The Backyard Committee
The Backyard Committee | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Haven, Connecticut, Connecticut, United States |
| Genres | psychedelic indie rock |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Members | Mike Sembos Eric Donnelly Stephen Chopek John Stavola Brian Larney Pat Jones |
| Website | Official website |
The Backyard Committee is a rock 'n' roll band from New Haven, Connecticut that plays melodic, groove-based songs injected with moments of improvisation, much in the spirit of The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, but with more modern influences like Guided By Voices and Neutral Milk Hotel mixed in. Mike Sembos (vocals, guitar) writes most of the songs and then serves as the editor of the project. His rotating cast of musician friends is encouraged to play their instruments using their own ideas and their own voices.
Their debut album The Backyard Committee was released as a free download on the band's site, www.thebackyardcommittee.com on December 8, 2010.
The band can be thought of as a side project from Sembos' main band, The Alternate Routes in which he plays bass. (The Alternate Routes have toured the USA countless times, played on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Mountain Stage, and played festivals like Gathering of the Vibes and Mountain Jam.)
Album Reviews
"Whatever ineffable attributes Sembos brings to the Alternate Routes, there's no mistaking what he has done with the Backyard Committee: He's made an inviting album of songs that linger after the last note fades,"[1] says Eric Danton of the Hartford Courant.
"The real joy of this album for me is the production"[2] says John H at CT Indie. "The instrumentation fits the vocals so perfectly it's mind-blowing. The songs have the ethereal undertones of a typical Daniel Lanois production, and still maintain the minimal folk sense of something Rick Rubin would do. Listen to the guitar solo in "Once in a Blue" and you'll find they dialed up just the right amount of crunch for a sharp single-coil pickup. Listening to "So Long Ago" the windy, gritty organ is absolutely perfect, and adds a low layer of ambiance and noise to what would otherwise be a squeaky-clean late era Jeff Tweedy-esque tune. The super low-end tones of piano on "Winter Trip" sound like they'd be right at home on Cash's American IV.
"The end result is a sort of jam-session garage band you’d actually want to sit and listen to–like somewhere in Connecticut is this bunch of musician neighbors that get together for a barbecue or something, and actually sound really, really good,"[3] says Jeff McQ of the Oomph Music Blog.
In their first year of existence, The Backyard Committee (BYC) has shared stages with the likes of Richard Buckner, Crooked Fingers, Sean Hayes and the Capstan Shafts. They also played B.O.M.B. Fest 2011 at the Meadows Music Theatre in Hartford, and at the Bridgeport Arts Festival.
The follow up album, tentatively entitled Bridgeport, will be released in the Fall of 2012.