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From the Epic Release Sheet: It's rare that a rock 'n' roll band takes such a giant step forward with its own music that the members feel compelled to rechristen the enterprise. But that's exactly what happened when the Kansas City band called The Front entered the studio to begin work on their second album. The group had weathered the departure of keyboards player Bobby Franano, (editor's note: Mike McHale replaced him) and their new music-for a new label- was a sharp stylistic departure from their previous output. "With change comes opportunity, and it was time for a change," says guitarist Mike Greene. "We didn't want a name that was going to categorize the band." About three-quarters of the way through the making of the album, the band opted to change its name to Bakers Pink. It was a moniker that was literally, and fortuitously, handed to the band. Michael had recorded a demo of some of his new tunes while the group was in New York's electric Ladyland cutting album tracks. He asked the studio's second engineer to put the music onto a cassette; when she gave it to him, he read the words "bakers pink" on the box. Suddenly, the band had an album title and a brand-new name. (As it happens, "bakers pink" was a shade of color first used in the construction of prison during the 1920's, when it was widely believed that this particular shade would help keep inmates sane and calm. Instead, the color had the opposite effect, and drove many inmates insane!) "There's literally no two songs alike," says Michael. "There's different instrumentation, and each one is recorded differently. If there's a common thread, it's the idea that there's a conflict in every song. Life is a conflict, there's always a contradiction. I think you have to listen to the album as a whole a couple of times and it starts to make sense." Jump to 1992: The new sound of Bakers Pink (now commuting between New York and Kansas City - was born at Electric Ladyland and The Hit Factory with the help of producer Mark Dodson (Suicidal Tendencies, Anthrax). "Oddly enough, we found ourselves full circle to where we had started off in the loft in K.C. before we ever got signed," says Michael Anthony Franano of Bakers Pink. "The record definitely has the old album-oriented rock thing. There's a sense of poking fun at the grandiosity of life when in actuality we're just one step above an ape. Our needs and desires are pretty basic, when you think about it. I really do think people take themselves entirely too seriously and I do it myself. Life itself is kind of a joke." Be that as it may, the music of Bakers Pink underscores a rich lode of emotional psychological truth and contradiction. If life is a paradox, then color it Bakers Pink. Bakers Pink released one single, "Watercolours, " and also toured in support of the album. By the time the tour was completed, the band members realized that they were moving in different directions. Even though they remained good friends, the band felt that it was time to move on. Click here to find out what happened next... |
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