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We had the pleasure of interviewing The Get Right Band over Zoom video!
The Get Right Band released their fifth album on May 23, 2020. Itchy Soul explodes with fresh ideas and original production–voices fade into synths, drums distort and echo through space, crunchy guitars twist and bend and rage, the bass is one moment heavy and driving, the next hypnotic and groovy. The Get Right Band filters 60’s/70’s psychedelia and 90’s alternative rock through a modern lens–as if Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana co-wrote an album produced by Danger Mouse and Dan Auerbach. There’s a new level of maturity and confidence to GRB’s fifth release. This is all-in, maximalist rock n’ roll for grown-up people (kids and adults alike) who know the world is falling apart, who know social media is rotting our brains, who know politicians are taking away our rights, and who knows that art and beauty and music and love and action are the antidotes. Itchy Soul will make you remember the power of music.
In the first few weeks of its release, Itchy Soul has been featured on WTF with Marc Maron, Live For Live Music, and tastemaker radio stations like KEXP, WTMD, and WNCW.
Eschewing the trappings and limitations of conventional recording approaches, The Get Right Band recorded and mixed the majority of the record outside of a studio. Programs had to be learned, gear bought and borrowed, techniques trial and errored. In giving themselves the time and freedom to experiment, to obsess over sounds, and to record exactly what, when, and how they wanted, they made something singular and compelling.
The album features a collaboration with comedian and podcaster Marc Maron on the gritty, existential track “However Broken It Is.” After many hours in the van listening to Maron’s WTF podcast, GRB started collecting particularly poetic quotes and eventually turned them into a co-written song with Maron.
Even the album cover stands out as something unique and creative–it’s augmented reality art! Just download the app Artivive and point your phone at the cover to see the artwork come to life.
Compared to their previous work, the new album moves one step closer to pop with catchy hooks and modern production, and one step closer to psychedelia with experimental effects and layers of sound–all the while bringing the very best of their signature high-energy indie rock. The end result is sure to resonate with fans of modern rockers like Arctic Monkeys, Cage The Elephant, and My Morning Jacket.
The lyrics of Itchy Soul take on real-world problems, from the very personal–the title track explores themes of self-acceptance, isolation, and agitation–to the very global–” Future Blood” is a climate change call-to-action with driving, distorted guitars. “Fire With Rain” combines danceable grooves with well-crafted poetry about the highs and lows of life as a traveling musician: “here we are hawking magic to the disbelieving masses, with a pink neon sign lit by vaudeville’s ashes–we fight fire with rain.”
The Get Right Band’s origin story goes back to 1998 when singer/songwriter/guitarist Silas Durocher poached bassist/singer Jesse Gentry from another middle school band. A lifelong friendship and musical partnership developed (along with a quirky shared sense of humor and their own made-up language), and the two formed The Get Right Band in 2011. With the addition of Jian-Claude Mears, the group gained a jet engine, powerhouse drummer (and a new best friend), and stepped into the great tradition of genre-bending power trios.
The Get Right Band has shared the stage with Everclear, UB40, Rusted Root, Dr. Dog, Smash Mouth, Lifehouse, Dawes, Ozomatli, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Victor Wooten. They have appeared on NPR’s World Cafe, Paste Studios, and Nashville’s Music City Roots television show, and have performed at major festivals and venues including The Fillmore, The Orange Peel, Brooklyn Bowl, Theatre of the Living Arts, The Hamilton, FloydFest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, StrangeCreek, and Riverbend Fest.
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