The Hanover music scene comes alive this weekend with the New Zealand band Garageland playing on campus Saturday and the Promise Rings on Sunday.
The New Zealand quartet began three years ago, when classmates Jeremy Eade (guitar/vocals), Mark Silvey (bass) and Andrew Gladstone (drums) came together for jam sessions that soon grew into something bigger.
Taking their name from the early Clash anthem "Garageland," the band recruited Silvey's sister Debbie (guitar) to expand their sound and then proceeded to record a demo. Their energetic brand of catchy guitar pop sucked in the alternative and college radio stations of New Zealand, winning Garageland a huge share of air time.
In August of 1995, the band's radio success landed them a record deal with Flying Nun Records. Their debut single, "Come Back," tore up the charts and soon, Garageland found themselves playing to hoards of fans who knew their songs. After a series of shows opening for the likes of Sebadoh and Smashing Pumpkins, the band recorded their full length release, "Last Exit to Garageland." Topping the national sales charts at number three, the album boasts of melodic tunes with dynamic spikes reminiscent of the Pixies and a pinch of Pavement-esque lyrical irony.
During the fall of 1996, Garageland embarked on a trip to Europe, stopping first to perform at the French Les Inrockuptibles Festival and then a series of critically acclaimed London shows. Persuaded by the support of British fans and critics, the group moved to London in 1997, replacing Debbie Silvey with guitarist Andrew Claridge.
With the newly added Englishman in tow, Garageland played a succession of UK shows, impressing new U.S. independent label Foodchain Records (ADA/Atlantic).
After signing a U.S. deal, the band discovered they had won the Group of the Year title at the 1997 New Zealand Music Awards, their equivalent of the Grammys. Mainstream support from MTV and Radio One in the UK boosted the band into the indie Top 10 and landed them a slot at the prestigious Phoenix and Reading Music Festivals.
Now, after favorable critical reaction from national music magazines College Music Journal (CMJ), Ray Gun and Magnet, the band launches their U.S. tour featuring tracks from "Last Exit to Garageland," which had mixing support from the likes of Ben Gross (Republica, Filter) and Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine).
Catch Garageland's Hanover performance at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity this Saturday, a non-alcoholic programming event sponsored by Coed, Fraternity, Sorority Council, Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, Sig Ep and Amarna Undergraduate Society. The show starts at 8:30 PM with Random Task, Dartmouth's newest ska band. Admission is free.
Sunday night, the Programming Board brings a performance by college radio darlings, the Promise Ring. Coming to together in 1995, Tim Burton (bass), Dan Didier (drums), Jason Gnewikow (guitar) and Davey von Bohlen (vocals, guitar) began their musical career with a short demo and a handful of hometown Milwaukee gigs.
A couple of seven-inch releases later, the punk-indie influenced band took their intense live acts to churches and basements across the U.S. and blew away audiences everywhere. During the summer of 1996, the Promise Ring found a few spare moments in their heavy touring schedule to record their debut LP "30 Degrees Everywhere." After a short tour with punk outfit Texas is the Reason, the band released a compilation of their now unavailable seven-inch tracks to satiate their rabid fans.
In April of 1997, the do-it-yourself demo band tore across Europe for their first overseas excursion. Upon their return, the group headed down to Memphis, Tennessee to record their latest venture "Nothing Feels Good." With the engineering skills of Doug Easley and Davis McCain (Pavement, Sonic Youth, Superdrag) and production talents of J. Robbins (Jawbox), the Promise Ring's brilliance and vibrant ornamental guitar rifts are captured on record.
Von Bohlen's sweet vocals adds a healthy serving of aural candy to a perfect pop concoction of innocence, hopes and the American Dream. Experimenting with instruments such as the melotron, lap steel and the Hammond organ, the group has creatively outdone itself while retaining their original punk energy and pop melodicism.
Tearing up college charts in mainstream magazines such as Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone, the Promise Ring has begun to make a name for themselves in the national music scene. After their recent European tour, the Promise Ring will make stops across the U.S. supporting "Nothing Feels Good."
The Promise Ring will play Sunday evening at Panarchy, beginning at 8 p.m. with Arizona sonic entrepreneurs Jimmy Eat World (Capitol Records). Admission is free for Dartmouth undergraduates and $1 for the public. This event is brought to you by the Programming Board.
