Band member Jacob Bullard chatted about the new project for Local Spins on WYCE, which also spotlighted tracks by The Go Rounds, The Bootstrap Boys, The Rebel Eves and more. Story, video, podcast.
Releasing ‘Fallout’: Major Murphy’s Chad Houseman, Jacob Bullard and Jacki Warren. (Photo/Brett Carlson)
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For Grand Rapids indie-rock band Major Murphy, music is all about being sincere and genuine.
“I guess as a songwriter, I just try to say something that’s authentic and true and let people take from it what they will,” said Jacob Bullard, chief tunesmith for the band that releases its new Winspear records studio album, “Fallout,” on July 19.
“So, I don’t really have an agenda or anything other than just trying to put some words down that are realistic and true to my lived experience and make sense in the context of the music I’m putting around it. Ultimately … it’s just about the music and trying to put something together that has some kind of integrity.”
Mission accomplished, at least when it comes to the lead single from the album, “Time Out,” an infectious rocker that Bullard describes as a “toe-tapper.”
“I’m kind of commenting on just the grind of life,” Bullard offered. “You feel like sometimes it’s like you’re punching the clock kind of and just getting through. And on the other side of that is, where do you find renewal and energy? … It kind of somehow struck me as a way to balance the grind of life with a more positive outlook.”
VIDEO: Major Murphy, “Time Out”
The band – guitarist Bullard, bassist/multi-instrumentalist Jacki Warren and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Chad Houseman – currently has no tours lined up to promote its third Winspear release, opting to instead “enjoy the summer with our families.”
“I think we’re at the point where we really only want to play if we know it’s going to be just a great gig,” said Bullard, noting the band might schedule some shows later this year. “We want to be a little bit more curated or selective with what we take on.”
Bullard conceded the band leans heavily on its “little group of fans in West Michigan,” as well as devotees across the country and even in Japan to spread word about its projects.
Leaning on Devoted Fans: Major Murphy (Photo/Brett Carlson)
“People voluntarily sharing about your music is the best thing,” he insisted. “And social media’s super helpful in that way to be able to give something for people to latch onto.”
The band formed nine years ago, with drummer Brian Voortman leaving the fold in 2021 and Houseman taking on “a full-time role on drums.” Major Murphy did release its “Access Point” EP in 2022, following up on the full-length “Access,” that came out in the spring of 2021.
“We have settled into a little more of an alternative and/or indie-rock sound, although that has always been there, too, and a little less of a throwback rock ’n’ roll sound. Some pop and rock pastiche was kind of a part of our early sound and I feel that is less a part of what we’re doing now,” said Bullard.
Recorded at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Ind., and at home, Bullard said the album’s “new songs are maybe a little darker and moody as a whole, but there are some moments of levity peppered in, too.”
In addition to showcasing the new single from Major Murphy, this week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE – a weekly program that spotlights local and regional artists at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org – features music from Michigan artists The Go Rounds, The Bootstrap Boys, Molly, DJ Holographic, Chris Collins, Nathan Walton & The Remedy, Birdie Country, The Rebel Eves and Money Soup. Listen to the radio show below.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (7/5/24)
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