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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Eyes on the skies: $16.7 million would keep radar stations in top shape through 2030 ... Our view: RCC's health care opportunity can't be lost ... Medford plans to go after utilty debtors ... Eyes on the skies: $16.7 million would keep radar stations in top shape through 2030 ... Our view: RCC's health care opportunity can't be lost ... Medford plans to go after utilty debtors ... MUSIC Seattle rock band Smokey Brights plays Howiee's The Seattle band switches from folk to rock If you heard Seattle band Smokey Brights perform a year ago, you'd have heard reverent homage to summer fun and feel-good vibes. It's true the band's been warming regional air waves with its take on classic AM pop — all the while growing beyond the genre. Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 17, 2014 at 9:32 AM Posted Dec. 17, 2014 at 9:32 AM » Social News If you heard Seattle band Smokey Brights perform a year ago, you'd have heard reverent homage to summer fun and feel-good vibes. It's true the band's been warming regional air waves with its take on classic AM pop — all the while growing beyond the genre. Now, with "Taste for Blood," independently released last month, Smokey Brights has embraced the unknown and is stumbling onto a bigger, expansive and lush sound that seems destined for big stages. "Taste for Blood is my new favorite album of the year," says deejay Marco Collins of KEXP 90.3 FM in Seattle. "I'm blown away." Smokey Brights, along with local rock bands The Seons and Boomrang Kids — the latter featuring Kyle Cregan (Delta Halos), will play at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at Howiee's on Front, 16 N. Front St., Medford. There is no cover for the show. Call 541-773-5767 for information. The members of Smokey Brights were born to humble, folk roots. Their home-recorded demo CD, "Can't Rightly Say," was released in 2010. While the production was minimal, lead singer Ryan Devlin's songwriting was strong, catchy and thoughtful. More important, Devlin had assembled the perfect team to develop the band's sound. Singer and keyboard player Kim West  — Devlin's wife — sings with a voice that is designed to harmonize with Devlin's. The rhythm section, with bassist Jim Vermillion and drummer Nick Krivchenia, came as a package deal, already forged in harmonic and melodic beats. Lead guitarist Mike Kalnoky had played for years in punk and garage bands in Seattle, and his part Nashville, part rock 'n' roll Telecaster technique — so integral to classic American rock — traces glowing edges across the foundation laid down by the rest of the band. Before it released its full-length CD, Smokey Brights played standout sets at some of the Pacific Northwest's largest music festivals, including the annual international Bumbershoot in Seattle, Doe Bay Fest on Orcas Island in northwest Washington and Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival in Leavenworth. With "Taste for Blood," Smokey Brights takes the best of their earlier work and pushes forward, rushing headlong into an uncharted, undefined future. Growing from strong '70s rock roots, its sound has bloomed into sparkling anthemic rock. It hearkens to a time when an album was more than a collection of singles, more a comprehensive, holistic emotional journey. Tracks for the album were recorded in January in a barn on a Christmas tree farm in rural Carnation, Wash. The band called in every favor it could. It borrowed vintage mics and outboard recording gear,and worked nearly nonstop for eight days, sharing one large room for recording and a sleeping loft with a barn owl and friends-turned-producers Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison of Portland band Radiation City (Tender Loving Empire). The sound came out big and bold, bright edges betraying a darker core, a contradiction of emotions and sounds, a folk record that’s not a folk record at all.   MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 17, 2014 at 9:32 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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