Janus 4-14 is a three-piece indie rock band based in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Their latest single, “Blue To Infinity,” from the E.P. of the same name, echoes the spirits of artists like The Replacements, Elvis Costello, and Sebadoh.

Reflecting on the track, singer/guitarist/songwriter Chad Barnard said…

“Blue to Infinity is about having to look in the mirror and face the fact that you’re the problem. You’ve finally seen through all of the pretense and artifice that you’ve built around your fragile ego and are disgusted by what you find. Now that you’ve come to terms with yourself, anything seems possible.”

“Looking back through some old idea tapes, I found the kernel of Blue To Infinity. At its inception, there was just the intro, the first verse, the pre-chorus, and the chorus. I had forgotten that it existed. I immediately set about finishing it: adding more verses and creating the bridge. It’s songs like this that make me thankful that I have recorded and saved every idea since I started writing songs.”

About Janus 4-14

The Janus 4-14 live show can be a force of nature. Marathon three-hour sets. Punk ethos and arena energy in small rooms. Wide-open antics. Guitarist Shane Mauck has seen vocalist and guitarist Chad Barnard break two or three bars. Formed in 2009, the band’s energy and intensity built like severe weather. Then, one day, Barnard’s anger was gone. Maybe it was age. Maybe it was quitting his desk job. Whatever it was, the rage that had driven his songwriting evaporated. “What am I gonna write?” he wondered at the time.

The answer: more nuanced music representing a broader emotional spectrum. Sitting in Fallen Trees Recording Studio, which he runs, Barnard explains that he still writes music constantly. It’s the lyrics that take more attention and time nowadays. On top of that, Barnard, Mauck, and percussionist Brett Beardsley have enlisted the help of esteemed producer John Agnello (The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth) to help evolve the long-standing band.

They’ve built a reputation for memorable live shows in the region. They’ve grown their monthly Spotify listeners from 40 to 1,000. Now, Janus 4-14 is releasing an ongoing series of Agnello-produced EPs. This Mount Airy, NC band wants to reach even more ears.

“Why not us?” Barnard wonders matter-of-factly. Growing up in Mount Airy, Barnard was always a music nerd with a penchant for niche indie bands. He collected LPs and recorded songs on little microcassette recorders as a teenager. By his thirties, however, Barnard had become painfully shy about his songwriting. At his wife’s suggestion, Barnard finally played out. He and Mauck’s kids played together, so the two got together to do one show. “I loved it and kept going,” says Barnard.

Barnard grew up on Sebadoh, Guided by Voices, and Pavement, while Mauck adores Foo Fighters, Hendrix, and Zeppelin. Add Beardsley’s prog approach, and Janus 4-14 is the coherent result of unlikely ingredients. Live, Barnard plays his parts like clockwork, while Mauck rarely plays a song the same way twice. Sometimes, Mauck won’t even play the same instrument.

“I’m gonna play a classic rock solo in the middle of a droney indie song,” Mauck says with a laugh. “It works so well for us.”

SOURCE: Official Bio

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