Socialburn Fires Up National Music Scene

 Amanda Weatherford, ad and graphic designer

Socialburn: Preparing for a Second Run at the Charts

Upon hearing the name Socialburn, most people respond with “Who’s that?”

That is about to change. After more than a year of being off of a record label, Socialburn is bursting back onto the music scene with their eyes on the prize: the very tip-top of the music industry ladder. Socialburn is: Neil Alday, vocals and guitar; Dusty Price, bass and vocals; Chris Cobb, guitar; and Syrus Peters, drums. The band has stared adversity in the face and overcome it with a thunderous effect. Most bands would have tucked tail and run away from their defeat, but not Socialburn.

Socialburn signed with Elektra Records, and their first major label album hit shelves in February 2003. Life seemed fabulous for the band through 2003. They rocked live audiences and radio listeners with their debut single, “Down,” and found that rock fans embraced them with open arms. Unfortunately, heartbreak found the band as their label, Elektra Records, signed a merger deal with Atlantic Records in late 2003. Shortly thereafter, Socialburn received the news that their contract would not be upheld by Atlantic.

So how does a band handle rejection like that? Alday said that they kept a positive frame of mind throughout the ordeal by keeping the emotional side of the industry separate from the business aspect.

“Just because someone else didn’t believe in me does not stop me from believing in myself,” he explained.

To the casual observer, the members of Socialburn might come off as cocky. That certainly is not the case. Each member of the band exemplifies a great amount of self-confidence that one can only acquire from getting back up when you fall, and being embraced by success once again. This amount of confidence is a rare trait among musicians today. Mostly music fans find that the amount of confidence a certain band has is related to album and ticket sales.

Socialburn is one of the bands out there that focuses on creating music to help people out of situations, and individuals are instantly drawn to relate to the lyrics of their songs.  They are very honest musicians and speak their minds in their lyrics. Alday says that the goal of their songs is to have people walk away thinking, “I can’t get enough of whatever it was I just experienced!”

As with most musicians who fight to remain who they started out as, Alday says that after seeing “behind the curtain,” he has gained respect for how things work, but he isn’t entirely proud of being a part of the things that happen within the industry.

But despite all of the goings on, and all of the troubles that the band has suffered over the last couple of years, including the loss of their original drummer, Brandon Bittner, Socialburn still seems to be having a blast. I witnessed that first-hand during a recent performance – the band’s first show back in Lubbock in two years.

Alday says, “If you belong [in the industry], you’ll end up there.”

Socialburn has ended up in the upper echelon of the music industry twice now. Who else wonders what that could mean for their future?

Check them out on the Internet at: www.socialburn.com and at www.myspace.com/socialburn.