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The Life & Times of Manchester Orchestra - Part II

April 2011

Presented in footnotes* by Chris Shaban

Someone’s got the answers; I was real surprised with all the stuff I found…

You know, writing a composition like this has had me doing lots of research to ensure my facts are on point. I was lucky enough to talk to the band a little for some informationI mostly asked Andy for some guidance cause the last thing I needed was an "I failed you and you failed me too" convo…, but mostly it was complied through some good old-fashioned research. There was a funny thing I learned about the guys while using this ‘Internet’ contraption – they have quite a lot of pictures and videos of them available to the general publicOkay, so being 31 I’ve used the Internet intelligently since it became important, but I just needed an easy segway into this joke, bare with me.. However, three important things stand out: A lot of butts are smoked, a lot of darts are hacked, and a lot of cigs are blazed – it makes me feel like they’re the Indie Rock version of ‘Mad Men’.

*insert rim shot*

Anywho, before we keep our chronological timeline going, I want to address something that I touched on in Part I; their record label, ‘Favorite Gentlemen’Here’s one you’re not going to read about in Rolling Stone. The name came from a song that Andy and J wrote in the 8th grade looking back at the 1995 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves. A catchy little diddy that went “Mark Lemke, Jeff Blauser, Terry Pendleton, these guys are some of my favorite gentlemen.” And boom goes the dynamite..

I tweeted this earlier in the year, but it is really true. Favorite Gentlemen is the Roc-A-Fella of the rock gameAll the Hip-Hop heads just went “Ah!” and those not in the know went “Huh?”.

tweet

For those that just listen to music and leave the business part of it to, well, those who handle the business part of it, the recording industry has been in some rough water the last ten years or soYou may be too busy transferring torrent files to notice…. Way before this recessionaka ‘economic downturn’ or ‘stop taking out so much credit to buy things you can’t afford with money you don’t have, Shabby…’ Whoops… had hit everyday people; the major music labels gluttony was being stomach stapled by a few key issues, with the main one being illegal downloadsOther notable industries that got lipo’d by technology, News & Ad Agencies. Funny that the names ‘Twitter’ & ‘Google’ sound so innocent, don’t it? Fear not Doomsdayers, they will get their tread again… It will just be on a different shoe. In fact, Twitter and Google might be playing left and right in that analogy. #ImJustSaying. This put all of the big dogs in a position where they needed to figure out how to make money off things that can’t be stolen off the InternetSo obviously porn was a no go….

This led to the current arrangements most offered to new artists in which a record label will sign them to a contract and provide an advance, request a smaller percentage of their album sales, but want a portion of their live shows, merchandise, and publishingAs they say in @fastcompany “Digital Dimes don’t replace Analog Dollars.” The labels are still in need of some sugar to help that medicine go down.. These creative little ditties are known as ‘360 deals’.

With that as their main option, and knowing live shows were a key way to make serious money nowadays, Manchester decided that what they wanted to do, amongst the group of labels vying for their services, was say, “Look, keep the dough, we want our own record label. Have your people call my people.” And with that, Sony/Columbia stepped upBy way of Canvasback Music, more on them later…, Favorite Gentlemen is now a label and the boys tour more then Bob Hope visiting US TroopsSwish. Dated Bob Hope reference complete..

This has become Jeremiah’s baby. He runs the daily operation of FG, which is easily more than a one man job, but he makes sure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed. Take a quick walk with me as we sample some of the product on the boutique label known as Favorite Gentlemen…

Right Away, Great Captain!

The side project of Andy Hull, RAGC is a three part series about a sailor in the 17th Century that catches his wife doin’ the dirty with his brotherHe never really writes like, ‘She loves you, ya, ya, ya’ type songs… Well, actually, if you look at it from the sailor’s brother’s point of view, he kinda does.. The first installment entitled ‘The Bitter End’, recorded just as Manchester started its ascent, is a rough, but quiet journey through the soul of a man scorned. While context is different, the themes don’t vary too much from what you’re used to with MO, however it’s the ‘all I need is one mic and one guitar’ approach that makes it special.

The second release, ‘The Eventually Home’, is a beautifully done compliment to the series, taking the formula of the prior album and putting some growth on itEven though the direction of the piece is that our sailor comes home with the intention of committing a couple of homicides.. Andy took being on the road in 2008 and the fear of coming home to find out his girl had been scooped up, and then poured that into the life of a sailor from the 1600’sI mean, at least you gotta respect the range… . The third and final album, original titled ‘The Big Bad Devil and the Great Good God’, now slated to be called ‘The Church of the Good Thief’After the church that Tupac attended while serving time in the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York. which was scheduled for release in 2010 was shelved as ManchesterWith Ben on drums finished its third album and started another side project called…

Bad Books

This sextuplet is compromised of Manchester and the very talented Kevin Devine. It’s a group that developed after putting together a two track EP where Andy and KDWho has also released his personal works through the Favorite Gentlemen imprint. performed a cover of a song written by the other person. Those tracks may not have been the ultimate in preparation for what the future would hold, but it did give full bloom to the idea. And thus they took 5 songs penned by Andy and 5 from Kevin and turned it into a self-titled album.

They perform easily my favorite song the label has released not under the MO banner with ‘Wouldn’t Have To Ask’. In my humble opinion, either radio was fast asleep or didn’t know about heavily pushing a side projectIt’s kinda like a better version of Matt Sharp’s ‘Friends of P’ done on his leave from Weezer in The Rentals. You know, as a side project type comparison. But if my memory serves me right, this song charted pretty well in the rock world., because this song is what the airwaves are supposed to sound like. Quick to the catchy chorus, awesome melody, short enough that it leaves you wanting more and ending on a high noteIt’s quite a departure from Manchester’s stuff. Ending in less than two minutes with almost an explosion of repeated chorus and pre-choruses, is a real treat to listen to..

No expectations are currently set for the next release, but they had so much fun the first time, you’d have to think it won’t be that long.

Gobotron

Started as Robert’s side project; it grew into an LP called ‘On Your Mark, Get Set’ in 2009. With some time off from MO and a parent’s basement as the laboratory, Mr. McDowell let out the wildly creative side of his brain and grooved it into hard plastic and covered it in lacquer.

Although he rolls with a band when he does his live gigsSpeaking of live gigs, here’s how cool I am. So I’m down in ATL for the Stuffing show last November and I’m watching the Gobotron set. They have this interlude that I’m really digging and they keep coming back to it. The riff is just so catchy I can’t get it out of my head. So the next day I’m talking to Chris and Andy about the show and I say, “Hey, where can I download the song that Robert used as his interlude yesterday in the show?” They both give me that “we’re going to give three seconds of awkward silence to allow you to correct yourself before we both jump in” look. When those three seconds were up, they said, almost in unison, “that’s a Rolling Stones song”. Man, of all the music in my life that I know, the Rolling Stones are a band I just never truly enjoyed (please hold your tomatoes). Needless to say, I felt like a dork., the Manchester guitar player did this whole album, soup to nuts, on his own.

Oh, and the name, well, much like any nickname, it started out as a version of Robert and after many attempts at destroying any recognition of it’s original format turned into Gobotron.

There are a stack of others artists that roll with FG including All Get Out, Harrison Hudson, O’Brother, Winston Audio, Vonnegutt, The Beggars’ Guild and a bunch moreTake some time to look them up and learn about them..

 

All right, now that you’re down with the crew FGYa, you know me…, let’s get back to the lecture at hand. Where did I leave off last time? Oh ya, we gotta talk about the record that had Jesse from Brand New amped up.

It will forever be known as the first official album in the Manchester Orchestra catalog and it’s called:

‘I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child’

(Internal footnote*: Funny as I’m writing the review, I’m actually sitting here in a pink shirt and khaki pantsThat’s not true…. Now something to note, these are not ‘reviews’ in the sense you’re used to, I’ll leave those to the professionals. This is just an outline of the information as it pertains to the career of the bandWith just a touch of personal perspective if you don’t mind….)

From the moment that Jeremiah’s sticks are smashed together and the initial feedback is registered, in retrospect, it’s like you can tell you’re about to jump headfirst in a wild, emotional ride. To me, they couldn’t have picked a better song to start with then ‘Wolves At Night’The song would go on to be featured in EA Sports NHL 08. It’s In The Game…. . The song’s initial 15 seconds or so are just a mish-mash of organized noise that settle into a great and memorable melody. It then changes direction by cutting everything but drum and bass as you’re introduced to Andy’s unique and enchanting voice. Spliced in with lines like “I confide in wolves at night” And ”I gotta crucifyActually “CRA, CRA, CRA, CRA, Crucify” to be exact. myself if I’m going to believe you“, you quickly learn that the thought behind that voice has something to sayEven if you don’t totally get it at first..

‘Now That You’re Home’Without a doubt, one of my favs on the album., ‘The Neighbourhood is Bleeding’ and ‘I Can Feel Your Pain’ continue the formula established in the opening track;Albeit at a shorter time length than we’d come to expect from the band discussing God, adolescence and the harsh realities of young life with emotion served on top of a rock heavy soundtrack…

But there isn’t much that could prepare you for what was to come next.

‘Where Have You Been’ is a group defining song that really should only come along once in a career. Throughout the band’s catalog there are songs I like more, there are songs that are better written, there are songs that even stand out to a higher degree, but this is a track that is not easily definable by the restraints of the English language. In a lament reminiscent of King David speaking to God in the Psalms, Andy stands with his young arms open and questions his maker as to where he has been during difficult times in his lifeDo not be fooled by what may seem like familiar angst and confusion in the lyrics, it is fully predicated on love and respect. I would be too cool if I didn’t tell you that at the very least I get goose bumps when I hear this song, often times bought to tears as I lament my own journey with God. I mean, not to get all serious on you.. Almost in a unique play on the same words, it can easily be determined that God is asking Andy that same question. Very similar to the old Christian parable ‘Footprints’ in which the main character looks back on his life with God as, well, footprints in the sand. All is well except for when he occasionally sees only one set of tracks. It is especially painful to him that he also recognizes that this happens only when he goes through the toughest times. At this he cries out to God asking where He was on those occasions and why there was only one set of footprints. His maker looks down at His creation with a sense of sadness based on a lack of faith. The Lord reassures him that he only saw one set of tracks during the hard times because that’s when God carried him.Much like the entity that is the topic of the song, the point of this track is to appeal to your most real, raw emotion and speak directly from the deepest red portion of your heart. To this day, five years later, ‘Where Have Your Been’ is the final encore songUsually accompanied by whatever supporting or headlining acts the band is playing with that night. at their showsWe’ll see if it sticks around for the Simple Math tour starting in May 2011. and it never fails to feel like church.

That flows smoothly into two songs that, in hindsight, are very “Manchester”, ‘I Can Barely Breathe’Highlighted by the repeated refrain “Cause when I fly solo, I fly so high”, followed by muffled radio transmission that underlay chanting. and ‘Sleeper 1972’You know, the one that starts with the funeral organ and Andy beginning the eulogy for his father in graphic detail. More on this topic later., with the prior being set to motion. Often referred to as the most popular tracks from the album, having them hit you in succession work as a reminder of exactly why you’re listening to them in the first place. This band has been making music far beyond their years right from the start. Never over-doing the sound or production and always overwhelming in their honesty and instrumentation, MO is like that really good friend who knows exactly the right thing to say at precisely the right timeAnd look at that, you didn’t even need Facebook to find this friend either… Miraculous.

This would be a good time to hop in for a little sidebar. Whether you’ve been a fan of Manchester for years or you’re just getting into them now, there is something you need to understand: This is not a ‘singles’ band. What I’m saying is, they are not a band you enjoy because they have a song on the radio you hear repeatedly. No, this is a group you like because they make amazing songs on their albums start to finish. Each one crafted to mean exactly what you want it to mean and once it penetrates your soul, that’s it… and I mean, THAT’S ITThere is a way that they write music that just ensures your brain will remember it. It’s ultra weird. I feel confident saying that this band is only going to get better in this department and we should all probably be pretty freaked out for any new songs they do… #ImJustSaying. You’ll even find yourself going through the tracks and saying “This is my favorite song”, “No, no, no THIS is my favorite song”, until you’ve covered every track on the album and you’re right back where you started.

Are you with me on that?

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled program.

As the album begins its final descent, we find the boys speaking to something so commonly found in music, ‘young love’. The tracks ‘Golden Ticket’, ‘Alice and Interiors’ and the short ‘Don’t Let Them See You Cry’ sound like what an intellect would say when recounting the story of his or her first serious relationshipThe one with a human, not the one with a book… that would be a little more intense and lust filled.. This is a great band, but I’m not going to say that I don’t find some of the word play or painted pictures a little out there; yet I’m pretty sure that’s the pointWhich is why I put the Elton John link just before. While Elton composed some of the most killer melodies of all time, they were always set to Bernie Taupin’s enchanting, but, well, kinda weirdish lyrics. They were different, but that was what they were intended to be; that’s what made them special. The words danced across your mind like painted pictures and ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ (both the song and the album) are a wonderful example of that.. More than the words you hear, it’s about the mood you feel. You can discern a band experimenting with different variations of ‘Indie Rock’ trying on all the shoes to see which ones fit. Like ‘Alice and Interiors’ is much different than ‘Don’t Let Them See You Cry’ in its sound and vocal style, but they still seem to flow nicely into each other.

For the finale, the guys offer up ‘Colly Strings’. This song is a pillar for a couple of reasons as it reaffirms the group’s commitment to two things that would help define their song-writing from this point forward. First, it uses the ‘sandwich’ techniqueThis is not a technical term, but just envision a sandwich with two soft layers of bread piled high with your favorite cold cut – also known as the hamburger approach or by the reverse name, the Double Down…. As we now know, the band would go on to use the ‘soft, LOUD, soft’ style on many songs, however using it to end off their album expounds on their believe that it’s the best way to communicate with youI mean, it would become the main way that they write their songs…. Secondly, the vagueness of the lyricsIn what is most likely a very normal story leave the listener to decide for themselves what exactly this song means and thus apply it to their own lives. Like leaving with a riddle, all good stories need a cliffhanger.

Looking back now, I think the main thing I took away from this project is just how young these guys were when they made an album like this. I mean, there are old souls, but I'd say Andy's checked into a retirement home a shade before he was legal drinking age. And not just the lyrics, but the music, the moods, the tones, the structure, this is a band that had learned to make a movie with its songs much sooner then they really should haveI’d love to know the stat on the amount of groups that never learn that. Take this piece of advice right now, artists: if you want to be epic, make movies with your music.. I’m not saying that Manchester wasn’t about to get better, cause they wereAnd the songwriting, in my opinion, was still even a little ahead of the music itself. Granted, the boys weren’t the cohesive unit we know them as today and that played a role for sure, but do not discount the superior lyrical content in anyway, shape or form., however they were ahead of the class in a sincerely distancing wayLike comparing apples to a fruit no one has ever heard of *Maeby Funke voice*.

This group was on to something big and the industry was about to take notice…

First released in the fall of 2006, ‘I’m Like a Virgin…’ was warmly received, albeit seemingly only by industry mavens and a small group of devoted fans. Now, please understanding something my music loving friends, that is possibly one of the best outcomes for your first albumThe other being that the fans are screaming so loud and waving their wallets in a manner so frantic that an A&R can’t help but do something about it.. Scuttlebutt turned into inquires from labels, which turned into meetings, which in turn became an all-out bidding warNot the card game… But that could have been pretty hilarious… Can you see the heads of all the big record labels sitting down and breaking out a game of ‘War’ – I can’t be the only one that finds that funny… It’s probably in a Simpsons episode somewhere.. And what exactly was at stake? Oh nothing, just the signatures of one of the hottest indie bands in America to a record deal.

Enter Steve Ralbovsky

An industry heavyweight in every sense of the term, Steve had been around the block enough times to have a street named after himWell, not really, but he should have.. His current legacy includes bands like My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon and The Strokes, so out of the gate he would seem to have the upper hand with the boys from Alpharetta. But if you remember what we talked about in the opening portion of this piece, the band didn’t want any old recording contract, they wanted a label and they wanted some freedom. With Canvasback as his vehicle, and Sony/Columbia as the wheels, Steve opened the driver side door to precisely the car Manchester was looking for…

And the rest, as they say, is history.

As the ink was still drying on their agreement, the first order of business would be the 2007 re-release of ‘I’m Like a Virgin…’ and reviews like this and this started flowing inIncluding some from reads like Rolling Stone and The New York Times… No big deal..

Final Notes:

- This would be the last time that the main character of a Manchester Orchestra album was not Andy HullGranted, this album clearly has him as the main character, it’s just that it’s more about a mythical kind of person than Andy speaking about Andy. If you didn’t notice much, and not many people did, it wasn’t until you heard the next album that this became clear..

- This is a fact that only the diehard MO fans know, Robert didn’t strum a note on this album. Something you won’t read on the Wikipedia page though is that Robert was in the studio the whole time working as an intern and lead guitar duties were handled by a couple of Andy’sHull and Lee – Andy Lee is a good friend of the band who has played drums and guitar for them on several tours.

- This album went on to sell over 50,000 copies.

- “I Swear” and “My God” should have received triple word scores on this album#ImJustSaying.

Huh…Not a bad start eh?See how I put “huh” and “eh” in the same sentence? Now, if that isn’t good cross border relations, I don’t know what is. It was good to see that the early success didn’t change’em either.

On The Road Again…

So with a newly minted record deal in their back pocket, the boys parlayed their hot streak into supporting gigs for Say Anything and mewithoutYou. Next up was a co-headlining gig with a band that just one short year earlier Andy was selling merch forYou remember who that was right? If not, no worries, I’m about to tell you in the next line…. Cris-Crossing America with Colour Revolt was the fourth time touring the country for MO, but nothing was really giving them a big jump to their frequent flyer points.

That’s when the Followill boys came a’callin.

Yes, both groups are from down south and Yes, both groups have their family roots deep in the Christian church, but if you believe those two similarities are the base of the relationship between Kings of Leon and Manchester Orchestra, you’re reading the wrong love story.

And it goes a little something like this…

After finishing a one off show with KOL in Minneapolis the summer of 2007, the band that doesn’t give a Gleek in it approached Manchester about being on the front end for their American & UK tour that was kicking off the next month. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was already tapped for support, but The Kings knew a great band when they saw one. Over the next four monthsHaving another co-headline with The Annuals and a solo tour with Andy and Kevin Devine tossed in the middle. these three bands rocked their way across the globe leaving behind empty bottles and fans multiplying like a Mogwai that got feed after midnight.

As they parted in early 2008, KOL was going back into the studio to record what would become ‘Only By The Night’. The Manchester boys, fresh off that bidding warFYI – if you’re ever in a position to sign this band when their current deal expires the name of the label is Favorite Gentlemen. Say it with me, fa-vor-ite |?f?v(?)r?t| - gentleman |?jentlm?n|. Take that as a little freebee from your boy Shabby. that landed them at Sony/ColumbiaWhere one Rick Rubin plays the Barack Obama role, were about to start recording the album that would dispel any thoughts that they in for the sophomore jinx. They just needed a quick little something to hold you over.

Clearly rattled about finishing second in the ‘Best Georgia-based band MySpace Page’ contest to Soulja Boy*Sarcasm*, they went back into the studio. For sure they were thinking, “How do YOUUUUUUUUUUUU ever come back from a defeat like that?Soulja Boy jokes officially over now. Even though I’m a big fan of his. ‘Turn My Swag On’ & ‘Speakers Going Hammer’ are great starts.”

Here’s what you do…

As a warm up to their official major label release, Manchester dropped an EP in the fall of 2008. Containing 5 songsWith 3 you hadn’t heard before, this was simply to whet the appetite of the original peeps that had waited two years since ‘I’m Like a Virgin…’ was first dropped. They called it, ‘Let My Pride Be What’s Left Behind’.

The first track, ‘I Can Feel A Hot One’We’re going to need to chat more about this one… stick around…, potentially the bands most endearing pop style record to date, would make its way onto the third episode in the second season of ‘Gossip Girl’, but was so good it would eventually resurface on the next record. The other two new tracks were ‘I Was a Lid’ & ‘Badges & Badges’, the latter of which was recorded live from Daytrotter. The remaining two songs are from the band’s first album, but fed to you differently. ‘Wolves At Night’ is presented as it was recorded at 95.5 WBRU in Providence, Rhode Island and ‘Sleeper 1972’ live in front of an audience at The Loft in ATLWhich was actually one of the spots inside Center Stage that the band’s Thanksgiving concert, ‘The Stuffing’, took place at in November 2010..

Handling the production on this project was Dan Hannon. This wasn’t the first time the band had worked with their friend, and it surely wasn’t to be the last.

It was packaged with a DVD documentaryAnd videos for three songs off their debut album. entitled ‘What’s Left Behind’. It’s a brief look at what it would be like to beat up the whole country in a van at a clip of about 300 dates per yearGeez, 300 dates a year, that’s like a good weekend for Snooki… . It tells the story of the fella’s life on the road, and introduces you to a young Manchester. Thing is, I found this DVD to be a little deeper than that… Here are my takeawaysAnother one of those corporate words that makes the skin on my skin crawl..

1. There is a lot of respect between the members of this group.

Andy compared it to being in a marriageFor those bands that live on the road or are about to embark, please put that quote at the front of your tour van and/or bus. If you are unfamiliar with what a marriage is supposed to be like, read ‘The 5 Love Languages’ by Gary Chapman and skip the ‘Physical Touch’ part… Might cause more problems than it helps.. At one point or another, all of the guys gave sincere credit to each member in the Manchester. There were constant references to “being in a band with my best friends” throughout the whole 58 minutes.

2. Even at the early stage of their career when this was filmed, their fans are dead serious.

How serious?

Like know every word to every song serious. Like sardines in a sweatbox that is 125 degrees just to see the show serious. Like aren’t afraid to dress and look like the guys in the bandI think it’s even worse now. The last Manchester show I was at the place was packed with Hull-kamanics. Official dress code is a plaid shirt and a big bushy beard. I was waiting for one of them to rip their shirt and drop “Well, you know something brother…” *Hulk Hogan voice* serious. Like, take a minute and watch the scene where the guys perform “Where Have You Been?” and watch the crowd speak directly to God serious.

That same group shows clips of them lugging in their own gear and playing small venues – and that confidence in themselves, that humility, that assurance that one day you will see them in a stadium, that, my friends, is the same reason listeners feel like they can identify with Manchester OrchestraIf you’re an on stage performer and this hasn’t happened to you yet, be sure to have a pencil and paper or your laptop with a blank Word doc open when you watch this film. If you don’t learn something, quit..

3. Lastly, I loved that Chris called his mom about his tattoo.

First he gave the quick ‘gage the temperature’ call to see if she was going to be okay with his follow-up call after the tat was completeOf course, leaving out the most important piece of information… The part about him actually getting the tattoo.. Then, after the art was done, he called to tell her the ink was dryOne of the first things I learned in sales was, sometimes it’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not though… I’ve been too busy begging for forgiveness to stop and think about it.. You can say that he was going to do it anywayWhich would have been a very safe assumption, being that, well, he had done it already., but don’t underestimate how much he wanted his mom’s approval and to let her know that he loved her.

Or how bout the scene when Andy is describing that his parents know where he is everyday that he is on the road? That’s the point at whichIf a band would even admit that on a documentary at this stage in their careers… That’s like Mick Jagger confidence (please note the Rolling Stone reference done to make up for my earlier mistake) most guys would <insert bad parental joke here>, but he goes on to say that he’s happy about that; that it’s good to hear “you’re going to be okay and we love you.”

In those three quick snap shots, if you can’t tell how different and special this band isEspecially by putting it on their DVD to be forever documented…, then, well, *eyes down slowly shaking my head*.

The rest of 2008 would be spent touring and recording. They now had big expectations to live up to and nothing but a home run would suffice. But how do you exceed those expectations when they’re already set so high?

Set out to make a classic album I guess…

To read part 1 click here.
To read part 3 click here.
To read part 4 click here.