The prolific indie-rock band just released the first of two 2016 EPs, plays Wheatland for the first time this weekend, embarks on a Western tour this fall and lays plans for another full-length album.
‘No Real Formula’: Frontman Graham Parsons says that the The Go Rounds’ latest project very ‘freeing.’ (Photo/Anna Sink)
THE MUSIC: Soulful, pop-hued indie-rock with twang
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: Sept. 16 at Earthwork Harvest Gathering in Lake City; Sept. 17 at Arcadia Ales in Kalamazoo (20th anniversary party); Sept. 18 at Salt of the Earth in Fennville
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SCROLL DOWN FOR LOCAL SPINS ON WYCE PODCAST FEATURING THE GO ROUNDS
Some of the best music takes time to catch fire with listeners – or even with the artists who’ve created those songs.
Take the tracks on The Go Rounds’ latest EP, “I Promise I Won’t Get Hurt.”
The Local Spins Review
The Kalamazoo indie-rock band started recording the collection before its acclaimed, full-length 2015 album, “Don’t Go Not Changin’,” was even released last fall, said frontman Graham Parsons. The tracks were laid down in a studio at Western Michigan University.
“After the sessions were over, we sort of just walked away from the recordings,” he told Local Spins. “It wasn’t until six months later, after revisiting them on a particularly defeated and bleary night, that I recognized the power and fervor within some of the performances.”
Parsons said he was particularly taken by the band’s “raw energy and fresh interest” on four of the tracks, with The Go Rounds eventually fleshing them out at several different studios around the Midwest, including Peter Fox’s Stone House Recording in Grand Rapids (with much of the overdubbing completed with Ben Cohen of the Heavy Color music collective in Toledo). Another track, “Cage Divine,” was recorded at Sonora Studios in Goshen, Ind.
“We’re a fully independent band, so that means there is really no formula to how we do anything,” Parsons said of bouncing around to different studios to complete the project. “It can sometimes feel fragmented and discombobulating, but it’s also very freeing.”
Of course, “money, time, convenience, gear, difficult realities” and more also factored into the decisions that produced “I Promise I Won’t Get Hurt,” released on Aug. 30.
It’s just the first of two EPs that the prolific band plans to unfurl this year.
MORE TOURING AHEAD AND A WHEATLAND DEBUT
Parsons and fellow band members Adam Danis, Drew Tyner and Mike Savina recorded another EP in a single night at Fox’s Stone House Recording earlier this year, with that project slated for release in December, when The Go Rounds also hope to recording another full-length album.
Band members stopped by the studios of WYCE-FM for this week’s Local Spins on WYCE radio show, performing a song from new EP, “Lonely Unison,” and two new songs — “Fleece Down” and “$ombie” — on the air. Listen to the podcast and their performances here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE with The Go Rounds
The studio work has capped a hectic year for the twangy and soulful rockers who’ve crisscrossed the state for festivals and concerts. They’ll make their Wheatland Music Festival debut on Saturday night after spending years trying to get festival organizers’ attention.
On the Air: The Go Rounds during Local Spins on WYCE. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Digging In and Holding On: The Go Rounds performing at Founders Brewing in August. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“This will be our first big festival with the new work in tow. Very excited to share this with the good people of Wheatland,” said Parsons, noting that the band follows this with appearances at Earthwork Harvest Gathering, Arcadia Ales’ 20th anniversary party, Fennville’s Salt of the Earth, Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize and a Western tour of Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Nebraska.
Parsons also will participate in a 17-day residency this fall at the Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology in East Jordan, which will also serve as a “pre-production gathering” for the upcoming full-length album.
As always, Parsons said, the band aims to engage audiences with its latest indie-rock songs, even the traditional folk fans at Wheatland.
“Our newest material is more keyboard, psychedelia heavy, so I’m interested to see how that goes over,” Parsons said.
“We’re not going to change anything we do on a nightly basis. Anything but genuine expression of the emotions we want to convey and the sounds we want to hear would be a disservice to the audience. We’re going to dig in and hold on for dear life.”
Get more information and download the new EP at thegorounds.bandcamp.com.
The 104th episode of Local Spins on WYCE also boasted new music from Michael Dause, Five by Five, May Erlewine, Lady Ace Boogie and Devin & The Dead Frets, plus songs by G’itis Baggs and Vincent Hayes.
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VIDEO: The Go Rounds, “Lonely Unison”
(Track from new EP, video from Earthwork Harvest Gathering 2015)
Graham Parsons of The Go Rounds (Photo/Anna Sink)
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
