The name Outlie probably doesn’t resonate with too many of you readers out there. After all, they haven’t toured much nor has their ridiculously good debut full-length even been out for a month yet. Still, despite my pseudo-empathy, these are NO excuses! Truly, the four-piece featuring Luke Pabich (guitarist of hardcore punk crusaders Good Riddance) this time in the role of primary songwriter and frontman – which he seems to be extremely happy about, now being able to hold the position that “really is the ultimate form of self-expression” – bassist Jesse Darling (Lonely Kings), drummer Sean Sellers (who’s been a part of Good Riddance, Downset, and Kidney Thieves), and newest recruit guitarist Donovan Cole, have a fresh sound melding plenty of styles including the inevitable punk and hardcore, but with more of a rock edge, evidenced brilliantly on the 11-track ‘Companions to Devils and Saints’ (on Porterhouse Records), an album with an undeniable melancholic, somber tone that’s tempered with some positive breaks.
Though the debut was just released in May 2004, Luke has been visualizing this day probably since he first felt the urge to start up his own little undertaking back in 1996. The storied history of this band that finally came to fruition is long and winding. Basically, however, Luke wanted to have an alternate outlet for creating his own music, incorporating his own stylistic influences, and letting his creativity free. He had a hard time finding the right musicians to collaborate with him and has worked with a number of different people, recording demos over the years and whatnot, first under the moniker Coercion, only recently taking up the name Outlie. When I mention that it must feel wonderful to finally have an actual record out after all these years of effort and the burdening feeling of uncertainty that this day would ever come – where he has a record AND a cohesive band with guys he can count on and hopefully do much touring – he affirms, “It really feels like all my years of hard work and struggle paid off,” going so far as to say, “It kinda doesn’t really matter to me even if I sell a lot of records; it’s more of a feeling of completion and a feeling of me being able to really, truly express myself how I wanted to…for quite some time.” He concludes reasonably, “I’m pretty happy with where things are at now.”
And over this period of time from when the band was more of an idea than a reality, Luke claims he did much songwriting, worked on his voice, and tried to find a suitable line-up. Now, though, he relates how he feels about the project to when he first started playing in Good Riddance. “It’s kinda like starting over again,” adding, “There’s no real expectations, there’s no real pressures, it’s just creating music for the sake of creating music,” and really, isn’t that how it should be?! This pure vision is definitely the highest form of artistic expression. So, yes, it is refreshing to work on another musical project other than Good Riddance, BUT there are drawbacks. I ask Luke how he’d feel if some people knew Outlie only as “the band featuring members of…” His answer is understandable, and as he proves, being in a well-known band and then starting up your own project can be like a proverbial double-edged sword. “Putting this record together and prior to the record coming out, I really had strong feelings about wanting to try to break that association and put this band out there as its own entity. Unfortunately,” he laments, “I had to use a little bit of the [Good Riddance] name-dropping just to kinda put myself on the map because it’s so hard to get noticed out there in the music industry these days that I feel at least with this first record, it’s kinda necessary [to use that name in order] for people to take interest in the band.” So, he doesn’t want to have to talk about or refer to Good Riddance in interviews [hint hint] but it’s somewhat of a necessary evil.
These guys CAN and SHOULD stand on their own despite band members’ ties. As previously stated, they have their own individual sound, as Luke draws other influences than those solely found in Good Riddance. ‘Companions to Devils and Saints’ opens extremely heavily, upbeat, and in-your-face with the hardcore leanings of “Anxieties of the Vain and Unknowing” (which kicks off the record); “Dance of Shiva”, laden with frenetic punk as well as melody a la Pennywise; and even “Forgotten Man”, a quick tune that has an almost longing sense to it, marking the point where a bit of the aforementioned melancholy begins to seep into the record.
And that is more or less where the record takes on a more conflicted, somber, even troubled tone (though there are certainly still hard parts mixed in there! See the intro to the powerful “Price of Denial” for a taste…), as I mention to the frontman. Luke corroborates, “It’s very melancholy, and I’ve always been attracted to music that has that sort of tone and sort of melodic feel to it. I for some reason, unbeknownst to me, gravitate towards that kind of vibe.” And it’s fitting, as he reveals, “That’s kind of how I am on a day-to-day basis too, so I think that’s pretty much the reason it made it into the music.” Yet, despite this somewhat solemn aspect, “along with that melancholy that makes its way into the music, I try to also provide hope…so that’s maybe where the conflict cmes in. I don’t want the music to be completely depressing,” he elaborates, “I want it to be reflective of a lot of the harshness of life, but I don’t want it to be so much to that point where it’s not enjoyable to listen to. So, I try to give it a little bit of upbeatness and give it a little bit of a positive edge also.” Just going back to “Price of Denial”, though it begins in a tough manner, the song in its entirety is undoubtedly somber and grave, and with good reason – the subject matter deals with the state of the world today, a sad and serious topic, indeed.
Yes, as he’s a self-described political-minded individual, socio-political commentary inevitably worms its way into Luke’s pieces. Those offerings (“Denial”, “Kill the Messenger”, “Soundproof”), he attests, “are really reflective of the times that we live in,” adding ardently, “and there’s not much better time than now to elaborate on that and express viewpoints.” But the record’s not all political, as many offerings are more introspective and contemplative of experiences in his own life, conceding that these lyrics, found on songs like “Find My Way” and “Shine”, “really revolve around about a year’s worth of time in my life when I was going through a lot on a number of fronts – I was kind of making a lot of life changes. It’s kind of like one of those things when you get into your early-30s you start to re-evaluate your life and think about things you would like to change…about yourself.” Opening up, he explains, “[They] talk about things that relate to relationships I have with people, there’s a song about my battle with depression, things of that nature. They’re all really just personal to me, relating to things that go on in my head and that’s it,” matter-of-factly stating, “They’re just the stories of my life.”
On the touring front, the band is struggling a bit. Luke even reveals that Outlie are having a tough time getting local shows, but they’re trying, and yes, they’d LOVE to be out on the road. “We have a lot of things that are all potentials at this point in time,” he confirms. They still have yet to find a booking agent and he’s working on booking a Southwest tour that will consist of about 11 stops. Interestingly, but understandably as they’re much more accepting of different bands and styles of music in general, he reveals that European booking agents have expressed interest in getting the guys over there for a tour. Hopefully it all works out. These guys deserve everything they achieve.