Rocking out

By Peter Hemminger

If you talk to Ian Blurton, he’ll tell you rock and roll never died. If you listen to his band, Blurtonia, you may just be convinced that it never will. Though they list influences everywhere from Chuck Berry to Television, it’s obvious that the spirit of the music holds more sway than the bands themselves.

"All of us love rock," Blurton explains of his band. "And we’ve all grown up with rock, so I don’t think we’re reviving anything. It’s just a continuation. It’s along the lines of a jazz musician continuing an art form that’s not as popular as it once was."

The music itself is a departure from Blurton’s former band, Change of Heart. While that band was always conscious of its pop roots, Blurtonia has no such concerns.

"It’s definitely a lot less progressive rock than Change of Heart was, and it’s a lot less pop. I mean, it’s harder. We’ve been a band for almost three and a half years now, so the whole Change of Heart thing is almost non-existent. There’s a lot of people who like this band better."

Despite their fondness for fuzzed out guitars and thrashing riffs, Blurtonia aren’t afraid to slow things down a bit. The last song on their newest album is that rarest of things: a rock song that doesn’t come off as a power ballad. The ability to change things up is important to Blurton.

"It’s like throwing some yellow on some red," he says. It’s also a relief from the manic bliss of the other ten tracks on the album.

Unlike a lot of bands, the tour isn’t just an afterthought to the album.

"I think, especially with rock, the live show is a really important thing. People dancing and just having fun is really what we’re all about."

It might be fun and games, but Blurtonia doesn’t play this music passively; their live shows have already become almost legendary for their intensity. And in a time when many bands are afraid to even break a sweat in case it might hurt their image, that’s definitely a good thing.