Even though there are only three original band members remaining, the Mayfield Four is not changing its name. "We have a new guitarist," said lead vocalist/guitarist Mayles Kennedy. "Alisandro (Cortini) isn't officially part of the band, though. He's our touring guitarist."
Still, with the other guys — Kennedy, drummer Zia Uddin and bassist Marty Meisner — the Mayfield Four is essentially the same. And that can be heard on the band's new album, "Second Skin," said Kennedy. "We were focused on our goal. It's not hard to be driven when we're trying to reach something that we have wanted for a long time."
The Mayfield Four is the opening band for the Everclear and American Hi-Fi show, which will hit Saltair on Monday, June 2. The music will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale at all Smith'sTix outlets.
While there are a lot of bands that get trapped in the rock-star party life, Mayfield Four is the exception, Kennedy said. "There is a lot of down time when you tour. But we have to keep remembering why we're doing what we're doing."
Kennedy's love for music began when he was a kid listening to his parents' stereo. "Back then, there weren't these elaborate sound systems. So I had this little portable cassette player that I held up to the stereo speakers. I recorded many tapes that way."
Some of the music he recorded included songs by Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. "Those guys were very influential in the vocal aspect," Kennedy said. "I believe they planted the seed in my head to become a musician. The dream just evolved, and I finally picked up a guitar when I was 15. That's when I thought I'd take it to a new level."
Kennedy met Uddin, Meisner and Chris Johnson at Mayfield Elementary School in Seattle, Wash. By the time the four were in high school, they decided to form a band.
It was smooth sailing until after the band got signed and the debut album, "Fallout," was released. After touring regionally and gaining a loyal fan base in the Pacific Northwest, intra-band conflicts resulted in Johnson's firing. "After that, we knew we needed to focus on a new album," said Kennedy. "We actually had quite a bit of time to get that record together."
During a 15-month break, the three remaining Mayfields started work on "Second Skin."
"I feel sorry for a lot of bands who come off a tour and only have two or three months to get their next album out," Kennedy said. "It's sort of a ripoff for the band and fans because the material sometimes isn't up to par.
"We were lucky. We were able to take our time and put out a pretty sharp album."
One reason is producer Peter Collins, who has worked with Rush and Brian Setzer. "He was great," said Kennedy, "and our engineer, Michael 'Elvis' Baskette, really knew what we wanted in our sound."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com