The Throwbacks (Pop Punk Cover Band) announce new album “You Shake My Nerves” and share ‘Great Balls of Fire’ cover

Sometimes, cover songs feel like a novelty, a fun b-side treat for the fans. But back when rock ’n’ roll was still discovering its identity, recording someone else’s music was a common way to pay homage to an artist while helping their songs find a wider audience. In fact, some of the most popular recordings of all times are covers—including “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, “I Heard it Through the GrapeVine” by Marvin Gaye, “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, and so many more.

In this way, The Throwbacks are following one of rock ’n’ roll’s richest traditions: covering beloved songs that almost everyone knows deep within their psyches. And like rock ’n’ roll’s forebears, they sing these songs in their distinct voices, arrange them to suit their souls, and truly make them their own.

“The purpose behind The Throwbacks is simple,” says Chris Marcanti. “Remind audiences of the music that has been popular for 70 years, and give it a fresh coat of paint. What if The Beatles wrote ‘Twist and Shout’ in 2023? What would that sound like? The vision is to keep the spirit of rock and roll oldies alive and provide a criminally underserved era of music some much deserved attention.’”

The members of the Throwbacks—Chris and his twin brother Josh Marcanti along with drummer Brandon Winger—played in a pop-punk back during the 2010s. When the group disbanded, they decided to continue making music together, but pivot to something completely different. Josh and Chris grew up listening to the local Chicago oldies radio station and shared a deep appreciation for early rock ’n' roll. The trio selected their favorite songs of that era, fed them through distortion pedals, turned up the tempo, and created a unique set soulful of songs unlike anything Chicago has heard before.

“We took these songs which have been around for decades,” Chris says, “stripped them down to what matters, in some cases wrote all new parts, and performed them in clubs around Chicago for years. The problem was the only people who heard these reimagined versions were those who were live in the audience. So we decided to record them and let the whole world hear what we could do.”

Shake My Nerves, the band’s first full-length, captures this lightning in a bottle and showcases their talent of reimagining these classic songs. In the Throwbacks’s hands, Jerry Lee Lewis’s swinging “Great Balls of Fire” becomes a straight-ahead battering ram worthy of a Ramones record; “At the Hop” by Danny and the Juniors ignites, flares white hot and wild without abandoning its original bounce. Even songs like the Beatles’s “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees—both cutesy tracks that pander to their teenage audiences—become gritty, sweaty mosh pit anthems whose lyrics take on a new desperation against the fuzzed out guitars and cracking drumbeat.

“We wanted to capture what our live performance was like by recording all together, flaws and all,” Chris says. “Once COVID hit and we couldn’t even be in the same room, we finished recording vocals separately in our own homes. It was mixed by our great friend and collaborator Mike Chiero, and mastered by the wonderful Justin LeBreck at Waysound Studios.”

Some covers become famous because the songs themselves have good bones; most, however, become famous because the artist injects their own style and essence into the track. On Shake My Nerves, the Throwbacks do just that—pour out the songs of their hearts, filtered by their passion and palate, for an audience to toast to, to dance to, to sing along to. And, in doing so, the Throwbacks help make these these remarkable songs immortal.