Good Old War
Bronze Radio Return
Sat, February 23, 2013
8:00 pm
The Social
$12.00
Tickets Available at the Door
This event is 18 and over
All lineups and times subject to change
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Ticket Limit - 4 ticket limit for this event per household, customer, credit card number and email address. Patrons who exceed the ticket limit will have their order cancelled automatically and without notice.
http://www.thesocial.org/event/183997/
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Good Old War
Keith GOODwin – Vocals/Guitar/Keyboard
Tim ArnOLD – Vocals/drums/Accordion
Dan SchWARtz – Vocals/Guitar
Over the past three years, indie-folk trio Good Old War has captivated countless audiences with their acoustic-driven, sing-along-inspiring live performances. Now, with the release of their third full-length record Come Back as Rain (out now on Sargent House), the Philadelphia-based band harnesses the high-spirited simplicity that makes their shows so unforgettable. Like Only Way To Be Alone (Good Old War’s 2008 debut) and their 2010 self-titled sophomore effort, Come Back as Rain showcases the delicately textured melodies and multipart harmonies that have become the band’s signature. Once again revealing their penchant for infectious folk-pop, Good Old War this time sharpens their sound by infusing Come Back as Rain with the same joyful passion they’ve ceaselessly brought to the stage.
Recorded in spring 2011 at Another Recording Company (the Omaha studio owned by Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes), Come Back as Rain finds the band reuniting with producer Jason Cupp. Despite taking to a far less rustic environment than they did for their last release (an album largely created in a cabin in the Pocono Mountains), Good Old War managed to delve far deeper into the rootsy, organic sound they’ve carefully cultivated since forming from the ashes of Philadelphia indie-rock act Days Away. “When we play live, it’s really natural and energetic and in your face,” says guitarist/vocalist Dan Schwartz, who co-founded Good Old War in 2008 with Keith Goodwin (on vocals, guitar, and keys) and Tim Arnold (on drums, keys, accordion, and vocals). “With the new record we’ve found a way to capture that live feel like never before. So even though this one’s got some heavier material, there’s still something upbeat and joyous there.”
Indeed, a bittersweet spirit instills much of Come Back as Rain, a record whose songs were partly inspired by “that longing for home that happens when you’re away all the time,” according to Goodwin. It’s a rare band that can make a refrain like “I might be present for the end of the world” sound sunny and cheerful (as on the album’s closing track), but Good Old War’s gently uptempo rhythms and high harmonies have an uncanny way of maintaining a bright and buoyant mood without ever coming off as cloying. From the lead-off single “Calling Me Names” (a lovesick kiss-off laced with intricate guitar hooks) to “Better Weather” (a clap-along-worthy paean to embracing optimism against all odds) to “It Hurts Every Time” (a steel-guitar-kissed footstomper about an endlessly disappearing lover), Good Old War seems sweetly devoted to keeping the faith in the face of heartache. One of the most heart-tuggingly hopeful songs on Come Back as Rain, the epic yet ethereal “Amazing Eyes” blends soaring vocals with gracefully strummed guitars and warm piano chords to stunning effect.
From start to finish, Come Back as Rain bears a rousing intensity that will certainly be familiar to anyone who’s witnessed their live show. Thanks to crowd-ruling sets delivered while opening for the likes of Alison Krauss, Dr. Dog, Guster, Brandi Carlile, Joshua Radin, Gomez, and Xavier Rudd, the band garnered a considerable following that helped their second record to debut at #2 on Billboard’s New Artist chart (as well as climb to the top slot on Amazon.com and on iTunes’ Singer/Songwriter chart). Last spring, Good Old War widened that fan base by giving a muchtalked-about performance at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. “We were playing first on Sunday, at about 11 in the morning,” Goodwin recalls. “On the way there we were thinking, ‘Aww, man—I hope people show up.’ And then we started playing and we looked out into the crowd, and it’s pretty packed and everyone just seemed pumped.”
In addition to honing those increasingly famed performance chops, Good Old War continually refines their sound by exploring a dizzying range of music genres. “Tim listens to a ton of electronic music, and Keith is really into composers like Cole Porter,” says Schwartz. “I’m more of a classic-rock guy, but we’ve all got an affinity for bands with a really strong focus on melodies, like the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.” But despite the diversity of influences on their songwriting, Good Old War purposely kept performances stripped-down and studio-flourish-free on Come Back as Rain. “For us, one of the most important things about the band is we can walk into any room and perform all our songs with only our voices and guitars,” says Schwartz. “And even though it’s acoustic, it’s not your typical folky kind of act—we’re here to make people dance and feel good and just have a really fun time.”
Tim ArnOLD – Vocals/drums/Accordion
Dan SchWARtz – Vocals/Guitar
Over the past three years, indie-folk trio Good Old War has captivated countless audiences with their acoustic-driven, sing-along-inspiring live performances. Now, with the release of their third full-length record Come Back as Rain (out now on Sargent House), the Philadelphia-based band harnesses the high-spirited simplicity that makes their shows so unforgettable. Like Only Way To Be Alone (Good Old War’s 2008 debut) and their 2010 self-titled sophomore effort, Come Back as Rain showcases the delicately textured melodies and multipart harmonies that have become the band’s signature. Once again revealing their penchant for infectious folk-pop, Good Old War this time sharpens their sound by infusing Come Back as Rain with the same joyful passion they’ve ceaselessly brought to the stage.
Recorded in spring 2011 at Another Recording Company (the Omaha studio owned by Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes), Come Back as Rain finds the band reuniting with producer Jason Cupp. Despite taking to a far less rustic environment than they did for their last release (an album largely created in a cabin in the Pocono Mountains), Good Old War managed to delve far deeper into the rootsy, organic sound they’ve carefully cultivated since forming from the ashes of Philadelphia indie-rock act Days Away. “When we play live, it’s really natural and energetic and in your face,” says guitarist/vocalist Dan Schwartz, who co-founded Good Old War in 2008 with Keith Goodwin (on vocals, guitar, and keys) and Tim Arnold (on drums, keys, accordion, and vocals). “With the new record we’ve found a way to capture that live feel like never before. So even though this one’s got some heavier material, there’s still something upbeat and joyous there.”
Indeed, a bittersweet spirit instills much of Come Back as Rain, a record whose songs were partly inspired by “that longing for home that happens when you’re away all the time,” according to Goodwin. It’s a rare band that can make a refrain like “I might be present for the end of the world” sound sunny and cheerful (as on the album’s closing track), but Good Old War’s gently uptempo rhythms and high harmonies have an uncanny way of maintaining a bright and buoyant mood without ever coming off as cloying. From the lead-off single “Calling Me Names” (a lovesick kiss-off laced with intricate guitar hooks) to “Better Weather” (a clap-along-worthy paean to embracing optimism against all odds) to “It Hurts Every Time” (a steel-guitar-kissed footstomper about an endlessly disappearing lover), Good Old War seems sweetly devoted to keeping the faith in the face of heartache. One of the most heart-tuggingly hopeful songs on Come Back as Rain, the epic yet ethereal “Amazing Eyes” blends soaring vocals with gracefully strummed guitars and warm piano chords to stunning effect.
From start to finish, Come Back as Rain bears a rousing intensity that will certainly be familiar to anyone who’s witnessed their live show. Thanks to crowd-ruling sets delivered while opening for the likes of Alison Krauss, Dr. Dog, Guster, Brandi Carlile, Joshua Radin, Gomez, and Xavier Rudd, the band garnered a considerable following that helped their second record to debut at #2 on Billboard’s New Artist chart (as well as climb to the top slot on Amazon.com and on iTunes’ Singer/Songwriter chart). Last spring, Good Old War widened that fan base by giving a muchtalked-about performance at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. “We were playing first on Sunday, at about 11 in the morning,” Goodwin recalls. “On the way there we were thinking, ‘Aww, man—I hope people show up.’ And then we started playing and we looked out into the crowd, and it’s pretty packed and everyone just seemed pumped.”
In addition to honing those increasingly famed performance chops, Good Old War continually refines their sound by exploring a dizzying range of music genres. “Tim listens to a ton of electronic music, and Keith is really into composers like Cole Porter,” says Schwartz. “I’m more of a classic-rock guy, but we’ve all got an affinity for bands with a really strong focus on melodies, like the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.” But despite the diversity of influences on their songwriting, Good Old War purposely kept performances stripped-down and studio-flourish-free on Come Back as Rain. “For us, one of the most important things about the band is we can walk into any room and perform all our songs with only our voices and guitars,” says Schwartz. “And even though it’s acoustic, it’s not your typical folky kind of act—we’re here to make people dance and feel good and just have a really fun time.”
Bronze Radio Return
There are some records that manage to span multiple eras of time and various places, in essence creating a new sonic space. New Englanders Bronze Radio Return have done just that on their sophomore album, the gorgeous and varied SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE!. Contained within the space between notes and breaths are thousands of miles, and decades of history.
The roots of this travelogue-time capsule -- and the band that made it -- can be traced back to lead singer and guitarist Chris Henderson’s childhood. Spending hours on end in his father’s art studio, one of Henderson’s clearest, dearest memories is the large bronze radio, and the joyful noises he learned of there. “When the band started, we were looking for our direction, to see what this was going to be,” explains Henderson. “We came back to this idea of the return of the bronze radio, a return to some of those older, familiar sounds that all of us inherently grew up with.” The result is a forward-thinking retrospective of the sounds we all love, curated and created by Henderson, Rob Griffith (drums/vocals), Bob Tanen (bass/vocals), Matt Warner (keys, vocals), Craig Struble (harmonica/guitar), and Patrick Fetkowitz (guitar).
To write this record, Bronze Radio Return credits a few productive weeks of bouncing between the self-imposed exile of a remote Maine town, and the frenetic energy of their Hartford, Connecticut homebase. Those polarities informed much of the content of the record, from the examination of interpersonal relationships, to an individual’s interaction with the culture around them. “This album was a lot about working on what kind of process works best for us. When I write, I often write a melody and work on a progression in the form of a tune, which comes much more naturally when I’m doing my things here in Hartford. When it’s time to write lyrics, which take the most focus, I found that it was most effective to work in Maine,” says Henderson.
With an arsenal of song sketches in hand, Bronze Radio Return set to work to flesh out each of these songs. “Each member of BRR has a solid understanding of their instrument, and the role the instrument plays in the group,” stresses Henderson. “Everyone contributes ideas.” Formed in 2008, Bronze Radio Return’s line-up took a few years to solidify, though most of the band’s members were orbiting each other for years at the Hartt School, one of the country’s best schools of music, located in Hartford, Connecticut. For debut Old Time Speaker, the band relocated to Nashville for a two-week period, to, as Henderson puts it “a place we’d never been with a producer we’d never met, and played a bunch of songs we’d never played before.” For such an inauspicious set of circumstances, the band managed a solid and well-received debut, and forged a lasting bond with producer Chad Copelin. Old Time Speaker established the band’s relentless touring schedule, including an invitation to represent the Connecticut music scene by performing for President Obama at an event in Bridgeport, CT in 2010. Fan favorites “Digital Love” and “Lo-Fi” have been picked up for advertising and television licensing and the album landed on CMJ’s Top 200 Album Chart.
For SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE!, the band reunited with Copelin on his home turf in Norman, Oklahoma, a location Henderson credits with having a profound effect on the album. There, the band learned firsthand the truism of the Mid-Western friendliness. Local acquaintances would stop in daily with a kind word and a new instrument to lend. “Most of the instruments played on this record were lent to us from the community,” says Henderson.
Indeed, the warmth of their environs makes its way onto the album. Lush harmonies are steeped in soulful vocals, and guitars that alternate between the blues age and the most interesting innovations of the modern. Album opener “Down There” has all the warmth and wisdom of a barroom sing-along, a slightly sepia-sounding portrait of the importance of good people. “Sell It To You” is a self-aware look at the culture of consumerism, which Henderson acknowledges as ironic. “Whether you’re watching a movie that has product placement, or driving down a street and see 11 million billboards for something -- everybody’s trying to sell something to you. And, so are we -- we’re trying to sell our album to you. [This song is about] internalizing what all that means.” The title track, “SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE!” builds from subtle handclaps and foot-stomps, and as crackling guitar lines spread out, Henderson illuminates the performer’s perspective. “There’s always this moment near the beginning of a set where everybody is standing around. It just takes one outgoing dude, or a tipsy couple, and they just start moving. You can see two or three more people going, and then as the set progresses, more and more people start to move.”
The album’s namesake is telling, as there’s a transmission contained therein, as well as the mission of the band that’s translated across time and space: “We like making music that makes people move.”
The roots of this travelogue-time capsule -- and the band that made it -- can be traced back to lead singer and guitarist Chris Henderson’s childhood. Spending hours on end in his father’s art studio, one of Henderson’s clearest, dearest memories is the large bronze radio, and the joyful noises he learned of there. “When the band started, we were looking for our direction, to see what this was going to be,” explains Henderson. “We came back to this idea of the return of the bronze radio, a return to some of those older, familiar sounds that all of us inherently grew up with.” The result is a forward-thinking retrospective of the sounds we all love, curated and created by Henderson, Rob Griffith (drums/vocals), Bob Tanen (bass/vocals), Matt Warner (keys, vocals), Craig Struble (harmonica/guitar), and Patrick Fetkowitz (guitar).
To write this record, Bronze Radio Return credits a few productive weeks of bouncing between the self-imposed exile of a remote Maine town, and the frenetic energy of their Hartford, Connecticut homebase. Those polarities informed much of the content of the record, from the examination of interpersonal relationships, to an individual’s interaction with the culture around them. “This album was a lot about working on what kind of process works best for us. When I write, I often write a melody and work on a progression in the form of a tune, which comes much more naturally when I’m doing my things here in Hartford. When it’s time to write lyrics, which take the most focus, I found that it was most effective to work in Maine,” says Henderson.
With an arsenal of song sketches in hand, Bronze Radio Return set to work to flesh out each of these songs. “Each member of BRR has a solid understanding of their instrument, and the role the instrument plays in the group,” stresses Henderson. “Everyone contributes ideas.” Formed in 2008, Bronze Radio Return’s line-up took a few years to solidify, though most of the band’s members were orbiting each other for years at the Hartt School, one of the country’s best schools of music, located in Hartford, Connecticut. For debut Old Time Speaker, the band relocated to Nashville for a two-week period, to, as Henderson puts it “a place we’d never been with a producer we’d never met, and played a bunch of songs we’d never played before.” For such an inauspicious set of circumstances, the band managed a solid and well-received debut, and forged a lasting bond with producer Chad Copelin. Old Time Speaker established the band’s relentless touring schedule, including an invitation to represent the Connecticut music scene by performing for President Obama at an event in Bridgeport, CT in 2010. Fan favorites “Digital Love” and “Lo-Fi” have been picked up for advertising and television licensing and the album landed on CMJ’s Top 200 Album Chart.
For SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE!, the band reunited with Copelin on his home turf in Norman, Oklahoma, a location Henderson credits with having a profound effect on the album. There, the band learned firsthand the truism of the Mid-Western friendliness. Local acquaintances would stop in daily with a kind word and a new instrument to lend. “Most of the instruments played on this record were lent to us from the community,” says Henderson.
Indeed, the warmth of their environs makes its way onto the album. Lush harmonies are steeped in soulful vocals, and guitars that alternate between the blues age and the most interesting innovations of the modern. Album opener “Down There” has all the warmth and wisdom of a barroom sing-along, a slightly sepia-sounding portrait of the importance of good people. “Sell It To You” is a self-aware look at the culture of consumerism, which Henderson acknowledges as ironic. “Whether you’re watching a movie that has product placement, or driving down a street and see 11 million billboards for something -- everybody’s trying to sell something to you. And, so are we -- we’re trying to sell our album to you. [This song is about] internalizing what all that means.” The title track, “SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE!” builds from subtle handclaps and foot-stomps, and as crackling guitar lines spread out, Henderson illuminates the performer’s perspective. “There’s always this moment near the beginning of a set where everybody is standing around. It just takes one outgoing dude, or a tipsy couple, and they just start moving. You can see two or three more people going, and then as the set progresses, more and more people start to move.”
The album’s namesake is telling, as there’s a transmission contained therein, as well as the mission of the band that’s translated across time and space: “We like making music that makes people move.”
