Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Ultima Thule re-emerges as The Willing

What happens when a hospital administrator, an entrepreneur, a psychotherapist, a furniture salesman, a logistics technician and a purveyor of organic produce come together in a recording studio? You get a band of six accomplished 50-plus musicians aptly named The Willing (as in willing to do whatever it takes), a collection of music more than thirty years in the making, and an amazing journey of midlife re-discovery, re-commitment and re-invention.

“We’re already old guys,” laughs bassist Dave Angel, “But it’s not an old sound. Lots of old bands re-hash the past. This is all new music.”

The journey for Angel and his five band mates began in Milwaukee in the late 1970s, in a vintage, 14-bedroom house and a progressive rock band called Ultima Thule.

“The band fronted five lead vocalists,” recalls Angel, who along with Kent Cooper (drums), Rich Wigstone (guitar), Dan Smith (Piano), Chris Gough (Guitar), and John Krahenbuhl (Organ) built a following throughout the Midwest with their strong harmonies and flawless covers of bands like The Beatles, Crosby, Stills and Nash and The Moody Blues.

Along with success came the confidence to start writing and performing original songs. But the musical landscape was changing at the end of The 70s, and the melodic sound of Ultima Thule was being muscled out by bands like Aerosmith, Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult. So, Angel, Wigstone and Cooper left Ultima Thule to join the harder rocking, Chicago-based biker band that became CBS recording artists The Boyzz from Illinoizz (Too Wild to Tame, Epic Records, 1979).

“It was tough on all of us when we broke up,” recalls Angel.

But fast-forward thirty years later, and the raw passion for music still burns. All six members of UT have home recording studios and have remained active as songwriters and performers. But it took a moment of musical inspiration to finally bring all six members of UT back together again.

“I was in the car listening to The Eagles ‘Long Road out of Eden,’ says Angel, and I thought I would love to record a band that can sing like that. Then I thought, wait a minute, I used to be in a band that could sing like that!”

Angel, who now owns Rave Song Records, realized what he had to do. “I called each one of my former band mates individually and said we have some unfinished business. What do you think about getting back together to write and record a CD? It would have to be all six of us, or nothing at all. And to a man, they were in!”

Unfinished Business

The result is Unfinished Business (Rave Song Records, 2010) a CD of entirely new material, written and recorded by this band of old friends under their new moniker,
The Willing.

“Our old name has since been taken by a Scandinavian Metal band,” says Angel. "I’m glad it’s a new name because we really are a new band with a new attitude."

The new attitude includes a new genre of music The Willing calls New/Classic, which perfectly captures the band’s ability to blend its Classic Rock roots into new material as seamlessly as it blends the voices of its five lead vocalists into a varied yet cohesive sound. Unfinished Business has been described as “ a polished and professional 13-track masterpiece,” and compared to everything from 1960s British Pop to Tom Petty, to an “Irish” Johnny Cash to modern day Indie Pop. The opening track, Sunrise, and the closing track, Evening, both echo the more ethereal and layered soundscapes of Pink Floyd.

The strong vocals but heavy rhythms of the intensely gritty Mary Anne’s on Fire, the hard hitting Queen of the City and the bluesy Only Love Can Change The World pulsate with all the power of 70s Arena Rock. And there’s even two power ballads on the CD, Hold Me and Gone, that sound as classic as Aerosmith or Foreigner, yet as contemporary as Daughtry.

It’s a range of sounds and influences that’s only possible because of the depth of talent within the band. Five of the six members (all but Cooper) contribute songs to the CD and five of the six (all but Gough) take turns singing lead vocals, sometimes within the same song. But the thread that holds it all together is the blending of the various voices into the unmatched harmonies that have been the signature of this group since Ultima Thule.

And yet, Unfinished Business is more about looking forward than looking back. Because along with their new name and new sound, The Willing is pioneering a new approach to writing and recording by posting rough mixes and unfinished tracks on its website
www.thewillingband.com
so fans could listen and post feedback before the CD is even released. The first single, She’ll Be Running, was posted as just an acoustic guitar guide track and then built up track by track into a complete song.

“Fans have had so much fun with it,” says Angel, “we’re taking it one step further.”

The Willing has found a way to let its fans become the producer and make their own re-mixes of select tracks from Unfinished Business through a partnership with Remix Galaxy (www.remixgalaxy.com).

“It’s cool, you can add phasing and other effects, turn it into a dance mix, whatever you want to do. It’s fun! And it’s a great way to get the listener involved.”

So now that their business is finished, where do The Willing go from here? They’re all family men and successful businessmen in fields as diverse as retail, marketing, health care and organic produce. So it’s unlikely they will quit their day jobs, buy a van and go on tour.

“Success for us”, says Angel “would be finding an audience among people of our own age, the Boomers who grew up listening to good Classic Rock. Some money would be nice, but it’s really about recognition and appreciation for the music and the fact that we’re together, we finished the CD and we did it ourselves.”

A video in support of Unfinished Business & the follow up CD is already in the works.

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