POP! (without the bubblegum)

With the billions of dollars being pumped into the music industry every year, it can be tempting for rock bands to alter their style to appeal to the masses. Watching Creed and Evanescence make millions while other bands continue to wait can get to you after awhile. But for The Wrens and The Mendoza Line, two bands who are coming to play the Bluebird this Friday, they've found a way to make pop music without selling out.\nThe music industry has a way of chewing people up and spitting them out. The Wrens found this out first hand, but haven't let their record label troubles stop them from making innovative rock songs.\nHalfway through promoting their classic album Secaucus (1996), their label, Grass Records, called them in to talk contracts. Owner Alan Meltzer demanded The Wrens, then his franchise band, sign an extended contact or all of their promotion for Secaucus would be cut off immediately. The Wrens denied the offer because they didn't want to be strong-armed, and Meltzer vowed to make the next band to walk through his door reach the top of the charts. The next band was Creed. Several platinum albums and millions of dollars later, Grass Records becomes Wind Up Records and signs another pseudo-Christian rock hit in Evanescence.\nWhen Creed broke up this year, needless to say The Wrens weren't disappointed. \n"I have to admit that two thoughts went through my mind," Wrens guitarist Charles Bissell said. "One was, like everyone else, was thank God. The other was the fear that they would come back like that mythological creature (the phoenix) and form new bands, and we'd have like four Creeds out there."\nThe Mendoza Line hasn't been jerked around as much as The Wrens, but it has had its moments where it wishes it didn't have to work so hard for its music.\n"We'd like to be making more money right now, but what are you going to do?" singer/writer Shannon Mary McArdle said.\nBesides playing your average bar gigs, The Mendoza Line has once took its musical stylings to a comic book convention. Most of the fanatics seeking autographs had no clue who they were, but were glad to hear its sounds while browsing rare issues.\n"Yeah, usually those people are pretty odd, but they were really nice and it's always great to reach new audiences," McArdle said.\nThe Mendoza Line has been able to reach new fans overseas as well, playing places like Greece and the UK, with fans telling them, "I like very much your music. But what is wrong with your country?"\n"It takes a long time to build up the fan base you think you deserve, but we're getting there," guitarist Timothy Bracy said. "In the meantime, it's pretty good to be able to make a living and be a songwriter. I mean, we aren't household names, but I do get to spend all of my time traveling with five awesome people. What more can you ask for?"\nBuilding a fan base and dealing with executives aren't the only hurdles that The Wrens and The Mendoza Line have dealth with. They've also worked to define their sound.\nThe Mendoza Line has been compared to a lyrical version of Ernest Hemingway, with its folky old-fashioned tales. Its sound has been described as everything from alt-country like Wilco to folk to straight-up pop rock. One thing that's secure about its sound is that it draws heavily from its influences: Bob Dylan, American Music Club and the Replacements.\n"It's hard to get away from your influences," writer/guitarist Peter Hoffman said. "Those bands become a part of our lexicon. All in all, we're just a rock band who listens to a lot of rock."\nThe Wrens have gone through a world of change since between Secaucus and 2002's The Meadowlands. Some fans were even upset since they waited seven years for a new album only to get something that was very different than what they were used to. Bissell admits that The Meadowlands is different, but contends they have the same goals to him. Back in the lab, The Wrens are out to experiment yet again.\n"If you thought The Meadowlands was different, then you'll think our new stuff is different," he said. "But one way or another, it just won't be another seven years until it happens."\nOne thing that's unique about The Wrens is that from listening to them, one may have a hard time understanding why other similar sounding rock bands have blown up while they have enjoyed mostly critical success. Its recent release made almost every magazines best-of-the-year list including landing the No. 1 spot in Magnet magazine's 2003 list. KEXP morning disc jockey John Richards said about the incredibly catchy song, "Everyone Chooses Sides" from The Meadowlands: "It's been seven years since the last Wrens album, and it'll be seven more before this song gets out of my head."\n"We like catchy music, but we never wanted it use easy formulas or things that are very formulaic," he said. "We're a basic rock band with two guitars, a bass and drums. It's the same old rock 'n' roll job, but we try to put it all together in a different way."\nAnd even if it is a pop song away from making the leap from having its videos played on MTV2 to "TRL Live," The Wrens aren't too worried about it.\n"For all that we've gone through, we're actually not bitter about the whole thing," he said. "A lot of us are married and with kids, and we're at the point in our life where we're not worried about being signed by a big label or making a lot of money. We just want to put out good albums"