It all begins with a riff, electrified with more than just amplifiers, but also a lifetime of love for the rock ‘n’ roll of the 1970s and into the ’80s.
The title track off The AJM Band‘s new album, The Hard Way, will sound familiar to anyone who grew up listening to bands like the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, AC/DC, Aerosmith, or the Black Crowes. But this isn’t the work of a classic rock cover band (though they do perform beloved cover songs), but rather a group that’s putting out originals in a style they’re riffing to keep alive.
“Got bumps on my bruises/Lumps on my chin/Round two baby/Just say when,” the voice of Andrew Jay Magnuson, the group’s lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter sings in his attitude-infused tenor. “Doing it the hard way.”
The brainchild of Magnuson (AJM is his initials), the band’s new album is the latest from the group since its last record, Boys Will Be Boys, released in 2014. Since then, the group has added another guitarist, which has shifted the band from a power trio to a solid four-piece rock group.
“It’s kind of changed the flavor,” Magnuson said. “We’ve kind of gone a more [Rolling] Stonesish direction, or Black Crowes, or something like that. It’s a different feel now, but I like it. I like where it’s going.”
Based out of Nipomo, Magnuson did most of the recording, mixing, and mastering for The Hard Way after several sessions with his bandmates: bassist Darrell Sisco, drummer Frank Alsing, and new guitarist and backup vocalist Bill Serritslev.
The group will bring its electrified throwback sound to Firestone Vineyard’s concert series on Aug. 3, where they’ll perform the new album along with a wider repertoire.
The AJM Band has come a long way since it began in 2001, Magnuson explained. When the group started it was “a pure blues band,” he said.
“My first CD I ever did was nothing but blues,” he said. “And it just keeps changing, but honestly, you can’t help it, the rock influence is creeping in on me.
“I think it’s because I don’t like to get pigeonholed into playing one, four, five, so you start expanding, adding harmonies in there, and it doesn’t sound like blues anymore,” he added.
Certain songs on the new album definitely call back to Magnuson’s bluesy background. The third track, “Out of Reach,” reminds listeners of the slow yet fiery blues style of Buddy Guy.
Magnuson really struts his stuff as a lead guitarist on that track, but he takes it a step further in the following track, “Lil’ Bo Peep,” where he has dual electric leads, reminiscent of bands like Queen. Magnuson said he always has an electric guitar and amp handy at his Nipomo home. That readiness to play and practice is evident, as his lead style is seasoned and polished.
His love for electric guitar definitely informs his songwriting, and vice versa, Magnuson said.
“It goes both ways. Sometimes, like ‘The Hard Way,’ it started with a riff and I wrote around it,” he said. “But several of the songs started with just a melody in my head, and I sat down and started writing lyrics, and then I went back and thought, ‘What can I do with that?'”
The songwriting on The Hard Way, much like his last album Boys Will Be Boys, exudes a boyish bravado along with a tongue-in-cheek playfulness. Ever since the album dropped in June, and The AJM Band began performing the cuts live, some of his regular listeners have given some feedback on their favorites.
One of those songs is “Pretend Girlfriend,” which Magnuson said has become a requested track among fans. Played with a bit of a country twang, the song asks: “Would you be my pretend girlfriend?/Go to the movies, hang out with old friends/Get in the car and drive around town/Be the envy of every couple around.”
“It’s just a silly, fun little song, but I’ve had a whole lot of people say, ‘I really like that,'” he said. “That’s my personality coming through. I definitely have that tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. It’s something that I picked up that I loved from AC/DC, because Bon Scott had that sense of humor. If you listen to his lyrics, he’s always got something funny slipped in there.”
Another song in the same vein is “Pictures of You,” about someone so self-obsessed and infatuated they can’t stop sending or posting photos.
“My inbox done exploded/My phone is overloaded/All of pics from the selfie queen,” he sings. “If your sanity/Was half of your vanity/And I wasn’t stuck somewhere in between.”
Beyond the party songs and playful tunes, other tracks explore feelings that anyone who grew up playing music in a group can relate to. Magnuson played in a hard rock band back in the 1980s that performed at famous LA venues like the Viper Room and The Troubadour, but it wasn’t until later in his life that he began his own project.
The title track of the album, “The Hard Way,” explores those ideas, and talks about determination and never giving up in a pursuit. Songs like that inform why he’s motivated to write and perform music he sometimes tags as “retro rock.”
“That’s all related to the music business, for me, personally, because it’s always an uphill battle to get to the next level, keep pushing, try to get bigger, try to be better,” Magnuson said. “I’m going to write music no matter what. That’s my outlet, that’s the way I express myself.
“It’s something I have to do,” he added. “It’s my way of emotional release, to write and play and rock, absolutely.”
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2018.