A hiatus was never what Chris Higdon planned on.
When the Louisville band Elliott disbanded after its last tour in 2003, the singer and rhythm guitarist immediately went looking for the right people to form a new project, a process that ended up taking the better part of four years.
Frontier(s) features Higdon again on guitar and vocals, guitarist Matt Wieder, a transplant who sat in with several post-hardcore local bands, bassist Bryan Todd and drummer Eagle Barber, an import who discovered Louisville while he was on tour.
With three shows under their belt, one aspect is clear: Their style is raw, and relatively straightforward with more of a punk attitude than Higdons previous band. Unlike Elliott, theres no pre-recorded material.
I wanted everything to be fairly organic, says Higdon, who co-owns a photography business with his wife.
The simple nature of the Frontier(s) style comes about in part because of Higdons own predilection: Im notorious for writing two parts and calling it a song.
Lyrically, people will find similarities with Higdons past: life stories now told from an older, but no less energetic, perspective: Im way angrier in my 30s than I was in my 20s.
Higdon says hes excited about the possibility of touring and recording again, but the adjustment is major.
I am lost. I dont know if you put out records. I dont know if you give everything away. For me, its a struggle to figure out the right way, he says.
Although Elliott toured relentlessly, now that the bands got their own businesses and families, Frontier(s) isnt going to accelerate the pace to breakneck speed.
I want it to be part of my life, and I want it to last for a really long time.
Find the band at myspace.com/frontiersband. Contact the writer at mherron@leoweekly.com
This article appears in July 15, 2008.