"We certainly love a good melody," says The Space Age's Andy Patil. "But we really love the urgency and immediacy of heavier genres." With Greg Fry (The Heavy Blinkers) and Roger Nelson, The Space Age celebrates a new vinyl seven-inch on Friday at Gus' Pub, the band's first release since 2011.
Produced by AA Wallace at The Sonic Temple last year, this record is the first in a series of releases on the classic wax format, mirroring The Space Age's interests in rock on both production and cultural levels.
"We're into post-punk and early thrash metal, but we have a great love for classic rock, too," Patil explains. "That's what The Space Age is. In terms of our evolution, we're always challenging our musical chops; the styles we play have been perfected by so many different bands, so we make our best interpretation of that."
In the spirit of old-fashioned 45s, the seven-inch features a Space Age original, "My Own Tonight," on side A, while side B is home to a cover of "LA Postcard," a 2011 single by Patil's longtime El Torpedo bandmate and good friend, the late great Jay Smith. "It's a real special song," says Patil. "When he first played the demo for me, it had such a post-punk spirit and he said, 'Andy, I can imagine you singing this song.' I told him if I ever got my own band, we would play it and it's been a mainstay that we play since The Space Age began."
Pressed near Lexington, Kentucky, the seven-inch is Patil's first-ever release on vinyl: "I feel like a kid again, it's like the newness of putting out your first cassette in 1995, it's a similar feeling." Get ready to rock and roll.
The Space Age w/Dregs, Lead Mule
Friday, April 17 at 10pm
Gus’ Pub & Grill, 2605 Agricola Street
$7