The Northerner Online - October 4, 2000

By Peter W. Zubaty
Staff Reporter

Some old Southgate House favorites returned Friday night to give fans alook at their latest incarnation. The Faults are starting over fresh after the breakup of the V-Roys, but the memories of the great times the band members had as the V-Roys were still fresh in their heads.

"This is a great place, a lot of fun shows here," singer/guitarist Mic
Harrison said about the Southgate House. Harrison said the band had a lot of trouble just coming up with a name for the band. The band was billed as the Mic Harrison Band until very recently.

"It's a hell of a lot easier to write and record than to come up with a
band name. You'll be sitting around and come up with something that sounds good at the time; then you think about it again the next day and be like, 'That sounds stupid,'" Harrison said.

In addition to Harrison, the band also includes Jeff Bills on drums,
Paxton Sellers on bass, and Robbie Trosper on guitar. Trosper was not part of the V-Roys. He said he previously played for Knoxville-area punk bands such as Rambling Roy. Trosper brings a punk rock energy to the band in his guitar playing and in the songs where he picks up lead vocal duties.

Harrison does the bulk of the singing and songwriting for the band. He
hasn't lost the touch, plowing out catchy rock tunes that V-Roys fans loved so well. The Southgate crowd was nothing like the packed houses the V-Roys enjoyed, but that did not temper the energy the band put into its performance. They seem happy with how things have been going lately. Bills and Harrison said they have been sounding really good in practice sessions, but expressed mild concern over how they would sound in this, one of their favorite venues.

Bills said, "It's getting a lot tighter, we'll play live a few times and get better." They seem quite energized about the prospect of starting fresh. Harrison said, "We've been working on a record the last three months, it's going pretty smooth."

Bills added, "Just had it mastered last weekend. It needs a little
better packaging before sending it out to distributors. We're hoping to have it out by December."

They said they will also have some of the songs posted on their record label website, www.lynnpoint.com, in MP3 format for downloading. Since their status as an regional touring band that does not enjoy the support of a major record label makes it difficult for potential fans to have an opportunity to hear their music on the radio, the band says they like the idea of their music being available for downloading.

"That's the main tool a band on our level can use (for their music to
be heard)," Harrison said. Bills agreed, "You might read about some band, buy their album and it sucks. This way, you can hear it for yourself, sample it, then buy it for yourself."

The band said to look out for their record when it comes out, as well
as for them on tour. "Once the record comes out, we'll do a lot more
touring," Harrison said