New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Bandaid Brigade, the musical project of Zach Quinn (PEARS), Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus) and friends Paul Rucker (Armchair Martian, Street Dogs, Drag The River) and Chris Fogal (The Gamits) have released a new single taken from their debut album I'm Separate', which is out now.
To celebrate the release, Bandaid Brigade will take to venues in the UK and mainland
Europe on an extended run of shows throughout January and February 2020, details of which can be found below.
Commenting on the new single, Wahlstrom says, "There was a point in the recording session when we ran out of songs we had actually prepared, so each of us had to come up with something while we had a few hours left for tracking drums. Those 3 songs ended up being the album closers and arguably our favourites. This one was mine."
Recorded at
Black in Bluhm Studios in Denver, CO, and co-produced with Fogal, the album finds the members of Bandaid Brigade stretching beyond their collective punk roots with ambitious songwriting, polished arrangements, and a throwback sound that draws some detectable influences from early progressive rock, a heady mix of Springsteen's attitude, Elton John's artistic balladry, and classic pop-rock disco grooves echoing ABBA and Earth Wind & Fire.
Commenting on the album Bandaid Brigade says: "It's quite possible that this is the best album ever made. We hope you like it as much as we think you think we think we do."
'Holding Steady' follows two on from two album tracks shared previously including 'Break The Grid' and 'Travel Light', the latter of which the band produced a hilarious music video for which can be viewed here.
I'm Separate is out now.
Bandaid Brigade Live Dates:
29.01. Surrey (UK), The London Stone
30.01 Leeds (UK), Wharf Chambers
31.01 Edinburgh (UK), Banshee Labyrinth
01.02 Dundee (UK), Rad Apples
02.02 Stafford (UK), Red Rum
03.02 Exeter (UK), The Cavern
04.02 London (UK), New Cross Inn
05.02 Canterbury (UK) Lady Luck Bar
07.02 Mechelen (BE) De Club
08.02 Lennestadt (DE) OT Grevenbrück
09.02 Solothurn (CH) Kofmehl
10.02 Zurich (CH) Hafenkneipe
12.02 Weinerstadt (AT) Triebwerk
13.02 Linz (AT) Sputnik
14.02 Zwiezel (DE) Jugendcafé
15.02 Saarbrücken (DE) Devils Place
+ further dates TBA
Bandaid Brigade's debut full-length I'm Separate is out now and available through all good digital service providers. To find out more, visit the band's official website HERE: https://bandaid-brigade.com.
https://bandaid-brigade.com
https://www.facebook.com/bandaidbrigadeband/
https://www.instagram.com/band_aid_brigade
https://www.twitter.com/brigadebandaid
Bandaid Brigade are:
Zach Quinn - Vocals / Bass / Guitar
Brian Wahlstrom - Vocals / Keys
Paul Rucker - Drums
Chris Fogal - Guita
"The thing that I kept thinking about the whole time was how much it reminded me a lot of a post-first-album The Clash," says Quinn on the inspiration for the new project, "but then, I also thought to myself, 'This is also way easier to listen to than Sandinista! ever was.'
We had the advantage of being able to look retrospectively over decades of rock and pop, and we were kind of able to pull from all of that - all the good stuff, and leave all the bad stuff out. You know, one band that kept coming up as we were making the record is Genesis, but
Genesis songs are sometimes eight minutes long. We were like, 'Well, that's not necessary. We don't need to do that.' I feel like there were elements of that, all different examples of that."
As for the band itself's genesis, Quinn made his name fronting critically acclaimed New Orleans-based hardcore punk band PEARS, whilst Wahlstrom is a classically trained opera singer and pianist whose touring and recording career is rooted firmly in punk rock, and has included frequent collaborations with Joey Cape (Lagwagon).
The duo connected on a tour produced by Cape's label, One Week Records, which brings artists into a high energy, week-long write-arrange-record process that culminates in a completed album and follow-up touring. The pairing fully leverages the combination of Quinn's raw edge, Wahlstrom's finesse, and the lyrical power of dual songwriters.
