The May edition of the Local Spins music news round-up focuses on a new name and direction for a popular folk-rock band and striking new videos from groups on opposite ends of the music spectrum.
‘A Natural Thing’: Joey Frendo and Jared Meeuwenberg’s have made the transition to Winnow. (Photo/Clarire Abendroth)
Watching for Foxes is now Winnow.
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With major changes in the Grand Rapids folk-rock band’s lineup over the past year that have pared the group back to a core duo featuring singer Joey Frendo and guitarist Jared Meeuwenberg, Frendo said it was time for a new moniker.
Finding Their Voice: Singer Joey Frendo and guitarist Jared Meeuwenberg also have a new brand. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
“Jared and I will be the branding image,” said Frendo, who officially announced the name change last week. “Duo shows sometimes, with the ability to hire a band for bigger shows. Almost like a singer-songwriter dynamic. Intentionally going down … more of a roots-oriented path, Americana and alt-country.”
Launched in early 2014 as a “three-piece suite” from Fremont playing melancholy neo-folk, the Grand Rapids-based group eventually grew to a six-piece ensemble with an all-enveloping, sonically expansive sound it labeled as “flannel rock.” Lineup changes and the departure of band members over the past couple of years has been “a natural thing,” Frendo insisted.
“Our time with other collaborators is not something we regret in the slightest. It brought Jared and I to the place where we knew that what him and I had was special, and to know that it was OK to just do that. It didn’t have to be romanticized or attempted to be re-discovered,” he said.
Winnow (Photo/Claire Abendroth)
“Our relationship, as friends and musicians, is enough. The songs are best when built from us and Watching for Foxes gave us the legs and the scope to realize that. Musically, the new direction is much of the same story. We’ve found our voice, what matters to us, and what resonates with people.”
Frendo called alt-country and Americana “that sweet spot of inspiration and creative fulfillment” for the duo. And the name change represents “the best way we knew how to shuck the baggage of the lineup changes and all the transition of Watching for Foxes, while still being able to build upon the foundation of what Jared and I started four years ago. … Winnow is the vehicle we think will allow us to take our songs the farthest, a new and improved path to reach people.”
Although the band has several concerts in coming months booked under the name Watching for Foxes – with some appearances bringing in other musicians to fill out the group – the duo is transitioning to Winnow for all future shows.
In announcing the name change and to “show appreciation” for its fans, the band also released a special six-song EP edition of its new “Nostalgia in America” recording. Listen to that here.
LISTEN: Watching for Foxes/Winnow, “Nostalgia in America”
NEW MUSIC VIDEOS FROM THE GO ROUNDS, HOLLOW FRONT, SHAY ELEMENTARY FOURTH-GRADERS
Every so often, Local Spins showcases new videos from West Michigan bands from different parts of the region, and representing different genres and approaches.
Hollow Front
For the May round-up, take a gander at the psychedelic new video from Kalamazoo’s The Go Rounds (the title track from the band’s new EP, recorded at Stone House Recording in Grand Rapids and released in mid-April by Earthwork Music as well as Pedro Y El Lobo in Mexico City) and something new from Grand Rapids metalcore band Hollow Front (the title track from the upcoming new EP, “Still Life,” being released on June 29 through Beckwith Records).
We’ve also chosen something that’ll get you to say “Aaaw, isn’t that fabulous,” courtesy of fourth-graders from Shay Elementary School in Harbor Springs, who always seem to make a splash with their annual music video production. As you might recall, they really hit the jackpot last spring when they released a video of their take on The Accidentals’ “Michigan and Again.”
This time around, teacher Jason Byma and his students chose “Cups (When I’m Gone),” a version of the 1931 Carter Family tune that’s been covered many times. The fourth-graders rehearsed and recorded the video during lunches and after school — and overnight, the video attracted about 8,000 views on Facebook. Watch it below.
VIDEO: The Go Rounds, “Code”
VIDEO: Hollow Front, “Still Life”
VIDEO: Shay Elementary Fourth-Graders, “Cups (When I’m Gone)”
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC
