Buzz bands

Aiming for the top

With a carload of lofty aspirations for his music career, Jesse Glick moved from upstate New York to Southern California three years ago spouting a refrain familiar to young musicians: “I knew if I just had a chance ....” With some 60 gigs and a few rounds of negotiations under his band Lo Mass Republic’s belt, Glick will get that chance -- Arista has signed the quintet. Says Glick: “It was amazing to have presidents of record labels perk up and say, ‘Who are these guys?’ ” Well, they’re singer-rhythm guitarist Glick, keyboardist Corbin Long, bassist Steve Cordrey, drummer Hoss and, most recently, guitarist Jason DeCorse -- the final piece of the puzzle. “We wanted somebody who could play the textured, ambient sort of stuff but who could drive it home too -- somebody with presence,” Glick says. “When we got Jason, we pretty much scrapped everything we’d done to that point.” Lo Mass Republic, which plays Tuesday at the Viper Room, will “test-drive the new material” for the next few months, Glick says, before putting their guitar-drenched songs on an album, targeted for a spring release. His aspirations? Still lofty. “We want to make a timeless record, an important record,” he says. “Nothing disposable.”

Ready for takeoff

“Heroes and Villians,” Paloalto’s recently released second album, wasn’t inspired by the similarly named Beach Boys song, but rather the L.A.-based band’s experience with record companies. Singer-guitarist James Grundler’s last band, the Din Pedals, landed a deal with Epic Records and released an album in 1997. When it failed to gain notice, Grundler quit with plans of going solo. But he missed what he called the “gang aspect and camaraderie” of being in a band, so Paloalto was born. The quartet created enough buzz to catch the attention of noted producer-record executive Rick Rubin, who inked them to his American Recordings and signed on to produce the band’s 2000 debut. Unfortunately, it was released when American’s deal with Sony was unraveling and was lost in the corporate shuffle. Undaunted, Paloalto survived with a few lineup changes, and Grundler continued writing the sort of uplifting, melodic anthems that has the band pegged as the States’ answer to Coldplay and Travis. Now, with Paloalto and American Recordings in the seemingly more sympathetic hands of Island Def Jam, Grundler is optimistic that his band is ready for takeoff. “We’re just trying to make a record that can be used as a lifejacket,” he says. Paloalto opens for Supergrass on Aug. 8 and 9 at the El Rey Theatre.

-- Kevin Bronson, with Craig Rosen

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