 by Rob van Alstyne
Contrary to rock ’n’ roll mythology, most bands endure a rather arduous birthing process, forming with half-cocked hopes and withstanding a succession of revolving door members and bouts of self-doubt before entertaining thoughts of ever even playing out live, let alone making a record. This makes the seemingly pain-free conception of local quintet Colonial Vipers Attack—one of the most exciting Anglo-leaning pop bands to hit Minnesota in some time—all the sweeter. From the first note of their impromptu initial practice session the members of CVA knew they were on to something special—and so did others.
Download an mp3 of CVA's song “Unnoticed.”
 “I
was so nervous for the first rehearsal,” recalls singer/guitarist Chris
Pavlich. “I had never sang before in front of anyone and was really self-conscious
about it. The rest of the guys were all just sort of staring at me with that
‘So, what do you got?’ kind of look, and I remember just being sick
in the pit of my stomach. I played through about five or six tunes alone—just
freaking out over whether they would even like it—but they were all into
it right away. As soon as the other guys picked up their instruments you could
tell that something cool was happening. We played up until about midnight that
night and everything was just clicking, it was rough but we knew we were on
to something. Right as we were wrapping up there was a knock on the door and
we were all surprised because nobody even knew that we had that space or even
existed at that point. I opened the door and it’s this girl who was just
sitting outside our space hanging out waiting for some friends and she was like,
‘You guys are awesome, what’s the name of the band?’ This
was literally the first practice, we didn’t have a name, but [drummer]
Shawn [Grider] jumped in and said ‘Colonial Vipers Attack’ and we
were in awe of his Battle Star Galactica reference—it definitely felt
like a sign.”
Formed from the ashes of other high profile local bands—Pavlich, Grider
and bassist John Schrei all backed up Ryan Seitz in the Lovesick-era lineup
of Divorcee while Dax Eckel used to pound the keys for Faux Jean, and lead guitarist
Kris Johnson has logged time with the Melismatics and Attention—Colonial
Vipers Attack sounds like a delightful hybrid of the aforementioned groups.
Placid layered balladry like “A Better Place” show Pavlich learned
more than a thing or two from his time with Seitz, whereas the sleaze-rock clamor
of “I Changed My Mind” wouldn’t have been out of place on
the Melismatics’ New Infection record from a few years back.
 Pavlich
readily admits his past work as a sideman influences his present output greatly.
“I learned a lot about songwriting from Ryan; having that experience with
Divorcee really helped me out. Seeing how he put the pieces of songs together
was amazing. I wasn’t really comfortable with trying to be a songwriter
for a long time, even up until this record came out. I was like a fish out of
water in the beginning. I had spent so much time in my past focusing on how
to make cool guitar sounds that certain concepts, like keeping pitch while singing,
were pretty much brand new. Now I’m sitting on a batch of new songs that
we’ve started recording and melodies and lyrics are starting to come to
me a lot easier.”
Once Pavlich finally found his pitch the voice he let loose was a gift from
the Brit rock gods—an artful approximation of the melancholic boyish croon
perfected to millions of dollars by the likes of Coldplay’s Chris Martin
and Travis’ Fran Healy. Cross the Pavlich windpipes with guitarist Kris
Johnson’s propensity for sharply buzzing Oasis-styled hooks and you’ve
got yourself one mammoth Anglo-rock sound coming smack dab out of the Upper
Midwest.
 Colonial
Vipers Attack clearly have a sense of humor about how they’re apt
to be pegged by many listeners and critics, going so far as to list Oasis’
Liam Gallagher as one of their “top friends” on their web page at
the popular music/friend tracking site Myspace.com. “It doesn’t
bother me when we draw comparisons to other bands,” admits Pavlich when
I bring up the Gallagher brothers in connection with his group. “It’s
interesting because I never would have made those comparisons to Oasis myself.
That being said, within each song there will be little bits that are sort of
a nod to people who have come before whether it’s Paul Weller, the Stone
Roses or the Verve. The last time I checked Oasis sold millions of records so
it doesn’t bother me to be put in their company.”
Oasis disciples or no, in a just world the propulsive crunch of CVA’s
“Unnoticed” would find itself “Wonderwall” sized airplay
at commercial radio. As it turns out Pavlich has his eyes on a far more modest
prize than dominating the FM dial. “The whole premise of this project
was really just to keep our friendships and have an excuse to get out and drink
beers and play some tunes on Wednesday nights,” admits Pavlich. “The
measure of success for us is always, ‘Are we still having fun? Or does
it feel like a part-time job and punching the clock?’ We all look forward
to Wednesday night jam call and as long as we can maintain that it’s great.
Having said that, when opportunities come along—we actually just got one
of the songs licensed for a movie—we’re all over it. The key is
that when good things happen you don’t want your expectations to change
and take the fun out of it. Right now we’re just having a good time.”
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Colonial Vipers Attack play the CD release show for their self-titled
debut album on Sat., Mar. 11 at the Turf Club with Signal to Trust, The Monarques
and The Cardinal Sin. 9 p.m. $5. 21+. Corner of University and Snelling Aves.,
St. Paul. 651-647-0486.
For more information on Colonial Vipers Attack, visit their official website
at ColonialVipersAttack.com
or head on over download an mp3 of their song “Unnoticed.”
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