Vigilantes were formed in the fall of 2004 by Joey Dornbos and Brent French, evolving out of several years and several bands created by the two life-long friends. French began playing with Dornbos as early as age seven, pounding on cardboard boxes while the teenage Dornbos taught himself guitar. Vigilantes strive to play no-nonsense rock and roll with contagious choruses while avoiding the pressure of throw-back garage fads. To them, straight rock and roll doesn't need reinvention, it needs resurrection. Don't Dance With the Devil, Vigilantes new EP, displays stripped down arrangements with depth and passion. The soulful and revealing lyrics earnestly communicate the bands message of truth, beauty, adventure, and the search for wisdom. Guitarist Isaiah Kallman states, "no matter what it is, a recording or a live show, we want excellence. We want the music to be timeless." Bassist Luke Shoemaker puts this goal in very simple terms. "We don't want to be an genre-specific band; we just want to make good music." But Vigilantes are currently taking a break... a really, really long break. Dang near inactive, dig?
"I see a lot of bands that have a tight sound and solid musicianship, but it is not as often that I see an energy that exudes from both the band and the sound in a way that almost forces people to move. It is this combined with the way they spur on and play off of their audience that sets Vigilantes a notch above. - Matthew Scott, owner of Lemonjello's in Holland, MI
"Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your whim, there are a lot of bands out there trying to resurrect straight rock and many are straight boring. But rest assured, this old dawg has seen enough run of the mill bands to know that Vigilantes arent one. They have an arresting stage presence, a 70's rock schtick that will have your tight ass jeans swishing and your asymmetrical haircut bouncing in tune. There is more to great songwriting than the right musical packaging, catchy riffs and a good sound. Howard City carries its real weight in the form of poetic and direct social commentary that breaks the mold of a genre that is typically naïve and hypocritical. - Drew Allegre, editor of www.fahrenheit128.com
"There's also a band called Vigilantes. We got a demo from them in Grand Rapids. Usually, you don't get any good demos, basically. And we were thinking this was gonna suck too. And we listened to it and we were like, "This is pretty good." Then we listened to the next song and the next song after that and we're like, "What the heck? This is awesome! These guys are a lot better than we are. (laughter) A lot better!" - Christian Lindskog from Blindside, Indie Access Radio interview.
