The W's

The W's formed as a ska band at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon in 1996. The lineup consisted of Andrew Schar (lead vocals, guitar), Valentine Hellman (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Todd Gruener (bass guitar), and Zak Shultz (drums). By September 1997 Shultz had left, and the group was joined by Bret Barker (trumpet), who Schar met through Campus Crusade for Christ, The W's discovered a break when a mutual friend from Eugene, Aaron James (employed at the time by Five Minute Walk Records), offered them a spot opening for Five Iron Frenzy in Concord, California. Within a year they produced their first album, Fourth from the Last. The album was released when neo-swing was popular. This was the highest-selling band debut to date of any album for Five Minute Walks's distributor, Chordant. This also placed Fourth at the No. 4 spot on both ''Billboard's'' Heatseekers Despite being pulled from the shelves of LifeWay Christian Resources stores for containing indecent words (eg, suck, butt) "The Devil Is Bad" was The W's hit single from the record. It peaked at No. 1 and No. 6 on the Christian rock and hits radio and charts respectively, and won the Dove for Modern Rock Recorded Song in 1999. '' in November 1998. In late 1998 the band appeared on the cover of 7ball magazine (pictured right), They played at Pope John Paul II's visit to St. Louis in January. From late that month until May the band opened for Christian rock group dc Talk on their Supernatural Experience tour. That fall the band embarked on the national Holy Roller Tour with The Insyderz, Five Iron Frenzy, and Justin McRoberts. Shows on this tour were held at roller skating rinks across the country. In November Trouble With X was released, peaking at No. 21 and No. 25 on the Billboard Heatseekers and Top Contemporary Christian charts respectively. The song was also included on the WOW 2000 compilation, which also achieved double Platinum sales. One song from the sessions, "Somewhere Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" was released on the compilation Take Time to Listen Volume 5. The W's broke up in December 2000, citing artistic differences. After the break up Some members continued to produce music following the demise of The W's. Gruener and Morris joined Corvallis friend Mark Cleaver in the indie band Bendixon. Bendixon released two albums, Bendixon (1999) and Slaying of the Dragon (2000). Their sound was comparable to Weezer or All Star United, and like The W's most of their songs could be considered fun or witty. Schar and Stubbert formed the band Alpha Charlie and released one album, ...and I wait (2002), before breaking up in 2004. Early member Shultz moved to Los Angeles in 1997. Bret Barker and Valentine Hellman appeared on Five Iron Frenzy's 2000 album All the Hype That Money Can Buy. Barker appeared on Dennis Culp's solo album, Ascents (2000), Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo (2001) in both the additional musician credits and as a recording engineer, and as an engineer on The End Is Near (2003). Barker joined The O.C. Supertones in 2004 and played with them until their breakup the following year. ==Style==

{{Listen The music of The W's is similar to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue, and The O.C. Supertones, but less ska-based than the latter. HM Magazine commented that "the closest thing in the Christian market was Ralph Carmichael's big band project" (Strike Up the Band, 1995). Though they were often cited as third wave ska or swing revival, their overall sound did not fit neatly into any musical genre. Band members generally agreed with this assessment: Andrew Schar noted that "Our music gets labeled swing, but we're not really swing", and sax player James Carter, "I think 'swing' and 'ska' are just terms people are comfortable using. I don't think they completely describe the music we play at all". Bass player Gruener described their music as "kinda ska, kinda swing, kinda rockabilly, kinda crazy, kinda punky". Reviewers, who noted a lack of depth in songwriting, regarded both of The W's albums as "fun". CCM reported that lyrically, their songs "swing between subtle spirituality and general goofiness." Elsewhere this style was described as "an odd marriage of reverence for God with forced attempts at irreverent wackiness." While the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music cites this as a "subdued approach to ministry", other commentators saw it as a disappointing lack of spiritual message, especially on Trouble With X. Trouble was much more themed on Christianity than their debut, although its nature was philosophical rather than spiritual. The purpose of the song was to acknowledge problems with the church, say to the non-Christian that "Yeah, we see the problems too," and a call to the Christian to act to fix them. "Hui" retells the 1987 film North Shore. More mundane topics include the hardships of school ("101") and of touring and making music professionally ("Two More Weeks", "Open Minded"). ==Discography==

Albums • 1998 Fourth from the Last • 1999 Trouble With X ==References==