"A Taste of Truth" With Feel Never Real
Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 17:49 Written by Jemini Wednesday, 14 April 2010 15:48
Band Members
Tim Jones – Vocals and Guitar
Mathew Cass – Bass and Vocals
Shea Lange – Drums and Vocals
The Music – A Taste of Truth Album Review
Eclectic. Versatile. Unpredictable. Feel Never Real. Originally from Paris, Texas, Feel Never Real is a band that beautifully combines elements of System of a Down and Johnny Cash into their debut album A Taste of Truth. First released in 2008 and later re-released in 2010, the eclectic sounds of A Taste of Truth are best described as a mix of hard rock, punk, and country with a rockabilly twist. Every song on this album will keep you guessing as to what you will hear next. To try and prepare you for what you will hear, take a look at the track-by-track guide followed by a discussion on the band’s sound and a little FNR band history.
“Outta My Face” – A bit of synthesizers followed by heavy guitars, a deep growl from Tim Jones, full drum bashing and another thick layer of heavy guitars only describes the first 40 seconds of this song. After this ear-catching introduction, you will find yourself rocking out to Jones’ amazing vocals (be it tasteful screaming, talking, or singing), the killer guitars, and the onslaught of drums.
“Feel Never Real” – Bearing the band’s name, this song sounds mainstream but continues to grab your attention with that rockabilly twist that only FNR can do.
“Keep it in Mind” – It is hard to say what or who this song sounds like other than Feel Never Real as they were recording A Taste of Truth. Between the killer vocals, masterful lyrics, jamming guitars, and slashing drums, you will find yourself rocking out to this tune by the time you hear the chorus for the first time.
“Blessed are the Meek” – This heart-stopping, rock your face off tune bears elements of System of a Down with a rockabilly twist. Listen and believe.
“Broken” –Other than a few catchy harmonies in the chorus and interesting guitar work, this song doesn’t have much more to write home about.
“Pain” – Time for something different. Better than “Broken” but not quite up to par with “Feel Never Real” or Keep it in Mind” in terms of lyrics and sound, you will still be amused by the versatility of Tim’s voice.
“A Taste of Truth” – After listening to this song, you will understand why the band decided to give it so much attention. “A Taste of Truth” possesses catchy lyrics, killer vocals, masterful guitar work, and amazing drums – many of the elements it takes to make a mainstream hit single. Right now, you can request this song on Octane, channel X48 on Sirius Satellite Radio and, if Feel Never Real keeps winning their Dallas vs LA rounds like they have been, they will be able to add 100.1 The Edge to that list. For details on how you can help make that happen, go check out the “dallas vs la” page under “Renegade Shows” right here on RenegadeRadio.net.
“Fifty’s Tune” – While it is tempting to try and compare this song with your favorite 1950s artist because the song title prompts you to, the slow rhythmic guitar playing paired with Jones’ voice will lead you to just call it Feel Never Real making a good tune.
“Another Change” – The guitar work and vocals in each verse of this song reminds one of what System of a Down would sound like if they were heavily influenced by Johnny Cash. Good tune, but it’s not among the better ones on this album.
“Sharky and Toadie” – This song is absolutely crazy; you have tasteful screaming when you least expect it and vocals that resemble what Johnny Cash would sound like if he had a hard rock band. The Cash-like vocals really emerge when Jones talks the lyrics with his deep Southern accent. During that point in “Sharky and Toadie”, you are half expecting Jones to say, “Hello, my name is Johnny Cash” and then describe a scene in a John Wayne movie.
“Happy When (Chick Tune)” – If this is the same Tim Jones that is singing this song, how in the world did he go from sounding like Johnny Cash to this? This beautiful rockabilly ballad and “Sharky and Toadie” are prime examples of Feel Never Real’s versatility and eclectic sound that keeps listeners guessing as to what they will hear next from this talented Texas band.
The Sound
With Feel Never Real’s eclectic sound and Jones’ versatile voice one wonders how it originated. To gain a little more insight into this question, The RenegadeRadio.net Street Team recently conducted a phone interview with Feel Never Real front man Tim Jones. When asking about the band’s musical influences, we found that Jones primarily listened to alternative music like Huey Lewis and the News and later moved to hard rock. Lange listened to a lot of hip hop and Cass a lot of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. While the wide varieties of genres may have influenced FNR’s eclectic sound, another possible explanation originates from the fact that while the band likes many of the bands listed as influences, they have heard them so many times that they don’t want to listen to them anymore. Feeling the need for something fresh and new, the band takes elements from these influences, blends them together and adds their own spin to create a beautifully eclectic sound that, in many cases, you may not have ever heard before.
To keep their sound eclectic, the band will continue to show their versatility by experimenting with new sounds, being creative with their talents, and not placing too much emphasis on one type of song or another. If Jones were to write ten songs that all sounded the same he would pick “Sharky and Toady”, the most eclectic, unpredictable song on A Taste of Truth that has a little bit of everything in it. With this said, do not expect A Taste of Truth part II for their next album.
Speaking of new material, the band is currently working on five new songs that are scheduled to be released in the near future. The RenegadeRadio.net Street Team had a chance to listen to two of the new songs in demo form. Prepare yourself for something that slides away from the Johnny Cash elements you hear in A Taste of Truth to more mainstream rock with an eclectic Feel Never Real twist. Do not be alarmed by the phrase “more mainstream rock” and think the band is selling out; there are plenty of classic FNR twists in these two songs that it will satisfy even the purist indie rock fan.
While this discussion may account for explaining the eclectic sound, it doesn’t quite explain the versatility of Jones’s voice. How does Jones go from sounding like Johnny Cash to the voice you hear in “Happy When (Chick Tune)”? Did he have extensive voice lessons growing up or is he just a natural singer? While Jones always felt like he could write songs pretty well, he couldn’t sing. Not a natural singer and growing up in a household where music was looked upon as a frivolous activity, there was no room for Jones to be shipped off to voice lessons to develop the voice you hear today. While playing in a few bands prior to Feel Never Real, everyone wanted to play but no one wanted to sing. As a result, Jones got forced into the lead singer position. After being forced into singing, Jones grew to like it so he worked on developing his voice by practicing. The basis of his voice did not emerge until 2004 when Feel Never Real was considered a band. Within the past two to three years, Jones voice has progressed to the point to where he can say that he is a pretty good vocalist.
The Band
Now that you have a little more insight on Feel Never Real’s sound it is time for a band history lesson. Cass and Jones have been friends since 2nd grade. They have done a lot of things together including playing music. Eventually, Cass, Jones, and another friend of theirs (who ended up being the drummer) formed a band. Approximately one to two months into that project, Jones was told that he would be better off pursuing a solo career. Agreeing, Jones went his separate way. During that time, Jones wrote about 60 songs. Then the drummer of the former band introduced Jones to Shay Lange. Soon after getting introduced, Lange and Jones ended up playing a couple of times together and became great friends. Then Lange moves to Orlando, Florida and tries to convince Jones to come with him. Jones agreed even though he had only known Lange for less than a month at the time. About three and a half months after Lange moved to Orlando, Jones headed to Florida after he sold his Harley Chopper.
Jones, Lange, and another friend of theirs lived in a one bedroom apartment in Orlando, worked odd jobs, and had a lot of fun in the process. While living in Orlando, Jones and Lange really didn’t get the band started because Jones really wanted Cass to be a part of it. They did however, come up with a band name. While working at a lawn mower repair shop, Jones kept seeing the letters “FNR” printed on forklifts, lawn mowers, and many other pieces of equipment. Catching his attention, he wrote the letters “FNR” and the phrase “Feel Never Real” on a piece of paper. After contemplating what he wrote, Jones really liked the phrase. Later that evening, Jones showed what he had written down to Lange. Approving of the phrase but not wanting to go with it right away, Lange suggested that they keep looking for a name. After looking on the backs of packages during the ongoing search, the phrase “Feel Never Real” continued to stick with Jones. The more he pondered over the phrase the more he realized it fit him as he has never felt like he has anything to do with reality. After the seemingly inconsequential phrase became heartfelt and meaningful to Jones, the other band members eventually adopted the name.
Soon after the band name was adopted by all of the band members, Cass was actively trying to convince Jones to move back to Texas. Succeeding, Jones moved back while Lange stayed behind to pursue a job with Disney. Getting a place in the Fort Worth area with another friend, Jones began to work on getting Lange back to Texas. Succeeding, Lange moves back to Texas to live with Jones in the Fort Worth area while Cass still lived in Paris, Texas. With all band members finally back in Texas, active rehearsals began as Jones and Lange traveled back and forth to Paris to practice with Cass. Feel Never Real had their first show in March 2004 at Galaxy Club in Dallas, Texas. Soon after the first show, the band members all moved to a house in the Fort Worth area.
The band continued to play shows with an assortment of bands large and small all over the country including being the main support for Hinder at a gig in Utah. With each show, their fan base slowly began to grow.
As things progressed as a three-piece band, Feel Never Real still felt that the lineup was not complete. After searching for a second guitar player for close to two years, they finally came across Vernon Greer, a good friend and fellow musician whom they had worked with previously. While getting samples together at Greer’s home studio, Jones asked Greer how his projects were going. Greer reported that he was not doing a thing so Jones asked him if he would like to fill the second guitarist position. He agreed and joined the ranks.
Feel Never Real finally seemed to be complete. Soon after playing showcases at SXSW in Austin, Texas, the band started to schedule a two week tour to Los Angeles, California. While the tour was still being scheduled, Greer decided that he was not ready to go on the road with the band and left the ranks. With no hard feelings or bad blood, the band is back to a three-piece thinking big and preparing themselves to conquer the nation with their music.
For more information on Feel Never Real, check out their MySpace page and send them a friend request on Facebook. To find their Facebook page, search for “Feel Never Real”. If you like what you hear, A Taste of Truth is available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon.com, and CD Baby.
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written by Eddie, May 14, 2010
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written by Jemini, May 14, 2010
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written by robbie gunn, July 15, 2010
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