Louie Torda has been making it happen in Toledo for the past eight years as the front man for three local bands and professional hairstylist for the Redken line of hair products. His newest installment for the local music scene is called The Comeback, a four man prog-rock reinvention of his first band, Amanna 18. Alongside his best friend and guitarist (also from Amanna) Josh Fenn, music director for WXUT, Blake Stahlhut from ex-Toledo band Plague the City on bass, and Chad Norman drumming. The Comeback has been rocking around Toledo at Hot Topic and other venues for the past few months, trying to reinvent themselves as musicians.
The band’s passion for music is reflected in their catchy melodies and lyrics, co-written by Torda and Fenn. “I have to listen to music when I sleep, when I drive, when I’m at work. I could never have a time when I can’t listen to music. I’m obsessed with it,” Torda said.
His lyrics are reminiscent of a romantic and a paranoiac, “LYRICS HERE.” The way rock music is recorded today, a front man can rely on technology to enhance his voice, or at least make it good enough to listen to, but Torda knows relies only on his own talent.
In songs like “Passion” he lets his voice range on top of Fenn’s ambitious riffs. “It doesn’t have to be the fastest, heaviest thing to be good. Just something powerful and meaningful,” Fenn said.
Currently, The Comeback has a few demos on their site MySpace.com/thecomebackrock. Their sound is sort of an accumulation of all the rock ‘n’ roll that has been popular over the last decade, such as Green Day, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, and Living End.But that’s not to say that the band sounds like something you’ve already heard, because Torda melts the sound of contemporary rock with a personality that gives The Comeback an edge over a lot of bands.
“When I write lyrics, I’m an obsessive super anxious kind of person. Not so much depression, but high anxiety,” Torda said. “It’s a way to get rid of obsessing about something, a way to get it off your chest.
“You know how someone says write something down and tear it up? That’s what I do with music. Sometimes I write about being a little crazy. Sometimes I write about dudes I hate. I don’t like to limit myself to what I write about because when you’re playing it, you can have that passion behind the song.”
When comparing the sound of the early stages of The Comeback to Torda’s previous projects, it is evident that the music has matured.
“Our songs used to be formulated for an audience,” Fenn said, “but now we’re writing music for ourselves.”
Torda said he feels just as strongly about the band.
“It’s like Amanna but grown up, more intricate. Not as many power chords, we’ve matured with our writing,” he said.
As for Torda’s most recent side project, The Sleep Sound, The Comeback may be a stronger band but they are not as original as his dance-rock -driven band. When other members of The Sleep Sound moved to Florida, Louie stayed in Toledo to pursue his career as a stylist. The band still hopes to get together and record a few songs, but Louie plans to stay dedicated to The Comeback.
Amanna 18 used to be known as the under dog band of Toledo that made it to Warped Tour, but nonetheless they possessed a sense of heart that a lot of popular music tends to lack. The Comeback has a lot to live up to considering Amanna’s history. “We’re going to keep making music and playing and we don’t really care if we make it big,” Torda said. “We would like to take the band to the next level, but we won’t be devastated if it never happens.”
“We’re fun-loving idiots who like to make good music,” Fenn said.
The Comeback may not be starting anything new, but they are a powerful force of what alternative rock and roll and grown into—a band with history, talent, and the potential to stick around for a while.
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