Velcro Stars
By Kat Amano
Photo by Laura Leigh Smith

A series of major headaches has brought, in the end, good fortune. Velcro Stars, an indie-pop/rock quintet from Murfreesboro, has survived multiple line-up changes, getting bumped from their first label and recording their debut album, Hiroshima’s Revenge, over the course of a whopping seven months, with only sporadic weekends to devote to being in the studio.

Today, Shane Spresser, who writes, sings and plays guitar for the band, can laugh at their hectic past. After all, they have now established their line-up with drummer Andy Spore, found a new home at Grand Palace Records, and released their album in January.

Hiroshima’s Revenge, a dynamic, 15-song record, actually found support not only from Grand Palace, but also from Athens’ Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records. Spresser had initially sent the latter a copy, but never heard back and so signed with the former. Then, HHBTM’s Mike Turner came to a live show and realized what he’d missed out on.

“He said he regretted not picking us up before,” says Spresser, “and he offered to have HHBTM co-release it. They’ve been around longer, so they’re more established in terms of distribution and everything. It was great for us, and being with them has definitely helped us on a national level.”

It was with the help of their record labels that Velcro Stars got a spot in the 2006 Athens Popfest, which turned out to be another near-disaster.

“It took us eight hours to get there, when it should have taken five,” says Spresser. “There was some huge accident on the interstate, and we were half an hour late for our set.” Thankfully, Velcro Stars got a lucky last-minute visit from fate, as they seem to often do. “We got there all pissed off and frustrated,” he says, “but then we ended up playing one of our best shows ever.”

The band is known among fans for their high-energy live performances. The record, in turn, tells this story of power, humor and grit — not only through the actual music, but also with the imagery of the CD’s packaging.

The artwork, like the music, is simple but immediately captivating; Alan Laidlaw, the artist, has perfectly captured the essence of the band: explosions of energy and frantic desperation, packaged and presented with a wink and a smile.

Sonically speaking, Hiroshima’s Revenge simply blasts into being, with power blazing from drums and guitars. The songs are largely joint writing efforts from all three vocalists: Shane Spresser, fellow guitarist Keith Pratt, and keys player Rebekah Spresser, to whom Shane has been married for five years.

The title track, which is second on the disc, begins with a melodic guitar riff and light, train-steady drums. It’s a prime example of Velcro Stars’ sound: a lively, foot-tapping beat and verses that build into catchy, indie-pop choruses textured with soaring harmonies, beautiful keys and steady, tasteful bass lines from Danial Norman.
The teamwork certainly gives Velcro Stars a diverse, yet cohesive sound, which could be described as garage pop run wild with the weight of mid-1990s rock. Spore, after all, is also the drummer for Murfreesboro pop outfit How I Became the Bomb. It has surely tested his stress threshold — managing the schedules of two rising bands, as well as his studies in graphic design. But if anyone can overcome such a barrier, Velcro Stars certainly can; they do have a long history of hurtling roadblocks.

They have already had yet another busy year. They just finished shooting and editing the music video for “Hiroshima’s Revenge,” and they recently recorded an exclusive new track for an HHBTM compilation. They will also be touring late this summer, and they’ll be in the studio again in the fall to start work on their next record.

Like Hiroshima’s Revenge, the second album will mostly be recorded live on tape with a reel-to-reel machine. Velcro Stars like recording with the whole band together in one room, where they can feed off each other’s energy. In this way, they can capture the essence of the live show, in all of its spirited glory.

www.velcrostars.com