Befriended by local psych-popster turned producer Kurt Heasley (Lilys), the sophomore release King Richard’s Collectibles took an entirely different direction: leaving the delay pedals at home the band stepped back to the 60s, with their 21st Century sensibilities intact. The record was an eclectic mix of pop, rock, psychedelia and lysergic Syd Barrett folk, forged together with bits of Stone Roses, Ride, early Who, The Creation and classic Nuggets bands.
Touring in support of King Richard’s Collectibles, the No.4 had a collective epiphany half-way down the West Coast: all they wanted to do was get back to the roots of the music they were playing. Frontman Scott Vitt remembers: “During the long van rides, with Gram Parsons, Tim Hardin and Dylan discs in the machine, we began to write the music.” Using King Richard's… as a springboard, the band delved deeper into the musical roots of "Cosmic American Music". The new material blended blues, country and folk, yet maintained the psychedelic focus of their primary rock interests.
This August the ever shape-shifting Asteroid No. 4 return with a third album: Honeyspot. The new album is built on rocking-rootsy psychedelia and veering lilting melodies reminiscent of Buffalo Springfield, Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds.
The band claims the new direction is not so distant from material they’ve recorded in the past. As Scott Vitt puts it: “It’s simple music for complicated times. We’re drawn to the days when artists like Dylan and the Byrd’s took similar exceptions to the sounds of an overindulgent mainstream, attempting to trade the social and political instability for a simpler time and place.”
Scott Vitt (vocals, guitars, harmonica) and Eric Harms (bass) remain the original members of the group. Jamie Scythes (vocals, guitars, pedal steel) joined the group in late 1999. The two newest members joined in the spring of 2002: Bill McMonnies (guitar, banjo) and Adam Weaver (drums). Both have adapted to the stylistic changes of the bands past, and fit seamlessly into the line-up.
The Asteroid No.4 is finally where they’d like to be… and it feels real good being home.
Honeyspot is the first release on the newly formed Rainbow Quartz Int. imprint, Turquoise Mountain Records. This new imprint will showcase a rootsier brand of the psychedelia Rainbow Quartz prefers to traffic in.
