even played with them for years. Every once and a while I either have a dream or hear a record and I\u2019m like, dammit! I wanna play it! Then I call all the people that I think would like to play it and find out. Like this time around it was Supergrass for me, so I called my old bandmates Nate Bott and Chris Paul Overall because their voices are perfect for it. I\u2019ve been trying to get a Pavement one together too, but, you know, people with babies and stuff.<\/p>\n
“In the beginning, I was a bit more picky with records. I worked at Fingerprints way back when and it\u2019s pretty much like working at the store in \u2018High Fidelity.\u2019 We are all snobs. I\u2019m not going to do \u2018Sgt Pepper’s\u2019 or \u2018Sticky Fingers,\u2019 it\u2019s just too obvious and overdone. But I have let my guard down a little bit. Just because you\u2019re not a fan doesn\u2019t mean the songs aren\u2019t dear to someone else\u2019s heart.”<\/p>\n
And, in the end, it’s that which drives Wilder’s madness. The idea that one album, played expertly well, has the power to reconnect and rewire someone for the better. He says he’s seen it, seen normal looking folk lose themselves at a show, singing themselves hoarse, while rejuvenating their souls.<\/p>\n
“I do it for the smiles, man,” he said. “We have to band together these days. It does get a little exhausting, and maybe I spread myself too thin but in the long run, it\u2019s creating memories and bringing old ones to the surface. All these albums are inspiring from beginning to end. It\u2019s about immersing yourself in this work of art that has some meaningful connection to your life. I had one guy come into my work after Attack and he was talking about the show, not knowing I was a part of it. He said it made him cry. I mean, I don\u2019t wanna make people cry, but, kinda?”<\/p>\n
And so, yes, there are future shows planned. Wilder won’t name names, or albums, but he has plans. How crazy those plans will be, remains to be seen. Consider that, at one time, he considered doing The Flaming Lips “Zaireeka” on four different stages.<\/p>\n
“I know it sounds impossible, but I don\u2019t believe in that word,” he said. “Except when it comes to burgers.”<\/p>\n