Between recording The Hush Sound’s sophomore album “Like Vines” and playing arenas in the U.S. and Britain while opening for Fall Out Boy, vocalist Greta Salpeter somehow managed to obtain her diploma.
Make that her high school diploma. The 18-year-old recently completed her senior year at Benet Academy in west suburban Lisle.
“It was really surreal. One of the first days of the [spring tour] Chris [bassist Chris Faller] and I were walking around the building during sound check,” Salpeter said. “It was pretty empty–just janitors and the crew members–and Chris was saying, ‘Wow. I feel so lucky to be on this tour, but this is something we should have worked towards for 10 years, and this would be our reward.’ “
Fall Out Boy singer/guitarist Patrick Stump, who co-produced “Like Vines,” chuckled a bit when he realized the Hush Sound’s first tour also was his band’s largest. “I’m glad they still have a lot of that modesty,” Stump said. “They’re still ready to work, and they’re still ready to earn it. I know a lot of bands just kind of waltz into it.”
Despite its rapid ascent–the band is set to headline Metro after less than 18 months together–Salpeter and company say they have the same objectives they set when they self-released the first Hush Sound album, “So Sudden,” last June.
“Our goals have never been to play an arena,” Salpeter said. “We just want to get better at our instruments and interact with our fans. We have more like the artistic, fun aims.”
The band’s relationship with its fans has played a huge part in its early success. The quartet’s MySpace page (myspace.com/thehushsound) already boasts more than 43,000 “friends.”
The Internet also played a more direct role in the band’s fortunes. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz stumbled across “So Sudden” after it was posted to purevolume.com, which created a domino effect. Shortly after, The Hush Sound signed with Fueled By Ramen, scored an opening slot for FOB and landed Stump as the co-producer on its second record.
The album draws heavily on the bouncy keyboard pop of bands such as Koufax. The songs “Sweet Tangerine” and “Wine Red” deliver more hooks than a 12-round title bout, with Salpeter and guitarist Bob Morris trading off vocals. Tunes such as “The Lighthouse” reveal a more brooding, atmospheric side.
The new songs benefit from the mutual comfort band members, which also includes drummer Darren Wilson, feel. But more than chemistry, it’s the foursome’s collective youth–at 21, Morris is the old man in the band–and exuberance that fuels both its latest record and anything-goes career planning.
“This summer we’re also doing a long summer tour with Panic! At the Disco,” said an obviously excited Salpeter. “After the Fall Out Boy tours, these just seem like more chapters. That one’s done, now on to the next. Where do we get to go?”
The Hush Sound
When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Metro, 3730 N. Clark St.
