The members of The Jarts have been together for more than two years and have played countless concerts around the Athens area, but they didn't feel that they made it until they received a hard copy of their debut album, Circadian Clocks, and looked on the back cover.
We have a bar code! exclaimed drummer Sam Oches and cello player Ashley Ford on two independent occasions. While part of this excitement comes from the legitimacy that black-and-white box symbolizes, much of it has to do with having completed the album, which was more than a year in the making.
Along with Oches and Ford, The Jarts include vocalist and guitarist Troy Gregorino, bassist Chris Pyle and keyboardist Michael Rinaldi-Eichenberg. The band will bring its signature blend of folk rock to its CD release party tomorrow at Donkey Coffee and Espresso. -
Gregorino said. I like to think that the music finds ways to express the things that I'm not always great at expressing.
The band isn't afraid to make its influences known, summoning the pop-rock sensibilities of R.E.M. and the alt-country flair of Wilco. Pyle also cites Bruce Springsteen as one of his personal influences, saying that the first time he heard Springsteen was life changing.
The most striking thing about the members of the band is that they genuinely enjoy each other's company. The relationships are less like business and more like family, riddled with inside jokes and stories of their pasts.
I've known Sam since he was a kid Pyle said, adding that he and the drummer attend the same church. Pyle recounts making CDs for Oches featuring some of his favorite artists, such as The Clash and Pixies, in an effort to curb Oches' interest in terrible music. - and I felt the need to help him while he was young and impressionable
Pyle joked.
Although the band will shop the album around to labels, the members have no intention of leaving Athens anytime soon.
Right now
this is great
Pyle said, adding that the support the band has received has been fantastic.
Other than at the release party, Circadian Clocks is on sale at Donkey and Haffa's Records, as well as online at cdbaby.com and iTunes. Pyle promises that listeners will not be disappointed.
It's better than (Springsteen's) Born to Run
he said, smirking.
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