Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Federalists - Bay Area indie kings on the rise



Interested in a bluesy, low-key rock band with an affinity for memorable songs that never get old? If so, you'll love the Federalists. Formed around 2005 in the East Bay, the Federalists, comprised of (from left to right) Brandt Walker (Bass), Jason Roysdon (Guitar), Luke Franks (Vox, Guitar), Dustin Smith (drums), Clark Abbott (Guitar, Vox), and recent addition Chris Cooper (Keyboards), are making a name for themselves in the Bay Area and elsewhere. They recently signed with Talking House Records, a label based out of San Francisco. After self-releasing two albums, both self-titled, in 2006 and 2008, the band is now recording new songs for a third album, expected in 2009 sometime. They recently shot a video for the song 'Soft Enough to Hit', from the 2008 album, which is posted on their Myspace page. Check it out, it's a good introduction to the band.

They're playing on Dec 5th at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco with Eenie Meenie's own Scissors for Lefty, celebrating the release of 'A Foggy Holiday CD', a compilation album featuring these two bands, as well as the Matches, Loquat, The Trophy Fire, The Heavenly States, and others. If you're in town for that show, check it out, it's only ten bucks and you won't be disappointed.

If you have a chance to see this band play, don't hesitate. I saw them play at Betty's Rock Bar in Walnut Creek, CA over the summer, and they were really impressive. Their live show is very good, with the three guitarists complementing each other's sound very well. Roysdon is a master when it comes to ripping solos that would be pretty challenging on Guitar Hero, while Franks' smooth vocals and restrained delivery give the songs a quiet edge that makes the overall sound of the band full and rich.

If you haven't heard of the Federalists before, now you can. Get on board before their new album comes out in 2009. That way, you can be on board before everyone else 'discovers' them.

check out their Myspace

photo credit: Kate Vandenberghe

-- Adrian

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you haven't already seen it, I would highly recommend checking out Luke Franks solo stuff at www.lukefranks.com . He has 6 or 7 free albums up right now and I like it just as much as the federalists.

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