These are your important years

Local band Confident Years’ punk-rock rhythms and lyrics strike a hum-worthy chord

March 31, 2005

The three members of Confident Years give the impression that they started a band one afternoon just for kicks.

In some ways, they did. Guitarist and vocalist Mike Quinn and bassist Steve Parshall had been members of local band Nonstop3 since December 1998. When drummer Mark Abel moved to Atlanta in the spring of 2003 for graduate school, the two were left looking for a new project.

That same spring drummer Neil Hebrank parted ways with Pennsylvania-based band Juliana Theory. Quinn, Parshall and Hebrank met when their bands played a show together at The Blue Note in June 2002. Hebrank visited Columbia for a week in March of 2003 with the intention of getting together to play a few songs with Quinn and Parshall. Instead, they spent their time playing whiffle ball and hanging out. Without ever playing with the other two, Hebrank moved to Columbia, and the trio started Confident Years.

“I liked what I heard on the CDs they sent, and they were really fun people to hang out with,” Hebrank says. “Even if the band didn’t work out, I knew I’d have a lot of fun.”

Confident Years balances a loud, fast power-punk style with a pop-rock feel. Songs such as “Starting Again” — with catchy, simple lyrics and energetic guitar and drum rhythms — are easy to sing along with. Others, such as “Maybe,” show the band’s musicality by pairing sparse percussion and melodic guitar riffs with rhythmically intense sections. The band maintains its drive with a broad musical range, says Rob Parham, a longtime friend of Quinn and Parshall and roommate of Parshall and Hebrank.

“They’ve become a lot deeper as a band,” he says. “They’ve broken away from trying to imitate other bands that they’ve admired. They have their own sound now.”

The band took that sound to the studio in May 2003 when it recorded four songs with producer Ed Rose, who has also worked with the Kansas City-based band The Get Up Kids. Rose, who began working with Parshall and Quinn before they formed Confident Years, has seen an improvement.

“I think their songwriting has gotten more focused and consistent, and they’ve improved as players,” Rose says.

Peter McDevitt, booking agent for The Blue Note and Mojo’s, agrees. “I think the [Confident Years’] music is a little bit more well-rounded,” says McDevitt.

From a booking standpoint, McDevitt says that the band consistently draws good crowds.

“It’s actually a pleasure working with them,” says McDevitt.

The band’s growth has been a result of hard work, Parham says. All three members put in long hours writing, rehearsing and getting the band’s name out.

“They’re pretty much always thinking about the band and what they can do for the band,” Parham says. Aside from practicing three to four times a week, the trio has been mailing CDs to record labels, booking agents, friends and other bands across the country in an effort to book shows and get the music heard.

Confident Years has played throughout the country, including shows in Austin, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The band has performed at local venues such as The Blue Note and Mojo’s, and the crowds at those shows have grown.

“We keep on drawing more people every time,” Hebrank says. “Every hometown show has gotten better.”

McDevitt attributes the band’s growth to its stage presence and fun attitude.

“The crowd’s very attentive, and the band is working really hard on stage, and it really shows,” says McDevitt. “It’s just a really high-energy, fun atmosphere.”

The band is heading into the studio in April — this time in Little Rock, Ark. — with Barry Poynter, a producer Hebrank has previously worked with. They plan to add to the four songs already recorded with Rose and complete a record.

The band’s short-term goal is to finish the record and get picked up by a record label so people can hear the band. It hopes to tour across the country this summer to promote the album.

The band has broad long-term goals.

“Best-case scenario, we want to do this for a living,” Hebrank says.

All three members name touring as a highlight of their experience as a band. “It gives us a chance to hang out as well as play in front of new audiences,” Hebrank says.

Confident Years’ focus on having fun is an important aspect of its shows. It influences the way that the band performs as well as the way that the members shamelessly write catchy songs that people can hum.

“We’re not trying to be too tricky,” Quinn says. “We want to rock.”

— Kate Carpenter