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LA Concert Review and post show interview with Johnny Uhrig of SCHOEN MACHINE at The JOINT October 12, 2003.

Review written by Fan Sandra T

The minute I arrived at the Joint, I knew I was in for a treat. Its known for having celeb musicians drop in for jam sessions often. The Joint is a small club nestled very close to Beverly Hills with a real cool vibe, perfect for SCHOEN MACHINE'S arrival to the LA club scene. Out in the front was a large Band Poster with picture. My first thought was, "Is this the band Keanu Reeves left Dog Star for," since Patrick Church lead featured looked like a twin of Mr. Matrix himself!

What an awesome band. They have a very strong 30 minute set. I had heard the demo versions on the Internet for songs HEROES, I CHANGE THE RULES, COME LATELY, and HIGHER GROUND, and had high expectations, these guys did not disappoint.

All four of these songs seem like HIT Singles to me !!!! When I heard HEROES and I CHANGE THE RULES as corny as it sounds, I literally had chills go down my spine !!! When the promo says "arena rock is back," I agree. This band rocked the house. Wait till you hear them in a huge club situation with a great PA!!!!

Their image is quite intriguing, not typically predictable look like many hard rock bands, but very stylish, upbeat, even a bit of HUGO BOSS mixed in. Band members ages are not "late teen types" but they are still very good looking and come across very video friendly. Patrick Church has a very good image!!! "Mr. Matrix twin" is really good looking and has a unique quality voice. I would compare vocals to Jim Morrison from the Doors and even Peter Steel from Type O. Negative with a slightly higher range. He does not however appear to have a real high vocal range.

The Joint Stage is extremely small, the keyboardist had to go to a higher tier just to fit. Schoen Machine's Stage presence was a bit mellow, occasionally "lets look at our shoes" thing going on, and lacked the off the wall high energy which most reviewers look for, but was still the stage presence was ok overall. I later discovered it was their first show in 5 years, so in overlooked that part of it.

The musicianship is strong, bass player Ethan Hungington bordering on progressive rock level. The lead singer Patrick Church plays ALL Guitar parts. Great guitar leads, great song writing, nice hooks, and very thought provoking lyrical content. The keyboardist (Self manager-Publicist) Johnny Uhrig (briefly was keyboard player for power rock band Joshua - Mpire) adds textures and some leads (Heroes) which are nice.

Make no mistake, this is a guitar band !!!! The band would fit well with Stone Temple Pilots, Audioslave, Smile Empty Smile, or A. Perfect Circle show.

I spoke to the Keyboardist - band manager Johnny Uhrig after the show. He says the band met in the Inland Empire and started playing together approximately 5 years ago under the name AXIS II, and had done several shows but the Ethan Hunnington had to leave the state for work, Patrick Church moved to Orange County, and the drummer Rueben (formerly of Mock Turtle Story) left the band due to family commitments.

The bass player Ethan Hunnington recently relocated back to Newport Beach. And the band was revived!! The band name AXIS II was changed due to potential copyright issues. Currently, they rehearse in Anaheim and are starting to play out again.

There seems to be a bit of mystery to this band. No one seems to know where they came from, they seem like seasoned music pros. Patrick Church is not available for interviews, and Johnny smiles when asked about band members day jobs and says, " no comment."

According to Johnny, they recorded 11 songs for a demo mainly in their garage studio however he states they were "experimenting" with song ideas, styles, and had laid down "scratch vocal" tracks on all of the songs. Schoen Machine plans to re - record 6 of the current demo songs, shortening a few intros for radio friendly format. The 11 songs "Accidentally" went to a Heavy Metal Music reviewer.

Schoen Machine is currently trying to find the right producer to help them record enough songs for a DEBUT CD. According to Johnny finding the right producer is work, "We dont really know people in Hollywood, so its hard to find the right producer, but were still looking." They are considering having another guitar player help do shows. Johnny says, "We have seven very strong songs, that I would put on an album, and a few more that are nearly completed that I think are huge!"

Patrick Church is main song writer, in the band. Song writing is this bands main strength, not to mention strong lyrics. Patrick Church was not available to speak with me, but that will be another article in itself to see what he's got on his mind. Johnny states they have a video producer who shot some film from the show and will be shooting more for their upcoming music video.

Again, in summary, I really liked this band, they very strong song writing, excellent musicianship, nice vocals, and great image. I would like to see them work on their stage presence a bit, but IM sure that will get better soon. Look for Schoen Machine DEMO REVIEW here at this site soon. Having a little help with production, this band will be huge!

Sandra T

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