AUDIO LUNCHBOX April 11th, 2008 Great stuff!

Reviewer: Anonymous

Infectious, listenable pop. Lots of good vocal harmonies and 12 string electric, and solid songwriting. I like the two part songs like "You may be right", "I will always be with you" and the title track. If you like stuff like the Gin Blossoms and the Smithereens, you'll like this. CD BABY March 25, 2008 author: Dennis This band rocks!  And not only can they jam, the also have some serious pipes.  This is especially evident in "I will always be with you", "Tell me", and "Fairy tales".  The pop influence is unmistakable in the sound, but their music is all their own.  From the classic track, to the down-n-dirty, guitar-laden "Isn't it strange?", to the surf-rock "Down south". This cd will get you groovin'.  "Superficial World" is a diverse collection of well-crafted songs that truly showcase the depth of this bands' abilities.

Band unveils their labor of love

By John Larson

Tacoma Weekly
jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: March 20, 2008
 

Tacoma band GE5 puts a fresh spin on the power pop genre with their new original material. The four members are clearly having a good time being together and hitting the stages in the local scene.

The band consists of Tim  Monaghan on bass and vocals, Jon Ecklund on guitar and vocals, Glen Eagleson on guitar and vocals and Jeff Crane on drums and vocals.

Eagleson was a founding member of local cover tune band The Boinkers, and at some point all the members of GE5 were members of that group. The four of them split away around 1993 and began working on some original material. In 1994 they set that project aside, and spent much of the following 11 years focusing on their families and careers while playing in other bands occasionally.

In 2005 Crane was ready to give up playing, and had his drum kit up for sale on eBay. He ran into Eagleson, who talked him into going to a party Monaghan throws each year. They began jamming on some Beatles and Rolling Stones tunes and something clicked. “It felt so good, I said let’s get the band back together,” Eagleson recalled.

A musician friend of theirs passed away. For an event celebrating his life, relatives asked people from various bands he had been in to get together and play. The four were booked to play, and realized they needed a name. Ecklund teased Eagleson about using his initials in a play off The Dave Clark Five, and thus they picked GE5 for their name.

They held off on playing shows, opting to spend the past year working on their album “Superficial World,” which was released last week. About half of the songs were written when they were together in the 1990s. One ended up being written while they were in the recording studio.

“It was a labor of love for us,” Monaghan said.

All of the members wrote at least one song. “The Beatles only gave Ringo one song per album too,” Crane quipped.

Eagleson said the four can collaborate without conflict or disrespecting each other. “We give each other constructive criticism, which a lot of musicians can’t handle,” he said.

The four switch off on lead and backing vocals. Some of the tunes feature four-part vocal harmonies.

They celebrated the release of their album with shows in Tacoma and Seattle. Monaghan said at this point in their lives, they are not interested in playing every weekend like they did when they were younger. “We have spent our time in the trenches,” he observed.

Their live set focuses on songs from the album. The veterans of the cover tune scene throw in a few old favorites, such as “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac and “Cinnamon Girl.”

“If it feels good, we do it,” Eagleson remarked.

Monaghan said 20 years ago playing in a band for him felt like a job. “This is most fun I have had in years,” he said.

One major difference in the music scene now compared to back when they first played in bands is the impact of the Internet. Ecklund noted that some of the people who showed up for their Tacoma CD release show March 13 at Station 56 found out about the band through their websites, www.GE5band.com and www.myspace.com/ge5. “The Internet has made it a lot easier to get people exposed to music,” he observed.

The band is promoting the album by sending copies to radio stations and the press, while working to line up gigs at some of the summer festivals.

Monaghan feels the album appeals to everyone from teenagers to people in their 50s, and noted that the band members’ children enjoy it. Eagleson feels their style has a connection to some of the bands that crossed rock with pop in the 1980s such as The Knack, The Romantics and The Smithereens. “I think that style is coming back full circle,” he observed.

“I think this album is as fresh as anything on the radio now,” Monaghan remarked.

Their children will be able to attend the next GE5 gig, an all-ages show at 3 p.m. May 4 at Jazzbones.