Out of the booming rock genre known as neo-metal sprouts Grade 8, scheduled to play at Runwayz on Saturday. The members have collaborated for two years and are ready to release their self-titled debut on Lava Records, the upstart division of Atlantic Records that has recently popularized acts like Kid Rock and A Simple Plan.
The band is composed of four members from all over the country and even the world. Brothers Ryan (vocals) and Dustin Tooker (guitar) hail from Los Angeles, Calif. Bassist Guy Couturier comes from Switzerland and drummer Scotty Carneghi is from Chicago, Ill.
Brought together through auditions and mutual friends, each member treats Grade 8 as a serious project. According to Ryan Tooker, success - not recreation - is their priority and they are very determined to find it in the music industry.
"This is serious stuff. (The band) will work. We will make it work," he said.
Speaking with Tooker, one gets the impression that the young man feels like Grade 8 is his only chance at success.
Tooker has played in bands and performed on stage since he was 13 years old. He's never had a real job, or at least a legal one.
"I did a lot of illegal s--- to make money. ... I'm from Jersey, and I needed to make money, and I was young and smart. You fill in the blanks," he said.
Grade 8 has been on tour to promote the Feb. 11 release of their first LP. The band has worked to sell itself on the road - and it's paying off. Tooker said the demos they have had for sale at their shows are hard to keep in stock.
"We've had to restock the van, like, three times already," he said.
A crowd response that positive, along with increasing radio airplay for their first single, "Brick by Brick," bodes well for their first-week sales.
The album is the embodiment of everything neo-metal. Ryan Tooker's throaty rhymes and Dustin's tuned-down guitar work combine to create an aesthetically pleasing sound reminiscent of Machine Head's album, "The Burning Red." "Brick by Brick" and "Adrenachrome" are a pair of catchy tracks that bode well for airplay, or at least spots on a few compilation discs.
At a time when many bands are trying to infuse a retro element into their sound by recording in basements and garages, there are still bands like Grade 8 who will hire the best in the business to give them the thickest sound possible. The album was mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Toby Wright, who has worked with the likes of Alice in Chains and 3 Doors Down.
"Working with him was amazing," said Tooker. "With the vibe he put out and his ideas (and) the way he executes them. The way he works in the studio is unbelievable."
Lyrically, Tooker said he's not trying to put forth any significant messages. He's just trying to relate to his audience.
"We deal with a lot of issues, but we don't come from the point of view 'I'm feeling sorry for myself,'" said Tooker. "We're taking that anger and getting something productive out of it, and we hope kids who listen to the record can do the same thing."
The purposefully vague lyrics, which emphasize emotion over storytelling, make Grade 8 accessible. Consequently, the band lacks a distinct personality. Getting to know who they are is going to take more than a trip to their Web site, which reveals little about their background.
Of course, it all could be a premeditated move for fans to come out to the show and see who they are in person. The band has become accustomed to life on the road. This past Christmas, the group requested that Lava give them all the dates they could handle.
"There's nothing better than being onstage ... nothing can describe it," Tooker said.
Future plans for the quartet are ambitious.
"If I could choose one band to play with right now, it'd probably be the Foo Fighters. They're just an awesome live band," he said.
But the more realistic, short-term goal is to "get on Ozzfest."
"If we're not on Ozzfest, there's a problem, because if anyone should be on it, it's us," said Tooker.
He said this with such confidence that it's hard to imagine Grade 8 anywhere else this August.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
