Kellum doesn't have to say a word for you to know he's proud of what the band accomplished in Little Rock. As the songs pass by in their unmixed and unmastered form, Kellum shifts from subtle head nods and foot taps to replicating his licks on an imaginary drum kit. He can barely contain himself, and you can't blame him for not trying too hard.
Onward Quirky Soldiers is Chomsky at its finest, capturing on tape what it has been developing over the past few years onstage. The energy that Reynolds brought to the band, and Cento amplified when he became the group's permanent keyboard player last year, spills out of the digital grooves. Each song is better than the next, reminiscent, perhaps, of old XTC and Police albums, but finding their own way, without the help of distant echoes. If Soundtrack contained a few possible selections for someone else's life, Onward Quirky Soldiers is all Chomsky.
Nancy Newberry
Chomsky, not Chompsky, is, from left: Don Cento, Matt Kellum, Glen Reynolds, Sean Halleck and James Driscoll.
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"That's what's so cool about this one," Reynolds says. "Soundtrack was Sean and James and Matt kind of coming to terms with me entering the band. And it was a good thing, but it was us compromising with each other. I'd been in this big, rock, Funland-wannabe band. I was trying to rock everything out. They'd been in this really earth tones, mellow, bizarre keyboard outfit or whatever. So we were trying to meet in the middle. Whereas, when we started writing the songs for this one, Sean understood where I was coming from, and I understood where Sean was coming from."
Cento adds, "I think some of the tunes are a little bit more accessible, not in any sort of negative way. It's just a more mature record, I think. I think the material is a lot stronger."
Everyone in Chomsky knows that Onward Quirky Soldiers demands to be heard, that they've done the best they can do, and the best they can do is better than most.
The question is, will the right people agree with them?
"Chomsky has a really, really good shot at being played on the radio because they do make very good radio music," Venable says. "The great thing about them is there is no worry about it being too hard for morning drive or too soft for nights. They could be played 24 hours a day. They have everything going for them, so hopefully, it will happen."
As much as Chomsky wants that to happen, it's not ready to jump at the first opportunity. The band members spent too much time building this to have it fall apart if they sign the wrong contract, trust the wrong people, follow the wrong advice. They want people to hear Onward Quirky Soldiers, and they want to play it for them on every stage that will have them, but they want to do it all the right way. If that means putting the album out themselves and getting in the van without the benefit of any record company's expense account, then so be it. And when it comes down to it, they're not after money or fame or anything like that.
All they want is someone to believe.
"We want it to be an incredible opportunity," Halleck says. "Which doesn't mean we want a million-dollar publishing deal--I mean, we do--but that's not what it takes to get us. Really, what it would take to convince me is an A&R guy that really believed in us, a label that I felt really believed in us. Because if they're not there to support us, there's no point. But once we have an A&R guy that really gets us and wants to make it happen, not only am I going to work the music, but I'm going to visit the label as much as I can and talk to those people. Let them know that we're in this for the long haul."
