Alterna-country rockers The Faults look to shake up local music scene

Jeff Haws Entertainment Editor

Volume 87 Number 2 Tuesday, June 05, 2001

The shadow cast by a successful band after a breakup on its former members can be a long one. If that's the case, it's a little dark where Mic Harrison and Paxton Sellers are standing as they look for a little sunlight with their new band, The Faults. The new group comes on the heels of the amicable splitting of the V-Roys after a 1999 New Year's Eve finale at the Tennessee Theatre. 

The members went in separate directions at the beginning, but former V-Roys Harrison, Sellers and Jeff Bills got together with Robbie Trosper to form The Faults within a year. They soon gained the moniker of 3-Roys from fans of the defunct act. Soon, however, Bills left theband under good terms after recording their debut album, and Knoxville native Jason Peters stepped into his place behind the drums.

In forming the new band, Harrison, who does lead vocals and recorded a solo CD before forming The Faults, had to begin anew. After about five years of building up a loyal fan base with the V-Roys, it was time to gain respect with a new sound and style. I knew it was going to be like starting from scratch, Harrison said. We've gotten varied responses from the fans. Sometimes, clubs still pair us with an alt.-country act, and ... there's a moment of silence in between songs. We're a little louder and rock a little harder. 

When they decided to form their new, louder band, Harrison said one of the more difficult moments was trying to decide on a name for the group. Before their talks turned to West Tennessee quakes, an exasperated Harrison asked the question every new band asks. We started wondering, Why couldn't we have come up with The Kinks?' he said. So, we were throwing names out, and the New Madrid Fault just came up. In West Tennessee, every once in awhile you can feel a tremor from it.

Like the fault out near Memphis, they're hoping they can create similar, more powerful tremors in the music community. So far, Harrison is pleased with the progress. In fact, in some ways, he says the gears are turning even more smoothly now than they were with the V-Roys. I like the production better (on the Faults' self-titled debut CD) than on any V-Roys record, Harrison said. Right now, we're all on the same page. I'm probably having more fun with this band than I've ever had before. 

He's also singing more than he did before. While the V-Roys split most of the lead vocal work between Harrison and Scott Miller, there is no l ead complement to Harrison in this outfit. This has caused changes for Harrison, including paring down a certain habit. I've got to cut back on my smoking, Harrison said. Hopefully, we're gonna evolve into more of a two-singer band over time. Until then, Harrison will carry the vocal weight of a band bent on giving Knoxville a taste of the tremors The Faults can cause. The Faults will be playing at Blue Cats in the Old City at 125 E. Jackson Ave. at 9 p.m. Saturday with the Estradas as the opening act.