about OFTA
Shannon Edgar was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Our Friend the Atom was born in Los Angeles. Somewhere in between all of this came a couple of bands, a long stint in Boston, and the evolution of a serious songwriter.
The name, whats the deal? The name was coined by Lance Konnerth, who has been a long time collaborator with Shannon. Our Friend the Atom was a book and short film made in the 1950s which was used as propaganda for atomic energy. The piece features a cast of cartoon atoms and characters, and was concocted by Disney for the U.S. Government to help spin positivity for Americas nuclear program.
Lance and Shannon had been in a band called Amory together some years back, and had ventured out on tour with Vertical Horizon during this tenure. Sean Hurley was a long-time friend from Boston, and also happened to be Vertical Horizons bass player. When Amory decided to pack it in, Our Friend the Atom was the next project Shannon and Lance spawned, for which they recruited Sean Hurley to play some bass. Sean contributed to the self-titled debut album released in 2003, and helped out on some touring in support of this record. Songs from this debut have been used on Dawsons Creek, Beautiful People, and other television shows. Sean had also been instrumental in recruiting his amigo and fellow Bostonian Craig Macintyre to play drums for OFTA. Craig provided the perfect groove and vibe to compliment the group as they headed into the studio. Bryan Cook, another friend from Boston and accomplished engineer/mixer, helped the crew engineer and co-produce the debut album in Los Angeles.
With the cast of musicians being good friends and also in demand studio musicians living in Los Angeles, there are always a host of opportunities vying for the savvy in the furtherance of musicianship and experience. It also doesnt hurt to get a major label grade paycheck either, so the friends have basically played together when availability has presented itself. Craig spent a year on the road with Josh Groban, Lance has been out with Aslyn, Enrique Iglesias, and Hillary Duff, and Sean has been playing with Vertical Horizon, and working in the studio with Producer Glen Ballard on a variety of projects. Shannon has been writing and Producing when time permits and recently finished a record for a burgeoning singer-songwriter named Joshua James.
At the end of 2005, the process of recording a second record had begun on a few tunes. Shannon went into Sunset Sound with drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, Melisa Etheridge, Alanis Morisette), guitartist Brad Fernquist (New Radicals, Michelle Branch, Goo Goo Dolls), and keyboardist Matt Rohde (Prince, Alanis Morissette, Janes Addiction) while Craig and Lance were out on the road. During this session the songs Poison Well, and Perfect Life were recorded and co-produced by Todd Burke who was the mixer for the first OFTA record. Todd works with some talented folks including, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Belle and Sebastian, and others, and has been a key man in bringing both records to fruition. Basically a lot of talented folks have been in the mix with OFTA, and the guys have been lucky to have a cast of cool and talented friends willing to help out the cause.
In January of 2006, when it came time to record the bulk of A Fury In Your Words, OFTAs second record, Shannon, Craig, Lance, and bass player Frank Coglitore, holed themselves up in their studio in Burbank and began to work. Frank had played with Shannon on some solo performances and the two hit it off, coming from a similar musical space. Also enlisted for the cause was keyboardist Peter Adams who provided his skills on organ, piano, mellotron and synth. The first track on the record, Better Off Dead serves as a good example of a new direction and sound that all of these influences brought to light.
Curtain Call was a song on A Fury In Your Words that was crying for a string arrangment. Once again, OFTA benefitted from having a cool friend and fellow musician named Daphne Chen, who wrote arrangements for Curtain Call, and Fighting For Air. Daphne is a member of The Section Quartet which consists of herself, Eric Gorfain, Richard Dodd, and Leah Katz. The Section Quartet have established themselves as an accomplished, quartet who have lent their chops on records for Jon Brion, A Perfect Circle, James Blunt, and others. The Section Quartet performed the arrangements and put the finishing touches on the record. After tracking was done, Todd Burke lent his sonic guidance and mixed the record at his studio, Ohm Studios.
With the current level of anxiety present in the political climate of war and terrorism, it is only appropriate to expect more political commentary from an artists realizations and perceptions. The album title, A Fury In Your Words, is a good indication into this affirmation. Oil has become the most important theme of the 21st century and Poison Well serves as a metaphor for oil and the respective money and power conundrum. Camouflaged In Red speaks to the motives and morals of mankind, and their relations to a higher power and justice. The reggae inspired, History Keep Repeating is reflective of its title and chorus, in that mankind continues to make the same mistakes and atrocities, ignoring the lessons of history.
In a bigger picture, the subject matter of the songs make us question and ponder life in general. Curtain Call, although at the surface talks about the challenges of a relationship, on a deeper level it explores happiness and the ability to find this in our daily lives. The song, Every Moment, whose incarnation begun on OFTAs first record, is a more realized and produced version, invoking this same universal theme of fulfillment and happiness. The last song on the record, Displaced Smile, is a relationship song which ends with an extended explosion and guitar solo, some of Lances best work to date.
Our Friend the Atom is active on social networking sites, such as myspace.com, and has embraced the advent of the internet and digital age. As challenges continue to mount in a swiftly changing environment for entertainment companies throughout the world, the only constant that will survive is the notion of quality content worthy of consumption. Usually art that is spawned and nurtured by the heart survives the test of time, fads, and opinion. In this fashion, Our Friend the Atom has continued to make records and music that will inspire and provoke listeners for years to come.
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