1220 less shock and awe, more sing along

KNOXVILLE — Rock quintet 1220 introduced itself to Knoxville as prodigies, exhibiting technical showmanship under a classic rock-minded format while still enrolled in high school. Turning the heads of more than its peers, the band impressed audiences of all ages even in its formative years.

In the years since then the group has replaced two original members and recorded two full-length albums with Don Coffey Jr. But most importantly the band's members have grown up, and their musical maturity has kept pace with their physical maturity as 1220 is currently writing its best work yet.

The old-school rock 'n' roll sound and attitude that has always been the foundation of 1220 is more substantiated than ever now that the group has had a few years to legally hit the bar scene. In this time, they point out, they have gained exposure to more live music than was possible in the early days, and realized their initial stance that no good music has been produced since the '70s has long since changed, and with it their teenage anti-pop crusade.

"I think it's good for bands to get their roots straight in the beginning," says guitarist Ricky Dover. "We've always strived to be grounded in direct rock 'n' roll mannerisms. Now we're just taking that and putting in our current context."

"In some ways it's getting a little more modern I think," vocalist Jacob Gibson elaborates. "It's getting more melodic. It's hard to put a label on it, but it's definitely evolving. It's just the natural progression. Most bands start in their high school years, usually playing an imitation of whatever music captured them when they were young. As they get older they start to like or try to incorporate new things. Honestly I've been listening to pop radio lately, and the hard thing is taking this rock 'n' roll foundation we love and making it commercially viable. I don't think that's selling out. It's taking what you love doing and are good at and making it accessible to more people."

Another point of improvement, according to the band, is its team dynamic. As the youngest kids in the venue, 1220 once validated itself with flash, exhibiting its showmanship through solos and vocal embellishments to prove its chops. While the group still enjoys an occasional exhibition, these are done with more tact as the songs have become a top priority. With all five members contributing as songwriters, the band's new catalog is diverse with a recurring catchiness to tie it together.

"It's more about serving the song," Dover explains. "It's become about listening, and you can hear that in our newer songs. We're working with each other more than trying to stand out and show off. There's more of a group effort within the song now. We've all got chops and still like to show off once in a while, but it's in a more tasteful way when we do. It sounds cheesy, but we've grown up as musicians."

"During our early days, we were out to wow people," says Gibson. "We're more willing to restrain ourselves now. Sometimes playing fast or singing high doesn't fit the song. We're less interested in dropping jaws by almost assaulting people with music than we are in just having a good time with them."

1220's first two albums under its current lineup (2008's "Miss Legendary" and '09's "Killin' for a Livin' ") were released in back-to-back summers, begging the question, where is this year's full-length? But the band points out the illusion of such fast production was created by the delayed release of debut "Miss Legendary." It may be next spring before recordings of 1220's new sound are made available. Having previously recorded with the famed Don Coffey Jr., who is now retired from the biz, the band is seeking a new engineer, and they're not ruling themselves out.

"We've talked about taking our time with this one," says drummer Bill Van Vleet of the potential to self-record.

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