41Point9

“Hammer meets anvil and the sparks fly. In the process, a sword is made stronger than it could have been before. The same thing happened back in 1995 when bassist/songwriter/producer Bob Madsen met singer/songwriter/guitarist Brian Cline in the North Bay Area of California. Brian and Bob began working together on a few tunes written by Bob and began a lifelong “bromance.” In Brian, Bob had found the perfect voice for his muse. The only problem was Brian’s annoying insistence on “only enough words necessary for the melody” usually crashing into the perfectly constructed story that Bob had created (a process referred to as “lyrical evisceration”). Of course, at the same time Bob is mourning what happened to his lyrics he begins to fall in love with Brians’ melodies. At this point Bob usually throws up his hands and gives up.” After nearly a decade of friendship the two decided to start a band together. That band is 41POINT9 and is known for being a prog rock band, but Bob and Brian would probably argue that point with you. “We don’t care about styles or subjects or how the song will be classified. We start out with an idea and let the idea dictate where the song will lead. Each song is a unique adventure, unlike all the others and we get off on that fact. We usually write the lyrics first and then add the music in order to further the concept of the song. As such, we are able to bring a diverse range of musical influences to bear, like a visual artist is not constrained by any particular pigment, brushes, or even traditional mediums. We actually create the songs with little to no regard for how we would or even could perform them live” Bob continues, ”We might combine Stravinsky strings with funk bass and metal guitars. Hip-hop or EDM production styles might meet folk guitar, jazz fusion, or new wave synths along with storytelling lyrics that would be at home on a classic country album. We simply don’t care as long as the song is good.” “Notice we didn’t mention Prog?” Brian adds, “We absolutely love progressive music; however, we don’t stop there. Shouldn’t progressive music progress? Why apply the same stylistic norms that have been used since the ‘70s and still call it progressive? That’s not progressive—that’s stagnant. We want to draw from a universe of influence and go somewhere new that is ‘progressive’ by our own standards, like the great bands of the 70’s did in their generation.” “Don’t get us wrong,” chimes in Bob, “we are writing songs with a very strong pop sensibility and we feel they are eminently listenable; we just don’t feel the pressure to stay in one genre or tonality. It just doesn’t matter as long as it serves the song.” 41POINT9 has two albums being released internationally on 09/21/2018. One is the brand-new sophomore release “Mr. Astute Trousers” and the other is a remixed and remastered version of their debut album “Still Looking For Answers.” The band has been busy creating a series of high quality concept videos to help get word about the album out and is preparing to tour later in the year. “The difficulty in touring is that we have been having a real problem finding a drummer for the band,” Bob concludes. “All of the ones we have auditioned have spontaneously combusted. I guess that’s what we get for using the same talent agency as Spinal Tap.”