Fusebox Poet

Ah, the starving artist. So many ideas, so little money. As downloads and audio streaming continue leaching cash flow from the music business, musicians are seeking funding for projects and materials on Internet sites including Kickstarter, Indiegogo and PledgeMusic. But with these DIY approaches to raising dough come new challenges. Just ask Charlotte's Fusebox Poet.

"I think Kickstarter is a great tool to use, but you have to consider that you are asking your fans to give you their hard-earned cash upfront. That's bold, and it's not something you do lightly," says guitarist Paul Wright. Fusebox Poet spent a month before its recent campaign researching successful campaigns and coming up with rewards for donors and making a video to post with their plea.

"There were no surprises or curve balls. We understood everything and made a marketing plan behind it to make sure we reached our goals," says Wright. Fusebox Poet's campaign, which ended last November, exceeded its $5,000 goal by $460 — enough money to record with big-name rock producers Rick Beato (Shinedown, Corey Smith, Needtobreathe) and Ben Grosse (Depeche Mode, Sevendust, Filter).

Charlotte is full of success stories from musicians using these fund-raising platforms, which help fund everything from films and books to fashion and photography. The Shana Blake Band raised $630 to print copies of its EP and pay a graphic designer; Matrimony raised $1,035 to buy a touring van; Dirtbag Love Affair raked in $2,065 to record an album; and Natalie Royal raised nearly 250 percent of her $3,500 goal from 174 different backers to make her first full-length record. - Creative Loafing Charlotte (Rachel Bailey)

In addition to the already announced headliners and NASCAR drivers scheduled for this year's Food Lion Speed Street festival, the annual free three-day fest features a number of local and regional acts playing originals and covers. The annual 600 Speed Week festival takes place uptown Thursday, Friday and Saturday May 24-26.

Live music kicks off Thursday with U-Neek Flavor, Sol Fusion, Darrell Harwood, and Benton Blount. Thursday's previously announced headliners include Evelyn "Champagne" King, Midnight Star, and Easton Corbin.

Friday's lineup includes the Hoss Howard Band opening for Justin Moore and Sugar Glyder and 21st Century Goliath opening up for Halestorm. If you like catchy, big atmospheric pop-rock or AC/DC style rock I'd recommend both latter locals. I haven't seen Culowhee's Hoss Howard live, but the music on his website indicates his warm vocals and Southern sound make him a perfect pick to warm up a country loving crowd.

Saturday music begins at noon on the Coca-Cola Stage with Fusebox Poet (above, who make rock that could easily find its way on 106.5 The End) followed by Stella Rising, The Catch Fire, and Chris Weaver Band. Night Ranger and Loverboy close out the Coca-Cola Stage.

Sun Dried Vibes, Vess, Beyond the Fade, Stony Creek Boys, and Gal Friday perform on the Miller Lite Stage. Casey James and Clay Walker headline that stage as well.

For the entire schedule go to http://www.600festival.com/event_schedule.aspx. - Charlotte Observer (Courtney Devores)

Every unsigned band in the country will say its music is “awesome” and “unique,” but while many of these bands are wasting energy blowing hot air, Charlotte hard rock band Fusebox Poet is out proving itself to rock music fans all over the East Coast music scene. Impressing the sorts of fans that keep Foo Fighters and Shinedown records in their CD players, Fusebox Poet holds the line on a mainstream hard rock sound, adding flecks of indie and ’80s rock to create new music that still has a classic “ring” to it. Myriad influences and a shared drive to create and perform great music charge this band with the power to bring those sounds to life onstage. We recently caught up with the group to get the blow-by-blow of their amazing Florida Music Festival performance and where they’re heading next.

Describe the setting of FMF and your general experience, when was your set time? Who did you play before/after? What will you remember the most?

Fusebox Poet performed at 9:30 pm on the main stage on Saturday night, April 21st (the last night of the Florida Music Festival). 90's rockers Candlebox headlined that night and took the stage at midnight. We performed right after the Gainesville, FL band Of Valleys. Over 175 bands performed over the weekend throughout 10 local Orlando venues all within walking distance of each other. We did an unbelievable amount of networking and promoting throughout the weekend and were able to meet a number of important music industry folks. We had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Lyman (Vans Warped Tour Founder), Steve Robertson (Atlantic Records – Paramore/Shinedown) Jason Bieler (Bieler Bros Records – Nonpoint/Skindred) and many more. The festival hosted industry conferences and panels on Saturday afternoon, which allowed us multiple opportunities to meet and connect with important industry execs. I think we’d all agree that the most memorable part of the festival was looking out into the audience and recognizing a few important industry folks that really have the power to change our music career in an instant. It was even cooler that some of them were bobbing their heads and enjoying our show! We definitely brought our A-Game on stage when we knew some of those guys would be watching!

How valuable is an opportunity like this to play in front of 1500 (mostly new?) fans?

Playing for close to 1,500 people in downtown Orlando was a very exciting and beneficial opportunity for us. This was our first time playing in Orlando and I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce our music to the city. We made friends with a ton of bands from the area and it was nice to see many of them in the audience supporting us.

What’s next for Fusebox Poet? Any new music coming? Tour dates?

Fusebox Poet will be touring the state of Florida for the remainder of the month of April. When we found out that we were going to be a featured main stage artist at FMF, we booked an entire tour around the opportunity. The “Turn It Up Tour” featured shows throughout the Southeast including Charleston SC, Charlotte NC, and multiple markets throughout FL including Winter Park, Tampa, Largo, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Hollywood, and Orlando. Being featured as main stage artists really helped up create a buzz throughout the state of Florida and it was amazing how willing many venues and local bands were to work with us for the first time. We were also given $1000 in artist development funds from Sonicbids/FMF and we really used this money to our advantage. We could have just used this money to get us to and from Orlando for the festival but instead we decided to really use that money to improve our live show. By booking a tour around the opportunity, we were able to split up drive times, and make gas money to get use to and from gigs. Instead of blowing the $1000 on gas we really used it for “artist development!” We turned a sweet festival slot into a two and a half week tour of the Southeast! Talk about capital - Sonicbids (Marya McLaughlin)

Drew Cyphers and Pat Gerasia of Fusebox Poet took a break from packing up gear and merchandise to chat outside of the Backbooth this past Saturday night. They had just wrapped up the last show of a two-and-a-half week tour throughout the Southeast, including playing the main stage at the Florida Music Festival and other stops throughout Florida.

Cyphers, Gerasia and Paul Wright have been playing together since high school in Charlotte, North Carolina. Upon graduation, the band took a hiatus to continue their education, but these three wouldn’t break for long. They took on the band full-time and and completed the ensemble with Dave McGarry – with a little help from Craig’s list – and they haven’t looked back since.

Pulling from a variety of influences, such as Anberlin, Sevendust, Incubus and Mutemath; Fusebox Poet has a unique sound that they can call their own. “So many bands are doing the same shit over and over; it makes you think, you’ve got to do something outside the box, do something different,” Cypher explained.“We’re all bringing different things to the table that we like, completely different and off-the-wall, and we put it together to make it work,” explained Gerasia.

Off-the-wall works for them; Fusebox Poet opened for Cage the Elephant in Charlotte, to kick of the East Coast tour. After taking some time off back home, they’ll head out again to tour the Northeast coastline for the second leg of the tour in July.

In the meantime, they continue to work on new music, recording demos in Cyphers’ studio. Unlike a lot of bands, Wright works on riffs for the verse and chorus of each song, then hands it off to Cyphers to work on melodies and lyrics. “I feel like I put the cherry on top, package it up and make the arrangement work,” said Cyphers.

Fans and fans-to-be can find their self-titled album on the band’s Facebook page, Spotify, Reverbnation, iTunes and more.

The next time Fusebox Poet is in town, catch a show and don’t be afraid to say hello. These genuine, down-to-earth and fun-loving guys like to mess with people, so don’t be surprised if they break into song with “You’re the best… around!” and hand you a flier.

As for their time in Orlando, Gerasia and Cyphers agree that they’ve enjoyed the scene Orlando music fans have to offer.

“Orlando rock is the new genre,” said Cyphers. - O-Town Music (Kristen McKosky)

No matter what the groundhog says, we're off and running in February.

As a run-up to the weekend's yearly football finale, find Fusebox Poet Saturday as part of a big bowl game blowout at The Saloon-NC Music Factory in Charlotte. Waxing expressive with a rhythmic vibe, FP fancies itself as "four chill dudes put on this planet to provide ear candy" -- specifically hard rock-flavored vibe with a tasty indie kick. Cranking a sound with a prog-rock disposition and 80's era orchestration, this Rock Hill/Charlotte area band features Drew Cyphers, vocals/keys; Paul Wright, guitars; Dave McGarry, bass and Pat Gerasia, drums.

Together since mid-2010, the band aims at a sound that aspires to be fresh but still classic enough to max out a mainstream tone. Starting with a win in the annual WEND The End Radio/Miller Lite Music Series in 2011, followed by a Speed Street stint, then opening for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Taproot plus a slot on the 2011 Fall Fest have brought high profile attention to FP. The band hopes to capitalize in 2012.

Go big or go home could be their credo thanks to lots of activity -- seen and heard -- on stage from Fusebox Poet, along with Bombshell and The Shaniqua Brown, Saturday at The Saloon-NC Music Factory, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., Charlotte. For more show info, call 704-987-0612 or visit ncmusicfactory.com. Get more on the band and music at fuseboxpoet .com , twitter.com/fuseboxpoet, and fuseboxpoet.bigcartel.com.
- Rock Hill Herald (Debby Jet Jennings)

Charlotte, NC Indie band Fusebox Poet has the honor of being the first band named in the line-up, with a slot on the mainstage, for the 2012 Florida Music Festival in Orlando. The festival is slated for April 19th -21st in Orlando, FL. The band’s fans helped get them selected through a Facebook contest as the first mainstage promotion winner which earns the band a slot on the mainstage and $1000 in travel expense money.

The four piece Hard Rock band beat out over 50 other early submission bands for the honor. “It was very humbling to be the first band announced for the line-up of the Florida Music Festival 2012, let alone win the $1,000 prize and marketing package. Our social networks came through for us big time. We competed against bands with networks of 10,000+ so it was awesome to see our growing network give us such strong support. The Florida Music Festival will be the pinnacle of our ‘Double or Nothing Tour 2012’ that starts in late March.”

Fusebox Poet, formed in 2010, is Drew Cyphers (vocals/keys), Paul Wright (guitars), Dave McGarry (bass), and Pat Gerasia (drums). “Our influences in music cover a broad spectrum of Rock and Independent music. We were 90’s kids so most of us grew up listening to Grunge, Post Grunge, Indie, Alternative, and Nu-Metal. We leave footprints of these styles in our music but I think we strive hard to make sure we don’t sound like every other independent band out there today.”

The band members come from varied musical backgrounds, and have used that to their advantage when coming together as Fusebox Poet. “We’re all members of other dissolved bands from New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Originally as kids, we were all drummers. As we grew older, we each concentrated on one instrument to excel in. Pat stuck to drums growing up in New York. Drew and Paul grew up together just south of Charlotte, NC molding into a singer/guitarist combo. Dave was always a drummer growing up in Pennsylvania. He focused on bass shortly after moving to Charlotte.”

Each band member has a diverse list of musicians they admire. “I’d say my three biggest influences are Brandon Boyd from Incubus, Stephen Christian of Anberlin, and Paul Meany from Mutemath,” said Drew Cyphers. “I love lyrics with depth that really pull at your emotions.”

“Nuno Bettencourt, Clint Lowery, Simon Ormandy, Tom Morello, Joseph Milligan, and Jeff Russo,” said Paul Wright. “I admire them all for the way they write and arrange the music of their bands.” Dave McGarry’s list includes “Jason Newstead, Flea, Stu Hamm, and Paul McCartney. Each one of them has taken their own music styles and bass playing to ‘the next level’ creating their own identity within their bands.” Pat Gerasia cites “Josh Freese, Danny Carey, Dino Campanella, Jimmy Chamberlin, Abe Cunningham and Jose Pasillas are some of my favorite drummers. All of these guys really know how to blend their unique styles with tasteful playing and finesse. I strive to find this same balance behind the kit.”

“I think our live show is our ace in the hole. We’re a very high energy band on stage with a pretty aggressive and original light show. People pay hard earned money to come to a concert so we feel we have a responsibility to put on an overall entertaining show with both visual and audio. Everything you hear on our record, you’ll hear live. That’s something we take great pride in given that many bands now record records they cannot reproduce live, singers especially.”

“We want to hit your core. We’re not interested in pushing political beliefs or forcing what we believe in down your throat. We just want you to come away with an awesome music experience that relates to emotional things you’ve gone through in your life.”

“We truly believe that it is essential for bands to support each other. We rely on other bands to help gain new audiences in their local markets when we are on the road, so we always make it a point to return the favor. Also, we always try to go to other bands’ shows which is something I wish other bands did more often. In our experience, the growth of our band relies heavily on band to band connections and support. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

The band is looking forward to their first trip to Orlando. “The thing we’re looking forward to the most is the chance to connect with new people. The Florida Music Festival is a unique festival that focuses intently on bringing together music listeners and industry people alike. We’re really excited that our first opportunity in Orlando is at a festival in front of thousands of people that are just as passionate about music as we are.”

Fusebox Poet’s self-titled debut CD was released last November. Indie music fans can check out the band on their Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Twitter feed. - Examiner.com (Kat Coffin)

Fusebox Poet
2011 Speed Street
May 27, 2011

The Deal: Far too often, concertgoers go to a national act’s show well after it begins so they can miss the “crappy opening bands,” but at Food Lion Speed Street 2011, that would have been a sad mistake. The act to see for the night was Charlotte’s own Fusebox Poet, who won 106.5 The End’s battle of the bands for the time slot between Paper Tongues and Everclear on the Miller Lite stage. Rain and bad weather plagued Fusebox Poet throughout their involvement in the competition, with baseball-sized hail at the preliminary round and mega-thunderstorms at the finals. Singer/keyboardist Drew Cyphers said the rain started just as he walked onto the Speed Street stage for sound check and he just looked up at the sky and thought, “Really?!”

The Good: Despite a slow start due to bad weather and some technical foul-ups, Fusebox Poet, in their color-themed outfits matching their new t-shirt design, really got in their groove. Fans and casual passersby trickled in slowly toward the stage while the band got its sound locked in during the initial couple songs. Bassist Dave McGarry’s brutal scream at the end of the first song, “Ashes and Apologies,” let everybody know that Fusebox was on the Speed Street scene. It was the third song, “Lifeline,” when things really started to click (pun intended, as Drummer Pat Gerasia begins this song with drum rim clicks), and by the end of the song, Pat’s floor tom sounded absolutely epic. The crowd had grown considerably by that point. Pat said after the show, “The weather sucked and we were really bummed out, so I didn’t look out [into the crowd] at first. But after awhile, I looked out and was like, [pauses and smiles] ‘Yeah.’” When their last song “Clean” rolled around, the faces in the crowd had multiplied exponentially, and Fusebox Poet closed its set to roaring applause.

The Bad: As the band tore into its opening song, the rain stopped, but other issues cropped up in its place. Technical difficulties swallowed the first line of Drew’s vocals, and he threw his hands in the air, watching his words fly in unamplified futility into the night. The instrumental mix was not quite right for the first couple of songs, causing a bit of a short circuit in Fusebox Poet’s usual cohesion. Drew’s vocals were a little off from his usual spot-on pitch while he adapted to relying on stage monitor speakers to hear the rest of the band. In the smaller clubs, Drew said, you can hear the drums acoustically and the keys and guitars straight from their amps instead of through the P.A., which took some adjustment on the band’s part. Fusebox Poet’s usual lighting spectacle of fluorescent ballasts and lighted “ego boxes” paled in comparison to the blazing bulbs of the big stage, but better to be dwarfed by the stage’s bigger lighting than by other bands’ bigger sound.

The Verdict: While it looked at first like the rain would put a major damper on what should be fantastic exposure for the band, the weather’s not always the same as the forecast, and it turned out to be the fantastic show Fusebox Poet deserved. (“It was awesome,” guitarist Paul Wright proclaimed.) In the end, the Fused Four found their bearings, and their musical energy transferred well to the larger venue from their customary nightclub surroundings as their Speed Street set blew two signed, national acts off that giant stage.

Setlist
Ashes & Apologies
Chrematist
Hindsight
Lifeline
Hold the Line (Toto cover)
(drum solo)
Follow
Clean - Creative Loafing Charlotte Blog (Amanda Caines)

Fusebox Poet drummer Pat Gerasia would normally be the last person to tell someone not to go see a Tool concert, so when he asked me to come review his band’s “Superbowl Eve” show February 4 at The Saloon at NC Music Factory, I asked, “…and why the hell would I do that when Tool is playing that same night at Bojangles’ Coliseum?”

“This would be a whole lot easier for me if Tool wasn’t one of my favorite bands!” he replied, “Danny Carey is one of the reasons why I play drums to begin with.” But he then listed some pretty decent reasons to see Fusebox Poet instead. The crux of the matter here epitomizes the differences between following local/unsigned bands versus huge, radio-promoted national acts.

Reason #1: FREE ADVANCE TICKETS.
Just email FBPtickets@yahoo.com asking about said tickets, and they will mail you some with a little personal note from the band, thanking you for supporting the Charlotte scene. If you wait and purchase tickets at the door, they’re still only $10– a far cry from the $55.95 or more you’ll pay for a Tool ticket (and that’s for the nosebleed seats!).

Reason #2: SUPERBOWL EVE = FREE SHIT.
Tool isn’t going to raffle off jack-diddly, and their t-shirts are at least $20. News flash: they won’t give you one for free, even if you beg. The Superbowl Eve show boasts raffles, giveaways, and other chances for free shit and fun activities. Your local bands work their asses off to show you a good time, and they’re willing to invest in the opportunity to impress you by offering you free stuff if you will come listen. At Bojangles’ Coliseum, the only thing you might get for free is the flu.

Reason #3: MAYNARD DOESN’T GIVE A RAT’S ASS IF YOU COME OR NOT.
Not one bit. He might not even talk to you during the show (he’s notorious for not addressing his audiences), so he’s certainly not going to talk to you afterward. Fusebox Poet’s singer, Drew Cyphers, is actually a pretty nice guy and will definitely chat with you after the show, “and maybe even give you a hug (if you buy a t-shirt– haha),” Pat jokes. All the guys in the band can get pretty chatty, actually– I just saw them perform this weekend at Art Bar in Columbia, and each one of them was out there, big smiles on their faces, meeting and chatting up new folks and old fans alike. Huge national bands don’t care that much about fans, and they don’t have to care. They show up, you shell out your hard-earned dough and feed their huge, rock star egos, and then everybody goes home (or to their tour vehicles, whatever).

Reason #4: IF YOU’RE IN A BAND AND YOU SHOW UP, FUSEBOX POET WILL RETURN THE FAVOR.
Directly quoted from Pat: “We’re only asking you to show up and support. We’ll mail you tickets and you show up for free. We’ll be happy to come out to one of your shows and you can take our money. Consider it an investment! Let’s be friends.” So many bands whine about “Support Your Scene,” but you never see their faces out at other bands’ shows. I see these guys out at other people’s shows all the time, so I know they aren’t kidding. Charlotte’s rock scene needs a boost, and Fusebox Poet is among those willing to invest in the scene’s future. In a similar situation to aforementioned “Reason #3,” Maynard isn’t going to “return the favor” by coming to your show, and he certainly doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your band or our city’s rock scene. Fusebox Poet does.

Die-hard Tool fans are probably going to laugh from their shrines to Maynard, “Stinkfist” blaring from their computer speakers in the background, at Fusebox Poet’s request and shell out $75 to stand on the sticky floor of Bojangles’ Coliseum for a group of guys who don’t give even a shart about you, but, hey, it’s worth a shot to ask anyway.

Fusebox Poet (Hard Rock like Foo Fighters, Trapt, Evanescence) shows its stuff at “Ditka’s Superbowl Eve Rock Concert” at The Saloon at NC Music Factory on Saturday, February 4, 2012, along with supporting bands Bombshell (Indie-Rock like Plain White T’s, Blink-182, Muse) and Death of Paris (Pop-Rock like Garbage, Paramore, Gwen Stefani). Show starts at 8pm, advance tickets are free via snail mail by emailing FBPtickets@yahoo.com, or $10 at the door. Click bands’ names to hit up their pages for sample tracks and more information.

RSVP via Facebook and get directions: http://www.facebook.com/events/188893167868750/ - Shutter 16 Magazine (Amanda Caines)

Q and A with a Band on the Run

What's even more awesome than a shooting star? Catching one at the beginning. I'm calling it right now: Fusebox Poet is going to be one of "those" bands that people in the Charlotte area will be saying "I knew them before they were famous."

Just recently, I went to a concert for a major, major grammy winning band. Their lead singer stopped the show briefly and told us that when they were in Charlotte, several years ago, they remember playing in the parking lot of the venue we were standing in. The parking lot. He went on to say that while they were playing in the parking lot, with daylight still dominating, (basically to just tailgaiters that were getting their beer on before the main event), they vowed that one day they were going to play on that stage . They did make it to that stage, and I was standing among people who had paid hundreds of dollars to stand in that very front row. It was endearing to hear the lead singer tell of the days of when they were a small, relatively unknown opening act. That band was Maroon 5.

I had the chance to speak with Drew Cyphers of Fusebox Poet. They are in the same position as Adam Levine once was. Although their style is very different, they've paid their dues as openers as well. Fortunately, for Fusebox Poet, they've gained a pretty strong start and are on the fast-track to standing in the same spot on that same stage. Like I said, I'm calling it.

Let me introduce you to a band whose roots are close to home, but the potential is immeasureable. Meet Fusebox Poet.

How long has the band been together?
We played our first live show a little over a year ago. In the
past year we've done four tours, ranging from West Palm Beach all the
way up to Albany, NY. We've shared the stage with Everclear, Taproot,
and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It honestly feels like more than a
year has passed!

What does the name mean?
The word 'Fusebox' comes from the high energy live show and sound.
'Poet' comes from the powerful rhertoric and lyrical depth within our
music.

How would you describe your sound?
We have a mainstream hard rock sound with specks of indie and ’80s
rock to create new music that still has a classic “ring” to it.

What musicians have inspired you?
- We definitely pull from a wide variety of influences. Some of our
bigger ones would have to be Incubus, Sevendust, Anberlin, Audioslave,
Tool, and Shinedown fused with lighter influences like Coldplay and
Mutemath.

What was it like besting 52 other bands to win the Miller Lite "Great Taste in Music Series?"
It was an awesome experience all around. Most of us in Fusebox Poet
have been going to Speed Street for a number of years to watch great
bands play so we were definitely flipping out when we found out we won
and would be opening for Everclear. However, we battled the weather
almost every show during the entire experience. The first semi-final
round was the same night the infamous hailstorm that many people in SC
and NC felt the affects of. In the final round were severe
thunderstorms. We were praying we were going to have good weather for
the Speed Street set. However, when the day came, it was storming the
entire day as well as the drive up to load-in. Paper Tongues finally
took the stage 30 minutes late and the sun came out during their set.
When we finally got our gear on stage the rain started coming down
again and the crowd started to leave. Finally, when we started
playing, people came in droves and by the last song we were playing
for around 2000 people. It was truly one of the best experiences of
our lives and we believe it made us a better band because it forced us
to focus on our live show and take it to a level that's it has never
been before.


If you could perform anywhere you wanted, where would you choose?
Three states we'd really like to play are Texas, Colorado, and
California. We are ready to play out west!

When are you playing next?
We are playing our next show at Amos' Southend on September 8, 2011
with Swift Robinson, Damsel Down, and Chasing Edison.

Click here to see Fusebox Poet open for Everclear at Speed Street!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkwK1GJEhJA&

- Charlotte Examiner (Shannon Pogue)

Stars, cars and guitars are just the beginning
Debby Jet Jennings Columnist

Head into a Memorial Day weekend filled with special tributes, supercharged Race Week hoopla and a dazzling lineup of live music to kick off summer 2011.

Start your engines for the annual Speed Street festivities in Uptown Charlotte. It's all about "Stars, Cars, and Guitars." Among the artists and bands assembled to perform, look for a few upstarts and local fresh faces. Find Fusebox Poet, tonight as guest opener for national recording act Everclear on the Miller Lite Stage. An indie-hard rock ensemble with a definite progressive rock aura, Fusebox Poet emerged victorious, winning the recent Miller Lite /106.5 The End Radio Great Taste in Music Series. Culled from a field of 54 original contenders that was eventually narrowed to 9 semifinalists, the band features Paul Wright, guitar; Drew Cyphers, lead vocals/keyboards; and Pat Gerasia, drums; all from Clover; along with Dave McGarry, bass, from Charlotte. Citing "high energy sound and powerful rhetoric," they compare their style to mainstream rockers like Anberlin, Mutemath, and Shinedown.
- Rock Hill Herald (Debby Jet Jennings)

4. “Clean” by Fusebox Poet (Fusebox Poet) – Straight up pop-rock with awesome vocal stuff going on. I can’t help but sing it with ‘em.

14. “The Explanatory Gap” by Fusebox Poet (Fusebox Poet) – I love the vocal harmony on the chorus of this song, and I enjoy really high notes in rock songs so I love singing this one–a great song with meaningful lyrics. - Shutter 16 Magazine (Amanda Caines)

The Deal: Formed in July 2010, the Rock Hill, S.C., quartet Fusebox Poet releases its 11-song debut album.

THE GOOD: The band hit the studio with the intention of recording an EP, but had enough material to release a full-length debut. Using energetic riffs to draw a listener in, the songwriting is a step above what I expected. While the Poets kick the album off with the melody-focused "Ashes & Apologies," the group quickly establishes an edge on the next track. Singer/pianist Drew Cyphers shows his vocal range on "Skylines & Fine Lines," while the band also offers a few harmonies. "Wasted Goodbyes" shows the band's ability in musical songwriting and more lyrical depth — using the piano for highlights during the verses which build to a strong rock chorus. The band's music comes across as familiar with plenty of potential to establish something of their own.

THE BAD: I really hope that wasn't Autotune I heard on "Cynic." Possibly too radio-friendly, which some will see as a bad thing. I wonder if a little more piano work would help to define their sound instead of being used for accents here and there.

THE VERDICT: A pleasant surprise and a band worth keeping an eye on. For only a few months together, the band sounds incredibly polished. - Creative Loafing Charlotte (Jeff Hahne)