The Alarms are an independent power pop/psych rock band from Nashville. They are on tour supporting their debut LP Real Tough Love. The Alarms are playing The Drinkery on Friday, with support from Founding Fathers.
We caught up with The Alarms prior to the show!
Give us some background on The Alarms…
We're a 4-piece power pop/psych rock group, formed in Nashville, TN by good friends who all went to Belmont University at one point or another. We're career musicians and all work as freelance instrumentalists as well as being in bands, so the Alarms is a long-haul passion project that allows for raw, emotive energy and the chance to cultivate the best "band sound" we possibly can.
In December of 2012, an early version of this band went into the studio to record a follow-up to lead singer Robert Gay's solo record. The results were unique and satisfying, with a specific garage-rock sound that was different from Robert's solo material, even though both projects used the same backing band.
By December of 2013, we had a different drummer, some new songs, and an even clearer vision for the band's direction. We returned to the studio and compiled the best songs from both years to form our debut LP: "Real Tough Love."
What can one expect at a The Alarms live show?
The live aspect of the Alarms is extremely important -- we tracked the album as a live band, and the goal has always been to be the kind of band that shares a very guttural, overwhelming energy. By the end of an Alarms show, hopefully we'll all feel blissfully exhausted.
How did you determine your band name?
We started as Robert Gay and the Alarms, but found the band name to be so strong that everything else was unnecessary. The meaning is appropriately bold and straightforward: "Get Up."
By calling ourselves the Alarms, we embrace the idea that something's not quite right out there, and that the problem might lie in the self. Sometimes it takes a wake-up call to be blessed with the realization that it's time to make a change.
What is next for The Alarms?
We'll continue to branch out and tour as we support our new album "Real Tough Love," and we're actually headed back to The Drinkery in October with our good Nashville friends Magnolia Sons.
Offstage, we've already started working on some new songs, and some of them are in rotation for the live show. There's a brand-new one called "In Another Life" that we had a blast debuting in Knoxville.
