The Click Five
The Click Five (often abbreviated as TC5)[2] was an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The original members, most of them students at Berklee College of Music, started on January 1, 2004, and played in various local venues.[3] They then quickly got the attention of talent scout Wayne Sharp (who had worked with the power pop group Candy). The Click Five made their first recording, a two-song demo session, in early 2004 after successful local touring. They released their debut album Greetings from Imrie House in 2005. After vocalist Eric Dill left the group, he was replaced by Kyle Patrick who debuted on their second album Modern Minds and Pastimes in 2007.[4] Their third album, TCV, was released in Asia in 2010 and to the rest of the world in early 2011.
The Click Five
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
2003–2013
Eric Dill
Kyle Patrick
Joe Guese
Ethan Mentzer
Ben Romans
Joey Zehr
The band was initially known for its power pop songs and for its Mod-based public image,[4] involving sharp-looking suits and ties coupled with moptop haircuts, which is deliberately reminiscent of the Beatles or the Dave Clark Five.[5] They prefer to classify their music as "new school power pop".[6] However, they have also been classified as pop punk and teen pop.[7][8] They achieved significant commercial success with their first album in the US and their second release met with extreme popularity in Asian countries such as Cambodia and the Philippines.[9] In total, the band has sold two million albums worldwide and have created eight number one singles in seven different nations.[10] The band starred in the 2007 film Taking Five with Alona Tal, Daniella Monet, and Christy Carlson Romano.
History[edit]
Formation and early history[edit]
Ben Romans studied songwriting, Ethan Mentzer studied production and engineering, and Joey Zehr double majored in production/engineering and business at the Berklee College of Music. Roommates and close-friends Mentzer and Zehr moved to a place on Imrie Road in the neighborhood of Allston when they were both sophomores. Calling their place "Imrie House", they met with Romans and Joe Guese (whom Zehr once described as a "professional dropout") and formed a kind of pseudo-fraternity. The four played in various local bands, none of which had any success.[3] However, they drew the attention of Wayne Sharp, a musical talent agent who had mostly worked in jazz although he had also worked with the mid-1980s power pop group Candy.[4] Early iterations of the band often also included studio musician Jude (Freebird) Jones until Dill's departure in 2007.
Romans went to work for a record company in Nashville. Jeff Dorenfeld, former manager of the band Boston, saw Guese and Mentzer performing in May 2003 and referred them to Sharp. Sharp liked their playing, but he had a low regard for their songs and their appearance. The first words Sharp ever said to them were "This isn't going to work unless you listen to me".[6]
The four soon took in Eric Dill, a high-school friend of Zehr from when they both lived in Indianapolis. Zehr has said that they began playing seriously because "[w]hen we started the band our senior year, it was basically our last-ditch effort, because we all knew we were about to be done with school and have to enter the real world".[3] They were all in their very early-20s.[11] According to Zehr, the group would play several shows a week that were booked under different band names to get around local clubs' rules preventing artists from playing that close to each other.[3] Their playing then got the attention of Mike Denneen, Boston-based producer of Fountains of Wayne, who agreed to help them produce a 2-song demo record. Denneen also introduced them to Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley, who was strongly supportive.[11]
The Click Five made their demos at Imrie House itself,[3] finishing in March 2004. Denneen believed that the group "sucked live" and pushed them to rehearse further.[6] The program director at Kiss 108, the big Boston Top 40 station, liked it enough to book the group for the station's "Concert on the Charles" in mid-2004.[3] The released their first EP, "Angel to You (Devil to Me)", around this time.[4] Principal songwriter Ben Romans collaborated with Paul Stanley in creating the song,[11] and guitarist Elliot Easton, best known for his work in the Cars, played in it.[12]
The group hired a lawyer and shopped around some of the major labels. A college scout from Epic Records who witnessed one of their shows convinced Epic to fly the group to Los Angeles to play.[3] Lava Records, which was later folded into Atlantic Records, ended up signing the band in late 2004.[11] They started with the label a mere month after their EP. According to The Boston Globe, "Click Five was launched into the pop-music stratosphere with the full force of the industry's muscle behind it."[7] The band opened for Ashlee Simpson for the first time, a position that cost the label $25,000 and that one of their officials later called "the best money we've spent".[6]
The group ended up selling about 10,000 copies of the EP.[8] They then released "Just the Girl", written by label-mate Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, to build up support for their debut album. They also toured extensively with Ashlee Simpson.[11] They released their debut, Greetings From Imrie House, on August 8, 2005, which they named after the building where they had started. It featured another song by Schlesinger titled "I'll Take My Chances", in which Elliot Easton also played.[13] The album also contained a cover version of "Lies" – a song which was a hit for UK pop band Thompson Twins in 1983.
Influences[edit]
Band members have cited power pop leaders Cheap Trick and Matthew Sweet as major influences.[8] They also have cited Talking Heads as an inspiration.[13] John D. Luerssen of Allmusic has stated that they sound similar to the Knack, the Calling, and label-mates Fountains of Wayne.[8] Mikael Wood of Baltimore City Paper has compared the Click Five to Fall Out Boy and the All-American Rejects in terms of sound and crossover appeal.[3] In terms of songwriting, Bill Lamb of About.com has remarked that they seem reminiscent of the Beatles and the Beach Boys.[5] Gary Susman of Entertainment Weekly has stated their vocal harmonies are similar to Queen, but they sing more like the Backstreet Boys.[16]
Several critics and commentators have stated that the Click Five's overall image, style, and performance is evocative of fellow Boston-based band the Cars.[8][12] In general, Guese has said, "we're a rock band that plays pop songs... I have always been a fan of the three-minute pop song." He has also said, "We just try to have a lot of fun... We try to bring back that old-time rock 'n' roll sort of vibe."[13]