PureVolume

Members: Aaron( vocals, guitar), Andy (drums), Neal (guitar), Mike (bass)

What do you do when you're a buzzy, up-and-coming band about to tour prestigious venues with one of your musical idols and your lead singer up and quits? That's a question best answered by St. Louis indie popsters One Lone Car. The quartet had only recently released their sophomore full-length, the seemingly innocent yet masterfully assembled North, South, East & the Rest. They were about to go on tour with the Gin Blossoms (more on that later) to play such venues as B.B. King's in NYC, The Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Conn., and House of Blues in Atlantic City; included in that trip was a planned label showcase in the Big Apple. And then their singer abruptly announced his departure.

What could have been a heartbreaker—canceling the tour, missing the showcase—turned out to be a blessing in disguise. (Funny how the universe works that way, isn't it?) As it happened, One Lone Car had added a fifth member (Aaron Kellim; guitar and backing vocals) a month prior. When their original frontman refused to rehearse (leading to some seriously sloppy performances), the band rehearsed with Aaron playing all of the lead parts and singing.

Aaron brought a compelling stage presence and a positive outlook to One Lone Car. He and the rest of the band—Neal Klein (guitar), Michael Hickey (bass, backing vocals), and Andy Herrin (drums)—had been friends for years. Touring suddenly became enjoyable, as did every single performance. Says Andy, "We all hang out together, we have a blast on stage together, and we all work together. Those are things we never had in this band before."

But back to that Gin Blossoms teaser… NSE&R was recorded at GB frontman Robin Wilson's Uranus Studios and engineered by Jamie Woolford (Gin Blossoms, The Actual). Through a fortuitous phone call, Robin became a fast fan of One Lone Car, offering to both work and tour with them. The band has also shared a stage with such notables as OneRepublic, Hellogoodbye, Gavin Rossdale, Fastball, Soul Asylum and Will Hoge, to name a few.

Whereas the band's debut Variety Hour was an upbeat swirl of sounds, NSE&R showed depth and maturity. Combining passion and melodrama, One Lone Car have crafted rich soundscapes punctuated by witty pop hooks and haunting, heartfelt lyrics. Call it a combination of self-belief, of growth, of turning struggles into inspiration. Everything in its right place, indeed.








View one lone car's EPK