Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Rock group gears up for pre-finals show
Blake Gillespie / Staff Writer / blake.gillespie@ohiou.edu
Rob Hardin/Staff Photographer
Matt Palsgrove, Mark Colman, and Brian Hobart (left to right) of Finding North inspect their surroundings Monday night behind O'Hooley's. The band can be seen in concert this Friday.
After becoming jamming partners at Miami East High School in Casstown, the trio of Finding North found two common interests -rock music and beer.
In its high school daze, Finding North played graduation parties and pep rallies to fill the time. Guitarist Mark Colman jammed with guitarist Matt Palsgrove and drummer Brian Hobart on separate occasions and eventually the group began practicing together.
"We could read each other real well without talking," Colman said. "If we did a jam song together, we would know when we were going to change something or just stop." But Palsgrove admits he thought the band would be short-lived when it came time to graduate, because Hobart was leaving for college in Boston. Palsgrove and Colman both came to Ohio University and still played with Hobart during summer breaks.
But even college could not keep the band apart as Palsgrove and Colman received an unexpected call last year.
"He called us up one day and said 'Guess what boys; I'm moving to Athens,'" Colman said.
Hobart said he came to Athens to try to make the band's childhood dreams a reality.
On Nov. 4, Finding North played its first Athens show at O'Hooley's Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St. The band was so pumped after the show that each member bought a couple six-packs of beer and celebrated at Colman's house.
Since that first show, the trio has been busy recording its first album, submitting songs to a documentary soundtrack and booking its Spring Break tour.
The documentary soundtrack is for a film about football fans called "FANatical." The film's creator, OU senior Bradley Theiss, discovered Finding North on www.athensmusician.net.
The band will be featured along with several other Athens acts. Each group was chosen at random according to genre -Finding North was selected for the rock music slot, though the band considers itself to be rock 'n' roll with a punk influence and a "slice of lime." "The film has helped out a lot in making money for the tour and other merchandise," Palsgrove said. "It kind of helped us get a cash flow working so now we can roll it over to have the funds to buy shirts and get a tour rolling." The band will make stops in five Midwest states for its "Take Your Pants Off" tour, beginning March 18. The band members said they also hope to plan a summer tour with the money it earns.
But the band's current focus is its show Friday at O'Hooley's. Finding North recognizes that exams will be a burden, and it is preparing to give students one last reason to rock before the blue books go out.
"It's always fun to do shows in the hometown where if you get too wasted you can just walk home," Colman said.
He said he plans to cut loose.
"I might be playing my drum set with a few other things besides drum sticks," Hobart added.
But do not be frightened -that is not sexual innuendo, though it could get wild because Hobart practices a ritual of taking Jameson Irish Whiskey shots before and during the performance.
Along with these antics, Finding North promises other surprises along with performances by Duff and Break of Day. The doors open at 10 p.m. Admission is $3. - The Athens Post
Finding North (Editor Smith's favorite band from the Gator's Battle of the Bands) to play Mainstage Halloween. - Athens News
Discography
Currently our Tracks, "Where have all the good fans gone", "Stories", "Hey bottle", "Sweet Gardenia", and "Irene", have been distibuted in soundtrack and DVD form in select cities throughout the nation.
Theses songs are mostly from our 2005 EP.
STREAMING on Myspace, Purevolume, and www.findingnorth.net
A new 2006 demo is set to be released late spring with numerous new tracks, that have been in our live set.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
As a dying breed of rock bands... Finding North has been keeping the "rock trio" alive since 1997. We have gone through our share of hardships, roadtrips and rock fiascos. Most of our music is inspired by mid to late 90's rock, stretching into the present day. Our melodic style is also influenced by 50's and 60's Rock n'Roll, and classical latin guitar music.
After relocating from Dayton area to Athens Ohio, We have played almost every major city in the state, and gone on a 5 state mid-west tour of the country (in a dodge caravan). The tour was funded by our earnings from a soundtrack project called FANatical - Picked as the best rock band to work with Bradley d. Productions on a film soundtrack for NFL football’s greatest fans called “FANatical Film” (www.fanaticalfilm.com). One of our cuts was chosen as the title track of the DVD.
Recently we have played with national acts Oval Opus, The Kissers, Crack Jaw, and Chaselounge.
Bottom line is, we are extreamly dedicated to our music and taking it to the next step... and are not afraid of sleeping in the van, on friends couches, and running out of gas. Nothing can stop the rock.
INTERESTING FACTS . . . on tour we have been known to: randomly go skinny dipping in hotel pools, party with mall janitors and sound guys, go to the ER at 5am in the morning with broken teeth, stay up all night until continental breakfast, get in trouble with girls moms, jelly bean a hotel (ask for more info), not get paid, overdraw credit cards, wake up in hotel hallways, sleep in YOUR bed, and do an underwater beer chug. . . enough said.
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