Separating yourself from the crowd.
That’s the challenge that waits for more than a half-dozen bands that will converge Thursday on Everett Events Center when the third incarnation of the Taste of Chaos tour descends upon the Pacific Northwest.
Thursday’s show, which will feature nearly five hours worth of screaming, squealing guitars and thunderous drums, will make the Taste of Chaos the first annual music tour to make Everett Events Center its Pacific Northwest stop three years running. And, appropriately enough, it will feature the Orem, Utah, quartet The Used as its headliner – just as it did during its first visit in 2005.
Another band that visited that first time around is New Jersey’s Senses Fail, which is now supporting its second studio album, “Still Searching,” and has moved significantly up the bill. Senses Fail, which played early in the evening the first time around, is now in direct support of co-headliners The Used and 30 Seconds to Mars, featuring actor Jared Leto on lead vocals. Still, the first “Chaos” tour was an experience Senses Fail singer Buddy Nielsen won’t soon forget.
“It was the first time we ever played in front of that many people, playing that large of a show and really getting a taste of what it’s like to play and do that much stuff,” Nielsen said in a recent phone interview. “That was just one of the best tours we’ve ever been on.”
While the Jersey band has already proven it can stand out, distinguishing itself remains its biggest challenge as it tries to reach the next level of success.
“I think the next step is getting our band to a place where we are our band and not kind of linked with another band,” Nielsen said. “Hopefully (people) think, this is Senses Fail, this is what we do and we’re separating ourselves and isolating ourselves as a band.”
That gets difficult when you’re connected to seven other bands in a single night on the Taste of Chaos tour.
“But if you look at all the other bands on the tour, we’d be the most different, at least image-wise, and with what the concepts of our records have been about,” Nielsen said. “Most of the bands on Taste of Chaos this year are more image-driven. If they don’t like that, sorry, but that’s the truth. 30 Seconds to Mars, they have a big image thing. That’s part of their show, which is awesome. It’s great. It’s just not something we do. Maybe by not being the band that looks pretty, or has a big stage show, we’ll kind of stand out in a way.”
Senses Fail also stands out with its tenacious approach to the road. With the exception of six months in the studio to write and record the follow-up album to 2004’s “Let It Enfold You,” the band has toured incessantly for more than two years. Despite the busy schedule – or perhaps because of it – touring still provides its share of “firsts.”
“We’re in Middle of Nowhere, Tennessee, and we’re playing this skate park tonight,” Nielsen said on the phone. “We’re playing inside the half pipe – I’m not kidding. I’ve never played in a half pipe, so it should be something else I can add to my resume.”
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
Rudy Archuleta photo
Senses Fail – guitarist Heath Saraceno, singer Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, bassist Mike Glita and guitarist Garrett Zablocki – perform as part of the Taste of Chaos tour, coming Thursday to Everett.
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