ROCKERS READY TO PREVAIL
Detroit band first created buzz with a Taylor Swift cover
Acover of a Taylor Swift song catapulted them into the public conscience but the hard work of Detroit rockers I Prevail is gaining them acclaim for their own music. The band plays tonight at Average Joe’s. I Prevail’s debut album called “Lifelines” was released last October on Fearless Records and debuted in Canada in ITune’s Top 5.
The band, consisting of vocalists Brian Burkheiser and Eric Vanlerberghe, guitarist Steve Menoian and Lee Runestad first touched audiences with their 2014 EP “Heart vs. Mind” which sold more than 60,000 copies.
But it was their cover of Swift’s “Blank Spaces,” recorded in the band’s Detroit storage locker, that connected with audiences. The video had more than 22 million views on YouTube, 17 million Spotify streams and hit the Top 20 on Active Rock Radio.
Tonight’s visit is the band’s first performance in Lethbridge but it has played previously in Calgary and Edmonton.
“We’ve been trying to come back after playing those shows. We’re really excited,” said Vanlerberghe, who sings the dirty vocals, in a recent phone interview.
“Things couldn’t have been going any better for us. We’re really blessed. We’re selling out one show after another.”
“Blank Spaces” was the first video the band put out and it sparked a buzz for the EP which came out a week later. “We wouldn’t be where we are without that video.” They chose the Swift tune, said Vanlerberghe, because I Prevail was a new band that needed something to attract attention.
“We were looking for another band to cover but there was really nothing cool out there. We heard Taylor Swift was coming out with a new album and after we listened to it, we thought ‘Blank Spaces’ was kind of dark for a pop song.”
So they recorded the video in the storage unit which they used for a practice space.
The song was a perfect choice for I Prevail whose own musical preferences lean toward heavier bands with a pop sound.
That type of sound may be the band’s trademark with Vanlerberghe’s menacing growls providing counterpart to the soaring pop vocals of Burkheiser.
“We mixed what we like” and came up with the I Prevail sound, he said.
Writing is a collaborative effort and the band has two producers — B.J. Perry and John Pregler — working with them in Detroit.
The new album has garnered strong interest not only in the U.S. and Canada but other countries as well.
“It’s incredible to see that — we’re reaching out to other countries. It’s still new to us,” said Vanlerberghe whose band tours eight months a year.
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