thePULSEHere are bands and artists you may not have heard of yet…but they have major potential and you get to read about them here, right before they make it big! And “Graduates” are musicians we highlighted in past issues whose careers, as we predicted, have really taken off!
Whalebone Farmhouse
By Tine Roycroft
Ain’t nothing like a good soulful folksy set and that’s exactly what the band Whalebone Farmhouse delivers. The band, made up of Rocky Kramm on vocals and guitar; Keri Anderson rocking the vocals and smacking the ol’ tambourine, John Riley on percussion, and Jeff Burch on upright bass, have harmonies that are enough to bring tears to your eyes andr finger-pickin’ that just can’t be copied. Whalebone Farmhouse brings the thunder.Keri Anderson, 31, is originally from Sutton, MA, and has been involved in music all of her life, starting at the age of three and growing up to attend college for fine arts. She majored in painting, but was never far from the music ~ and one fateful day, Anderson met Rocky Kramm.“I met Rocky around 8 or 9 years ago,” Anderson remembers. “And we worked hard to form a great partnership. Rocky provides great structure and we’ve gotten more comfortable with each other and each other’s styles as time has gone on.”
The songs of Whalebone Farmhouse cover the emotional check list ~ some ditties, like “Feel So Bad,” seem to celebrate feeling down and out. They take the listener by the hand and tell him or her that it’ll all be fine one day, but while he’s feeling down, he might as well share the feeling with some loving compatriots. Anderson’s voice reaches some amazing low notes here and her added guttural pull makes the musical ride raw and gritty. She is truly an emotive force to behold ~ a strong, sexy woman with an elegantly dusty soul.Then you have the voice of Rocky Kramm. It’s amazing ~ sometimes uplifting and gentle like wind through saplings, other times dark and invoking, like a shadowy recollection that haunts and never heals. When Kramm tells lyrical secrets in the band’s song “Ain’t No Grave,” he does so with such a divine weight that it is difficult to stop listening ~ it’s as if life’s secrets may exist in the next stanza of poetry.According to Anderson, the band is concentrating on creating a buzz, gaining a bigger audience in the Worcester area and rocking out at even larger venues. Take a listen and know what a wildfire Whalebone Farmhouse promises to be.
Visit them at myspace.com/whalebonefarmhouse, and on their fan page on Facebook…but better still, get to one of their many local shows and experience WF live.”
Hard Number 9
By Alex Kantarelis
Some bands settle for playing small venues and releasing low quality demos for their entire career. This is far from the approach the guys in Hard Number 9 are taking. When I caught up with them, they were taking a quick breather from recording a demo in Cleveland, Ohio for Capitol Records, and they spent their hard-earned break time huddled around a speakerphone for me while at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame. So as you can tell, instead of dreaming big things, Hard Number 9 is doing big things.
The band got their start just last year, playing their first show on the 4th of July. While this particular band is new for guitarist/vocalist Dan Outerson, guitarist Tom Gretchel, bassist Tim Senior, and drummer Bryan Parandes, the guys have been playing in various bands for 12 years, and have been friends since high school. “Tom and I were in bands since 1998, and we’ve been in a ton of projects together where we just get a demo done and that’s it,” Parandes said. But he views this new project differently. “When I started playing with them I realized that it has potential to do so much more,” he added.
The best way to describe Hard Number 9’s sound is “classic rock with modern influence,” but an easier way to describe it is “catchy.” The songs will have you singing along by the time the second chorus hits. The band self-released an album last year and have been playing sold out shows at all the clubs in Worcester and throughout New England.
If Capitol records doesn’t come calling, Outerson says that his goals are simple: “To put out an album that we’re proud of, and then start touring.” Meanwhile, Gretchel added, “We’ll take donations for a new tour van, too.”
Be on the lookout for Hard Number 9. Check out their myspace page for more information, and friend them on facebook so they can keep you updated.
Eolune
By Jessica A. Botelho
Eolune describes their sound as traditional hard rock, guitar-influenced music with experimental electronic soundscapes. Guitarist Corey Wade shares vocals with bassist and long-time friend, David Hunt.
“We met in middle school,” Wade said. “When we went our separate ways in college, we stayed in touch with each other.”
Over the years, the two continued to share their ideas about music. After they finished school, they got the chance to record with Morningwood drummer Jonathan Schmidt.
“He had been playing with us for a while,” said Hunt. “Corey and I had been demo-ing songs for the last three years and we realized we had this great drummer around, so we wanted to record some tracks.”
Hunt said he and Wade took those drum tracks and went on to record enough material for two EPs. They whittled it down to six songs, creating their first release, Canvas EP. A friend of the band mixed it for them and they decided to make their music available to the public for free on Band Camp, a donation-based service.
“It’s actually a ‘pay-as-you-want’ download, so if you want to pay, you can,” Hunt said. “What’s amazing is that a lot of people chose to pay. We just wanted to put it out there and we’re trying to push it really hard.”
“It might sound really cliché but it’s less about the money and more about artistic integrity,” added Wade. “Bands that are always changing and evolving are the true inspirations to us. They make really great music on their own terms. That’s what we want to do.”
Julianne Martin, who also lives just outside of Worcester, did the album artwork and is a major part of the Eulone family. Wade and Hunt, along with recently added members Josh Cuadra on drums and Lorne MacArthur on guitar and keys, will be taking the stage at The Raven in Worcester on June 5, at The Lucky Dog on June 23, and at Ralph’s Diner on August 6.
“It’s going to be our first show there and we’re really excited about it,” Hunt said. “We hope to play there more in the future.”
For more information and to get a copy of Canvas EP, visit eolune.com.
COOL STORY BRO.