The only Twin Cities rock band to crack Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" in the last decade, Quietdrive followed the formula behind its one big hit on a new album landing this week around the group's annual holiday-week gig at the Varsity Theater. "Your Record, Our Spin" features nothing but cover songs – 10 of them, most of which are remakes of radio hits from when the parents of Quietdrive's many teen fans were their age. The tunes were suggested by the fans themselves, said guitarist Justin Bonhiver (no relation to Justin "Bon Iver" Vernon). You can expect to hear many of them at Wednesday's gig at the Varsity.
Here is the album's track list:
1. Africa / Toto
2. Carry On My Wayward Son / Kansas
3. No Sleep / Wiz Khalifa
4. Uprising / Muse
5. Mandolin Rain / Bruce Hornsby
6. Say Say Say / Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
7. Crazy / Seal
8. Sister Christian / Night Ranger
9. Breakfast at Tiffany's / Deep Blue Something
10. In Your Eyes / Peter Gabriel
OK, so it's not all oldies (see: Wiz Khalifa and Muse). Quietdrive, you may remember (or not), landed a radio hit when it was signed to Epic Records in 2007 with its emo-rocking remake of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time." Like that one, these covers are all amped up musically and blown out vocally, as you can hear in the version of "Africa" posted via Soundcloud.
Tickets ($15-$17) are still available for Wednesday's concert, an all-ages affair that starts at 5:45 p.m. Paradise Fears, American Scarecrow and the Usual Things open.
