Band scene: Nashville's Protomen deliver futuristic rock fury

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Special to Knoxville.com With a minimum of 10 members at any given time, Nashville’s Protomen faces some obstacles when touring.

Photo by unknown

Special to Knoxville.com With a minimum of 10 members at any given time, Nashville’s Protomen faces some obstacles when touring.

The Nashville-based Protomen are masters of storytelling, live performance and contradictions. A balance of past and present, frills and substance, guitar ballads and synth, The Protomen’s two full-length albums, “Act I” and its prequel “Act II: The Father of Death” are pieces of a rock opera, presented on stage by a cadre of silver-clad spacemen. Since “Act II’s” release in 2009, the band has been touring incessantly in hopes of finding appropriate label representation. The group’s current tour will land it in Austin for four separate gigs at the South by Southwest festival before a stop in Knoxville.

Depicting robo-centric images of the future as imagined during the ’80s, The Protomen’s music tells of a futuristic odyssey that teeters between hair band guitar rock and synth pop. Drawing its name from Capcom’s classic “Mega Man” videogame series, The Protomen’s songs and albums retell the story of Mega Man from the perspective of secondary character Protoman.

“We basically started this whole thing by telling the (Mega Man) story correctly, since Capcom got it wrong and all,” explains Murphy Weller (bass/synth/guitar). “Our newest effort, “Act II,” is a prequel to the first album. Everything on it was written from our minds. Very little relates to the game’s lore. What’s next for the storyline? Well, we might release that information later this year.

“The main obstacle of being a storytelling band is never making the same song twice. We’re still laying the groundwork of how the next album will be told. We try to bring everything you should ever see to your ears. We like to eat Jell-O pudding pops and watch ‘Mad Max’ movies overlapped with ‘All of Me.’ That combination mostly makes us sound the way we do.”

The Protomen have accrued nationwide hype for their live outings, which feature a minimum of 10 performers, each dressed in futuristic garb, silver paint, masks and space helmets. The band’s large roster presents typical problems while on tour, and the group points out that it has struggled with losing members this way in the past.

“We do all we can to portray the story on stage while also melting faces with sweet jams,” says Weller. “Whatever is required that we can afford, we do — helmets, suits, sledgehammers, posthole drivers, etc. At the moment we have 10 to 12 (members) on this tour, depending on the cities we visit. One major obstacle is that we always lose people. To prepare for these missions, we try not to sleep for at least 11 days consecutively. Bright lights in the eyes can help this achievement.

“At the moment, we are making great friends with Ohio’s emergency service,” continues Weller, stranded in Cincinnati at the time of the interview. “After delivering the fury to fans for the past two days, now Ohio is fighting back. When she lets us leave, we will make way to Austin for the beginning of our SXSW attack, and the end plan is to get endorsed by Flaming Hot Cheetos and Kit-Kat. Someone will see us and believe in our quest.”

The Protomen will bring their epic live show to Knoxville on Tuesday, playing The Midtown Arts Center (513 Cooper St.) at 7 p.m. Also on the bill are Midnite Radio and Waves Like Weapons. Admission is $10 at the door. The show admits all ages.

n CHECK IT AND SEE: The hot-blooded Hot Blood takes the stage at Pilot Light tonight along with Woman. The benefit show will begin at 10 p.m. and costs $5.

n COE-HEARTED: Sunday night David Allan Coe performs at The Valarium with Jocephus and The George Jonestown Massacre. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $20 in advance or $22 at the door with a $3 surcharge for patrons under 21.

© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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