Charm City Devils – John Allen (lead vocals), Ted Merrill (guitar), Jason Heiser (drums) and Rick Reynolds (bass)—just released the Jim Wrigley-directed video for “Skipping Stone,” the first single from their forthcoming EP, 1904, which is set for release November 22 via Broken World Records.
Charm City Devils are proud of their native hometown of Baltimore, and they’re not afraid to wear their heart on their sleeves. They even named themselves (at the suggestion of then-Eleven Seven Music label President Nikki Sixx) after Baltimore’s nickname for which it was anointed in the ‘70s. Most recently, their beloved city has been described as a “rodent infested mess” and a place where “no human being would want to live.” But the band has another side to that narrative.
They’re dedicating their fourth studio release, a five-song EP appropriately titled 1904 (which refers to the year of the great fire that burned the city to the ground as evidenced on the EP’s cover), to their favorite metropolis and are inviting all their fans to join in and show the world how great and resilient it truly is.
“While writing and collaborating on the songs for 1904,” explains singer John Allen, “I started reflecting on my life and music career and how the town where I grew up impacted my view of the world. The story of Baltimore is a direct parallel to what most people experience in life. In everyone’s life there is a change arc. We begin that change with ‘uninformed optimism’ only to find out that optimism quickly turns to ‘informed pessimism,’ and as the spiraling continues they ultimately bottom out at ‘crisis of meaning.’ It’s in the crisis part of life where a person has to decide if they are going to be stuck or are they going to pick themselves up and begin the upward struggle toward happiness and fulfillment. The first single, ‘Skipping Stone,’ is a journey into self-awareness and ultimately about being resilient.”
