BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
When X Ambassadors visited Atlanta last month to perform at Music Midtown , the band had such a tight promotional schedule that they didn't have time to stick around to hear any of the other performances.
They did, however, eavesdrop on Van Halen’s soundcheck, which was a thrill for the quartet from upstate New York. Even though guitarist Noah Feldshuh considers Jimi Hendrix and former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante greater influences on his playing, he, like most young ax-men, grew up “revering and respecting” Eddie Van Halen.
The members of X Ambassadors — singer Sam Harris, his brother Casey (who is blind) on keyboards, drummer Adam Levin and Feldshuh — spent many of those formative years together. Feldshuh and Sam Harris met on the first day of kindergarten, when they were 5 years old (they’re now 27). The pair also attended the New School university in New York City, where they bumped into Levin the first week of class and immediately clicked.
“(Adam) grew up in California, but he had the same aspirations and had played music in bands in high school just like we did,” Feldshuh said last week from the band’s new tour bus on the way to a gig in Washington. D.C. “We like to represent where we’re from, but the familial bond between us really informs what we do.”
The band, which returns to Atlanta on Halloween for the “Saints & Sinners Ball” at Park Tavern, received a notable push from Imagine Dragons. The Las Vegas hitmakers heard an early X Ambassadors track, “Unconsolable,” on a radio station in Norfolk, Va., liked it, tracked the band down and within weeks set them up in a Los Angeles studio.
Imagine Dragons continued to pay it forward and brought X Ambassadors on tour with them around the time that their own “Radioactive” was exploding and they were transitioning into bigger venues.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Their advice, Feldshuh said, has been invaluable.
“They really took us under their wing and got us signed. They showed us a lot of the ropes of being on the road. I can’t say enough about those guys,” Feldshuh said. “There was no incentive for them to do this other than they’re great guys and liked the music. We hopefully can do that for a band one day.”
It’s indeed been a fruitful year for X Ambassadors.
Their breakout hit, “Renegades,” from their first full-length studio album, “VHS,” landed in a commercial for the Jeep Renegade, and their spirited set at Music Midtown demonstrated what their burgeoning fan base already knew — that live, these guys are potent. That combination of melodic pop-rock and electrifying stage presence — thanks largely to the Harris brothers — piqued the interest of Muse, who tapped X Ambassadors to open a series of dates on their 2016 tour.
The news from Muse prompted the expected reaction from the band.
“We were jumping up and down, kind of like a guy who just got his first date or something,” Feldshuh said with a laugh.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Since the band’s success was snowballing, they had already sketched out their own headlining tour for next year and determined months ago that the only opening gigs they would consider would be for Coldplay or … Muse.
“It’s pretty surreal that it actually happened,” Feldshuh said.
But first, X Ambassadors will play a run of club and theater dates through the end of the year, including their appearance this weekend.
Feldshuh said the guys have “stirred the pot a little” to come up with a special presentation for their Halloween showing, but haven’t yet determined a spooky setup.
“Regardless, we’ll play a good show,” he said, “and hopefully our music won’t scare anyone off.”
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