4. THE VOLUME CONTROL: gemini

 

It's 2001.  My friend's mom just dropped us off at a local bar and my mom is scheduled to pick us up.  As teenagers, we had no business at The Berkshire Valley Pub, but for the last couple weeks, a xeroxed flyer circulated the school, as well as the Hot Topic at the closest mall. We HAD to be at this show (not to be confused with concert).  We just discovered punk rock and it's happening down the road!  The crude flyer included the address, time, cost and these bands: THE LAWN DARTS, TURNING BLUE, a couple other bands and DOUBLE-0-ZERO.  

DOUBLE-0-ZERO featured members from my graduating class and one member from the class ahead of me.  I can still hum the melody, note-for-note, of the lick of lead guitarist, Michelle from their single. I first heard it through a set of headphones on a Walkman that singer/rhythm guitarist, Adam would carry around and share with anyone who would listen.  I listened to the whole song.  I didn't talk over the music or engage in anything else.  For those 3 minutes, my ears belonged to that song.    This is how you promoted back then. This is how we found new music. This was DIY.  I spent the next months trying to start my own band and get out of the basement...little did I know I would be doing this for the next 20+ years.  

DOUBLE-0-ZERO became VOLUME CONTROL.  Adam continues to make music video under THE VOLUME CONTROL.  He sent me his latest single "Gemini" on my way to work and I immediately put it on.  The chorus got stuck in my head all morning, and now, as I'm writing this. I always looked up to Adam since that show at the pub.  I remember one time; he showed me his new Converse Chucks (this is how everyone else in high school knew you liked punk) and I asked, "Are those high tops or low tops?" He lifted up his jeans, "they're high tops, I don't fool around."  I took that phrase and ran with it, pun intended.  I repeated it.  It became part of my personality.  I even made my old band's website "wedontfoolaround.cjb.net" and wore high-top chucks for the remainder of high school. 

We are far out of high school and some of us, like Adam, still make music. On "Gemini" Adam played everything from the fuzzed-out guitar to the big full chords to each harmony and layer on the vocals and everything in between.  To get out of a lyric slump, he challenged himself to begin with a phrase and built the lyrics around that. The song comes from a place of honesty, musically and lyrically: someone making music for the love of making music and he plans for more! On the chorus, Adam sings "I could tell you the truth, or I could tell you what you wanna hear".  Well, you're gonna wanna hear this, especially if you like alterative, power-pop with an emphasis on hooks. Don't take my word for it though, check it out here.