Sinners Saints…Kick Ass Rock and Roll is Back in Philly!
By: Krista Doran
When I am not writing for the OOT, playing music, going to see a live band or having fun in some other way related to music, I actually go to work. I am an outside sales rep so I spend a lot of time traveling to customer sites in my car. This gives me a chance to listen to music on the radio and sad to say, there really isn’t much new music out there that inspires me. I thank God that 93.3 WMMR, 94 WYSP and 104.5 WRFF still play some great music because the other stations playing poppy, top 40 or Rap don’t exist in my world. In my opinion much of today’s music has no soul, no groove…it all sounds the same and this is why my car is full of CDs. I have been searching for music I can listen to that gets me fired up and makes me want to sing out loud with my windows down and I found it from a band right here in Philly. That band is Sinners Saints.
I first heard of Sinners Saints from my friend Lori Stidham of the Whiskey Tango. She told me, “Krista, you have to see this band.” I took her advice because Lori knows her stuff. From the moment I walked into the bar and heard them playing, I felt that old familiar energy start to stir up inside of me again. Could it be…new music that is raw, ballsy and really, really good? YES!! My faith had been restored and contrary to what so many people are saying, there ARE bands out there that still play good, hard rock and roll in Philly!
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a few members of Sinners Saints at my home studio. Rhythm Guitarist Joe O’Hara, Drummer Dave Kenneth and Bass Player Chris McKeever came walking in, cans of PBR in hand and right then and there I knew this was going to be a fun night! Here in front of me sat 3 very confident, yet humble musicians. We talked about many things and one comment that impressed me was what Dave said to me when I asked them about what they thought of their shows, “we only have 45 minutes to an hour to get everyone’s attention when we play. Even if there are only 10 people in a room, it doesn’t matter to us. We play with passion and the music is always rocking – every time.” There is never a show where they are playing for only 10 people of course and these guys really believe in what they do and they know it rocks. It was designed to! In fact, Sinners Saints have already appeared at some major events and venues including when they played at The Spectrum for a 94 WYSP event back in November. Just last week they performed at the Lehigh Music Conference, and coming up on May 28th they’ll be at the TD Arts Center in NJ playing at a Cancer benefit along with Me Talk Pretty, who was voted best new band by MTV. Sinners Saints will also be one of the bands featured at Ride For Dime – a huge event that will be held at McStew’s Irish Bar in Levittown on June 26th which honors fallen heroes and gives back to local charities.
Sinners Saints is now a top-rated Philly original band and their music is reaching further out than just the local area. One of their biggest challenges has been trying to grow their fan base on their own, but they are doing all the right things and it is working. They have been playing venues anywhere between New York and Maryland and they are really starting to expand their fan base. Their bass player, Chris McKeever told me “people are constantly coming up to us at our shows saying they heard about us from a friend who said they had to come see us and that they loved every minute of it.” Word of mouth is this bands best advertisement.
I have to say, it was so refreshing to talk to musicians that really and truly enjoyed every second of what they are doing out there. Joe, Chris and Dave all had the same belief and dedication to their music and one thing I was really excited to discuss with them was the EP they just released a few months back, which is titled “Bad Habits”. Dave told me “Recording our EP Bad Habits was a great experience especially since we had the opportunity to work with producer David Ivory.” If any of you are not familiar with that name, you’ll be happy to know David has produced Philly acts such as Patty Labelle, Halestorm, The Roots and Silvertide. Obviously, David knows talent when he hears it. In the case of Sinners Saints all he had to do was listen to them one time before he knew he wanted to produce them. The EP is superb and needless to say, I keep one in my car now for those days when I really need to hear some good music.
If you like hard-rocking, attention-grabbing music that is refreshingly different, you really need to go to see Sinners Saints. Their CD, “Bad Habits” is now available for sale on iTunes, Amazon.com and of course at their shows. They are writing more music and do plan to release a new CD sometime in the near future. Although the CD sounds awesome, Joe told me “We sound so much better live. It’s the energy that we create by running around, jumping off sh*t and getting the audience very fired up.” They are now also mixing in a few covers with their originals because they know that people also like to hear some songs that are a bit familiar to them. They are smart enough to know that everyone is craving good rock and roll and believe me when I tell you this: Sinners Saints is delivering it.
You can visit the Sinners Saints website at www.myspace.com/sinnerssaintsmusic right now to hear songs like“Whiskey Train,” (my favorite song to listen to while driving!), and “Dirty Sexy” which is an extremely catchy, sultry, hard-rocking song that literally made me bang my head the moment it started. Their music is reminiscent of the heart pounding music you would hear from bands like Motley Crue and Guns & Roses, which are definitely bands that have inspired these extremely talented musicians.
Sinners Saints is: Vocals, Don Michael, Lead Guitar- Chris “Bones” Morganelli, Rhythm Guitar- Joe O’Hara, Drums – David Kenneth and Bass – Chris McKeever. Their next show is coming up this weekend – a double shot at the Cherrywood in Clemonton, NJ, Friday and Saturday night, April 23 and 24. If you too are craving some really good, hard rock and roll, go check them out and be sure to let them know you heard about them through The Out On The Town!