Perpetual Groove At Legends April 5th
Athens Group Releases LIVELOVEDIE

By Jeff Eason

Folks who have listened to the spacey jam-rock band Perpetual Groove for the past few years may be surprised to learn that they have become a rock band. The quartet has jettisoned much of its laid-back attitude for its latest album, LIVELOVEDIE.

Perpetual Groove will perform at the Legends Music Hall on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone on Thursday, April 5th. Door open at 9 p.m.

LIVELOVEDIE marks a departure for the band, as does its new touring philosophy that keeps it closer to its home in the Southeast. The band started over four years ago in Savannah but has recently moved to Athens, Georgia to be part of that college town’s burgeoning live music scene.

“We’ve taken a break from the really long hauls,” said Perpetual Groove keyboardist Matt McDonald. “We’re usually touring about four days at a time now, mostly through the Southeast, based out of our home in Athens (Georgia).”

With a heavier sound than previous P-Groove albums, LIVELOVEDIE eschews spacey electronics in favor of crunchy guitars and lots of big beats. The new album will force the band’s fans to find a new label for what was once described as a “trance-rock” group.

“I think it is our best album so far,” said McDonald. “It certainly has been received well by our audiences. It’s a little more rock and roll, a little edgier, than the previous albums.”

McDonald noted that the album contains no musical guests outside the Perpetual Groove quartet but that the fact that it was recorded in the laid back atmosphere of Tree Sound Studio in Atlanta shaped the recording process.

“This was the first time that we had the opportunity to write songs in the studio,” said McDonald. “I think that immediacy comes through in the album.”

“We are really excited to bring these new songs to our fans,” added Brock Butler, singer and guitarist for the band. “We’re the same band you have come to know and love, but like any good artist, we change. Where we are in our lives changes, so what we write about changes. Our songwriting has improved leaps and bounds since our last record.”

The new album features a cosmic blend of jazz-rock, new-psychedelia and progressive rock. Like another Bonnaroo Festival band, Umphrey’s McGee, Perpetual Groove just keeps getting better with age.

McDonald added that the band has put aside its usual heavy touring schedule this year in order to concentrate on returning to the recording studio. The band plans to record through the early part of the summer and release a new disc in July.

“The material is already there,” said McDonald. “We just have to focus on how we want to record it and present it.”

Tickets & Times

Advance student tickets for Perpetual Groove’s show at Legends are $8 and are available at the student information desk in the Plemmons Student Union. Guest and at-the-door tickets are $12.

Doors open at 9 p.m. and the music starts around 10 p.m.

This show is a BYOB show for guests 21 and older with proper ID. That means attendees 21 and older can bring up to a six-pack of their favorite beer or wine into the venue.

For more information, call the ASU Department of Student Programs at (828) 262-3032.