POLITICAL ROCK COMES TO GADFLY

INCOMING: The Mediam brings its high-energy act to The Gadfly Saturday night. (Submitted photo).

LA GRANDE - Portland-based rock act The Mediam (Gus Nicklos — vocals; Ondrej Fercak — guitar; Joe Mengis — drums; Adam Pike — bass; Elijah Russell — guitar) pull no punches on "Actress," their debut full-length released this month on Patriot Act/Contraband Music, distributed by Adrenaline Music Group.

The band is set to perform Saturday night at The Gadfly in La Grande as part of a tour of the West.

"Actress," a post-cookie-cutter rock collection of tireless fist-pounding, feet-stomping, energy-injecting tunes fuses elements of hardcore, punk and melodic guitar rock to bring this sonic concoction to life.

Putting an end to the soul-less, manufactured boy-band-with-guitar sounds of their MTV contemporaries, The Mediam spare nothing in their relentless pursuit of musical expression and outspokenness, delivering attacks on corporate America, politics and life.

Led by the charge of vocalist Nicklos' heartfelt delivery, and backed by the heavy angular riffs, all infused with punchy bass and pulsating rhythmic drums, this quintet knows how to give listeners an aggressive, dynamic sound without forcing it or sounding pretentious. This is genuine, from-the-heart, no-nonsense rock — as these five players were raised on.

Recording and self-releasing three homemade EPs — 2002's "One," 2003's "Out of Ideas" and 2004's "The White House Sessions" — while touring non-stop, the band caught the attention of fans and critics alike.

Entering the studio in 2006 with friend and producer Rob Daiker, the band, over several months and several trips to the studio, scraping enough money together to track another song one at a time, recorded what would become "Actress."

Once finished, it got in the hands of Contraband Music, which formed a unique deal with The Mediam, one that would allow them control of their music and promotion, but give them support to help release the record.

Through this unique deal, The Mediam's own label, Patriot Act, in conjunction with Contraband Music, will release the record, distributing it through Alternative Distribution Alliance/WEA.

"We put our blood, sweat and no tears into this record," says front man and part-time alchemist Nicklos. "Everything good about this project materialized through friends, favors and/or shared vision. We didn't have the power or staff of a record label either, but that's what makes it satisfying, the fact that it was hard work. It parallels the creative tension and personal stress that we went through while making this record. It was a lot of fun, too."

Stylistically succinct and sonically focused, "Actress" is an explosive concoction of intricate dexterity, heavy riffage and melody. Featuring songs such as "Slide," a rock anthem, and "Rupert Murdoch," a head-bobbing, tongue-in-cheek jab at corporate greed, it is The Mediam in perfect form.

The Mediam is opening eyes and ears this summer with a West Coast tour and dates on the Van's Warped Tour and continue on with touring throughout the fall and into 2008.