By: Robert Cavuoto
Kendall Schmidt of Heffron Drive told the packed crowd at Webster Hall, “New York City tonight is going to be an epic night!”
Heffron Drive is Kendall’s latest project outside of Big Time Rush. His partner and guitarist in this endeavor is Dustin Belt. They met in 2008 at an L.A. industry event prior to Kendall joining Big Time Rush. It was there that they realized there was a lot more in common than meets the eye – both had been born in Wichita, Kansas, and both lived on the same street – Heffron Drive!
Heffron Drive is a young band building on something big and tonight Kendall showed his versatile and diverse musical talents as a true entertainer and guitarist throughout the 60 minute set.
The intimate show was a gathering of Kendall’s diehard fans, mostly made up of teenagers and tweens. The adoration between he and his fans seemed mutual as he knew several of the 100-strong crowd on a first name basis! Between songs he joked, flirted, and teased the audience as they hung on his every word. At one point he told a girl he would let her help him sing one of their songs, then offered to go to a prom with another.
Though they don’t have a CD out yet, fans knew all the words; I’m assuming it was through the popularity of the songs being released on You Tube. The acoustics in this hall were balanced and controlled, allowing fans to hear all the nuances of the music, as well as all the kidding around.
The band’s performance included unofficial released songs like “Better Get Movin,” “Stand Forever,” “Time Wasting,” and my favorite “One Track Mind”, an energetic song with a great groove. The evening was part storyteller, as Kendall explained the origins of the songs and interesting facts like when he and Dustin recorded “Quiet Please” in his bedroom at home. They used a mattress as a sound dampener, but his mother can be heard in the background yelling at them. Another interesting track is “Art of Moving On” that recalls the travails of being dumped.
Their songs all have a pop vibe similar to BTR, but more guitar oriented. Kendall traded off playing his Gibson electric and a few acoustic guitars for most of the songs. The lyrics were honest and heartfelt and the songs had strong catchy hooks. All songs were played like a veteran band, never missing a beat.
While Kendall was having the time of his life, Dustin was hard at work laying down some serious groove oriented songs on his sunburst Paul Reed Smith guitar. Dustin even does a mega fast rap on “Love Letter.” Turns out the next day was Dustin’s birthday as Kendall took a moment to recognize his partner by getting everyone to wish him a happy one!
Tracking the screaming fans was a film crew documenting the show for a future DVD release. This added a bit of motivation for the crowd to go hyper-wild.
Kendall is a great frontman whether with Big Tim Rush or in Heffron Drive and I don’t think it will be long before he’ll be playing larger venues. Make sure to catch them now in these intimate shows before a CD is released and arena gigs become the norm.
GALLERY
