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Article published May 11, 2007 The Plan A sound gets cranked up a notch on 'Caught Up in the Fray'
By Steve Wildsmith of The Daily Times Staff
Matt Woods sees his name all over town these days, but there's one place in particular of which he's most proud — on the liner notes for "Caught Up in the Fray," the new album by his band Plan A.
Woods, who's made a name for himself as a local solo artist and as half of the duo Absolute Wood, is staking his musical future on the new record, which will be celebrated tonight with a CD release show at The Corner Lounge in Knoxville. As good as Plan A's debut album, "The View Through These Words," was, "Caught Up" ups the ante on everything — from the songwriting to the instrumental prowess to the power of the songs themselves.
"The major difference between 'The View' and 'Caught Up' is that I think we were a lot more prepared, as a group, to go into the studio and record an album," Woods told The Daily Times this week. "During the pre-production process, we spent a lot of time working through and going through the tunes, so we kind of knew where we wanted the songs to go and where we wanted to take them once we got into the studio. With 'The View,' we developed songs in the studio because we'd had some lineup changes right before going in.
"I think this record has a little more edge to it. There's more electric guitar work happening. Sonically speaking, it's a little more electric and not quite as acoustic-based. And from a working standpoint, just spending so much time mapping out the tunes in the pre-production stages made the process a lot different than it was for us the first time."
The band formed in spring 2003, with Woods bringing his earnest, pleading vocals from the Southern pop-rock outfit Magpie Suite. From the beginning, the band's chemistry was undeniable — months after forming, the single "Behind," which would wind up on "The View," was released to radio, announcing to the world that a slide guitar could be incorporated into power-pop with genuine warmth and creativity.
Over the past four years, however, Plan A has gone through so many lineup changes that Woods remains the sole original member. The other founding member, Grant Houser, left after finishing up touring to support "The View," Woods said. The parting was amicable; Houser re-enrolled in college to continue his education, although he played on a few tracks on "Caught Up" and will play some songs with the band tonight.
(The current lineup includes two Blount County boys — Walland's Eric Keeble, formerly of the Moonshine Cherrys, on bass; and Devan Brewer, the band's drummer, who lives in Maryville.)
"I'm pretty much the only remaining original member, but even though we've gone through so many different lineup changes, this record was sort of a collaborative effort," Woods said. "Some of the guys that had been in Plan A for a while played on it, and some of the guys who were in Magpie Suite played on it."
To record "Caught Up," the band traveled to Greenville, S.C., to record at a studio co-owned by Edwin McCain. The studio itself is a new facility, and Plan A was only the third or fourth act to record there, according to Woods.
"As far as the rooms and gear go, we were recording at a fantastic facility," he said. "I think that counts for part of the sound, but a lot of it, too, I think, was that we worked so hard to make sure we knew what we were looking for and what we were expecting. We knew what to shoot for, and we were working in an excellent studio, so we were able to put the tunes together the way we wanted and make a top-notch record."
The rock edge to "Caught Up" lends it an eagerness that adds a rougher texture to Plan A's power-pop shine. Songs like "I Am Your Satellite" crackle and pop with barely contained energy and an enthusiasm that seems to burst out of the speakers. Sure, there are a few laid-back, bittersweet, melancholy songs in the mix, but one gets the impression from listening to "Caught Up" that Woods has something to prove — and maybe he does.
"The Plan A thing is pretty much my baby," Woods said. "It's an all-original rock project; all my material and my kind of vision. When you see just me doing solo dates, those tend to have a little more of a country kind of vibe. I've been writing a bunch of tunes that would be considered more country or Americana for the solo gigs. And in Absolute Wood, that's just something I've been doing with my buddy Scott for six or seven years now. It's a fun kind of bar band, drinking, sing-along, everybody-go-out-and-have-a-good-time kind of project.
"I've been doing the acoustic thing around town for a long, long time now, and I've been able to spread the word a little bit better about what's going on with the band. We've had some really good opportunities to play festivals like Hottfest, and we opened for CAKE a few weeks ago. We've also played for the Knoxville Marathon the past few years, and getting shows out there like that allows us to meet fans we might not meet in bars on a regular basis.
"All of that has been helpful, and we just want to continue it," he added.