Westside Daredevils release gem with `All Things Small Produce a Spark'

IF YOU GO

The Westside Daredevils with Mic Harrison

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: The Pilot Light, 106 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville's Old City

HOW MUCH: $5

CALL: 524-8188

By Steve Wildsmith

of The Daily Times Staff

One of the stronger albums by a local band will be released at a Saturday night concert, and the record has a Blount County connection in Judy Comer of Rockford.

Comer's son, Gray, is lead guitarist for The Westside Daredevils, whose album, ``All Things Small Produce a Spark,'' will be debuted Saturday night at The Pilot Light, in Knoxville's Old City. According to Gray Comer, the band recorded most of the album's guitar tracks at his mother's Rockford home.

``It's been in the works for a little over a year,'' Comer said of the album this week. ``We recorded it entirely ourselves on our own equipment, because that way we have luxury of being able to record it at our leisure. We recorded it in bits and pieces between gigs when we had the time, whenever and wherever we could. Going into the studio was very expensive, so we liked the freedom of not being on a clock, of trying different things and taking our time with it.''

The effort shows. From the first song, ``Andrea,'' the record opens with a sonic shot of sugary pop, anchored by the guitars and three-part harmonies of Comer, Brett Cassidy and Jeff Caudill. From the vaguely Byrds-sounding refrain of ``Darling Currency'' to the punk zeal of ``Camera Religion'' to the catchy, jangly licks on ``Strange You Haven't Fled,'' the band draws on a number of influences, from Big Star to Television to the Flaming Lips.

``I would say we really try to stay focused on melody and working within the song and making sure the melody's good and letting everything else fall into place,'' Comer said. ``If I had to pick an era the sound on this record draws the most from, I'd have to say the '60s and '70s, but I don't want to make it sound like we're a retro act or anything.''

The Daredevils are anything but retro. The members, which include bassist Brandon Smith and drummer Morrie Rothstein, are obviously steeped in British rock and the hooks of artists such as The Zombies and Elvis Costello. The Westside Daredevils have been together about two years, Comer said, with the members all hailing from the Knoxville area except for Cassidy, who's from Pittsburgh).

Rothstein graduated from Bearden, while the other four went to Farragut, Comer said. After toiling with other bands for the better part of the '90s -- Caudill and Smith with The Ids, Comer and Cassidy in Beeswax -- the four came together in 2000, Comer said.

``Out of all these other bands we were in, me and Bret got together with Jeff and Brandon and started working on songs,'' Comer said. ``We came up with this insane idea of having three guitars, and then we happened to stumble upon Morrie when we were looking for a drummer, and the rest, as they say, is history.''

The group has carved a niche for itself on the music scene, performing at The Pilot Light over a dozen times, Comer said, as well as at Manhattan's, Patrick Sullivan's and a few out-of-town gigs in Lexington, Ky., and Murfreesboro.

Along the way, the Daredevils caught the eye of Jeff Bills, a former member of Knoxville's V-Roys and co-owner of Lynn Point Records. Lynn Point signed the band, and ``All Things Small'' carries the Lynn Point imprint.

For now, Comer said, the Daredevils are focusing on pushing ``All Things Small'' and playing more live shows, both locally and outside of Knoxville.

``We've been in bands before, but none that have actually done anything,'' he said. ``We want to take it as far as it will go. We're going to be getting out of town more, now that we finally have record completed, and we want to build a regional following and eventually start on the second album.''

The guys already have a head start on the second record: Although no tracks have been recorded, the band has several songs already written that they dig.

``The newer songs aren't that great a departure, but I would say this: Brett and Jeff are the primary songwriters, and they have distinctive styles, but they're starting to kind of rub off on each other and come together a little bit more and do things outside the parameters of what they used to do, so the newer stuff getting more diverse,'' Comer said. ``It all comes back to melody and making a song good. We're trying not to fence ourselves in and put up any barriers. Whatever someone comes up with, be it rock, country or whatever, we'll work with it if it's really good.''