"I don't have it all figured out," says 26-year-old singer Drue Nelson who fronts a quartet named after himself. "You learn so many things every day, and it's overwhelming sometimes trying to see how it all fits together. I'm starting to realize that each day is a different road and a different journey, and you don't have to have it all figured out; you don't have to have all the answers to everything right now."

One of the things Drue hasn't figured out is exactly how his band - which also includes bassist Steven Perdue, drummer Jon Reid, and (self-described "guitar guy") Josh Reeves - went from playing at a local bar to becoming a top touring act in the southeast college circuit as a cover band, to transferring and maintaining that success into an original focused group.

Perhaps even more incomprehensible is how this recently obscure Alabama-based act’s song, “Takes My Breath Away,” has sat at #1 on Garageband’s progressive rock charts for over a year and six months, despite the weekly thousands of submissions throughout this time. Drue, Josh, Jon, and Steven were equally incredulous at the reaction of an A&R agent for Columbia Records, who insisted that “out of all the 1000s of submissions he “had reviewed over the course of the year, their record was by far and away the best.” Although this major label did not present a material offer, Drue believes that current label home at, Severe Records was a “great choice.” He adds, “Severe Records aims to up-stream bands if appropriate, so why not? We are so proud of the success of Ambient Fixtures thus far on just an underground level, and we're infinitely grateful to have so many people hearing our songs, buying merch, and most importantly, singing the words back to us at shows. I really can't explain how it's all happening."

In fact, the quartet’s front man is hard-pressed to explain most of the unexpected twists his life has taken. His early years in Prattville, Alabama., for instance, would suggest an all-American boyhood, as “the preacher’s kid.” Tragically, the most significant event of his life was his Father’s early passing. As a Southern Baptist minister, Drue’s dad was a major inspiration to him. Drue admits to having little interest in music until after the incident and believes that “good does come from bad.” Ambient Fixtures is undoubtedly a tangible testament to his position.

Ambient Fixtures:
"Our Record deals a lot with self-discovery and breaking out of whatever your parents or your boss or whoever thinks you should be,” says Drue. "It's about trying to find out for yourself who you're supposed to be - your purpose  while not being afraid to vent against the irritants  you know - frustrations.” Reluctant to discuss the lyrics in detail, Drue feels they are infinitely open to interpretation. "That's the great thing about a song - a lyric may mean something totally different for someone else than it does for me and still be just as legitimate," he insists. A case in point is the one of the crowd favorites "Still See Stars": "We've been playing it on tour and when kids come up after the show, it seems like they always tell us how much they love that song. They don't really know what it's about, but they hear something in it that connects to them personally. That's why you don't have to tell the whole picture in the lyrics; you give a road to start on that people can relate to." Drue understands firsthand how bleak life can seem without something or someone to relate to. "Overall, my family was always peaceful; there was never any fighting or anything. We looked perfectly happy from the outside. It was like 'Pleasantville.' The worst part thing was that I couldn't see unexpected tragedies coming. I’ve often felt completely powerless." Drue spent most of his early days there alone in his room, pouring his heart into writing. "I was experiencing all the pain anyone feels when you loose a dad who didn’t deserve to. It opened up all kinds of things in me," he confides. "But it also created this creative outlet for me. It's funny, because I was never a musical kid - never took lessons, never really listened to the radio. But I suddenly just started developing a desire to perform. At the risk of sounding trite, I wanted to express what I was feeling inside.” As a result of his artistic expression, word-of-mouth about the band soon reached Ambient Fixtures’ producer and Severe Records label owner Chris Sevier. Sevier saw the progress Drue was making but felt the band needed more time to develop before recording an album. So Drue kept on working, and the quartet continued to rehearse intensively and play gigs. Drue comments "I went through a lot of phases trying to find my own sound. I learned from my mistakes. The band and I would see tapes of ourselves onstage and think, 'This is terrible.' But we resolved to fix it." Most of Ambient Fixtures was laid down at Sevier's home studio. Drue states that the process of recording with Sevier was amazing but time consuming work. “If we'd been working really late, we'd just spend the night at the studio. We'd wake up, have breakfast with Chris and get right back to it. Drue's trust in Sevier helped make these sessions a learning experience. "I came in wanting it to be all slick and fancy," he concedes. "I was so excited to be in the studio making a record - I wanted every instrument and every effect on the planet. Sevier said pretty early that he felt the record should sound organic, that the production should be simple and transparent. I'd have all these ideas, and we did use some of them, but after a while I realized he was right. The record needed to sound more raw." This sonic edge was indeed the right complement to the emotionally charged songs.

TOUR:
It is true that it doesn’t make much sense to tour without a killer record, but by far the best thing about all this is being able to survive on the road," says Drue. “Fortunately, we've been meeting new fans in cities all over the southern region. It's so cool to hear what they think about the music, and it makes me feel good when they tell me that one of the songs has helped them get through a rough time, that they were able to apply it to their own circumstances." Although we’ve had to bite the bullet and push ourselves as a cover band just to make ends meat, the imaginary line between cover and original has definitely blurred, and now even the cover lovers want let us off stage without playing the songs on the record. To be sure, this is the sort of opportunity only afforded a band on the way up with top in their sights.

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