This Revolution will be plugged in

By Mat Herron

It was a process, alright.

Junior Revolution frontman Jayson Hazelbaker's memories of recording its latest album, It's a Process, found the group traveling to a 100-year-old tower in Cleveland to track drums, then, upon realizing they weren't as far along as they thought, holing up in a timeshare condo in Gulf Shores, Ala., to finish mixing during last year's southeast tour.

In Cleveland, a longtime friend hooked them up with four days inside a 150-foot, 100-year-old tower. The tower was part of an artist/apartment/gallery space, but the room was four floors and 150-steps above ground. The band covered the drums in tarps and used ropes to hoist them onto the space, a wood and brick haven that was ideal for recording big, ambient drum sounds.

"The place was right behind a cop's station, (the tenants) were watching saying, 'What are these guys doing?'" Hazelbaker says.

"We literally had two guys on the road with us and all the recording gear packed in the van," he says. "People were laying on top of people in a pile of sweat. We got behind and we had tour dates, so we had to just man up and figure out a way to do it."

Despite its heady origins and logistical gymnastics, "It's a Process" isn't without a humorous touch. For the song "Klondike Scare," the group used an gag answering machine message as its intro. The message comes from "Dave Matthews" and invites the band to come hang out with DMB's sexy violin player.

The message came about after Junior Revolution won a battle of the bands in 2004 at the former Jillian's nightclub in Louisville. The award was supposed to land them an opening slot for Dave Matthews Band, Hazelbaker says. "Apparently that didn't pan out."

Contact the writer at mherron@leoweekly.com

Junior Revolution plays Saturday, March 7, at Uncle Pleasants (2126 S. Preston St., 634-4147) with Sugar Spell It Out, Pomegranates, One Small Step For Landmines, and Look Mexico. The 18-and-over show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $6 (21+), $8 (18-20).