Freer
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Freer

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Press


"Hallucigenic Paradise"

"An ethereal dream— like the Northern Lights hovering over you with declarative piano melodies that can sweep as the preludes of Chopin but bounce with such poppy-energetic allure, basslines with a superb, sophisticated shuffle, percussion that feels radical and detached like a delicate machine gun, and guitar solos that can rip your face off one minute and then, like the wispy flick of a hand, swoon your ears into some hallucinogenic paradise."- REAL DETROIT INTERVIEW - Real Detroit Weekly


"Night and Day"

"It's the club show of the month."
(--Metro Times Detroit) - Metro Times Detroit


"Live Show Review"

"Freer is outstanding live."
(--Jasper, WebVomit.com) - WebVomit.com


"Review"

"Freer easily mixes musical genres -- even within a song." - Current Magazine


"Hot Band of 2007"

"But for as dreamy and enthralling as their songs are, Freer’s lyrics often conjure darker imagery..." - Real Detroit Weekly


"Album Review"

"Jeremy Freer has old blues songs stuck in his head, and a collage of the cover art from Elvis Costello’s first seven albums. But he’s a vintage soul guy, too, and R&B, and he’s at the head of a band that’s been busy injecting fervor back into contemporary music. Keyboards, bass, drums, guitar — it doesn’t sound that unconventional. But come out and watch it happen, because it’s the way Freer twist their songs into and out of pop that really grabs the ears. (And the mind.) And the lyrics? Wow, love is tough in the 21st century, isn’t it - Detour Magazine


"Album Review"

"Punk rock wasn't always necessarily about loud power chords and screaming dudes with Mohawks. Once upon a time, artists like the Clash and Elvis Costello played tuneful pop-rock that was nevertheless impacting in its own way, defying expectations and smashing boundaries. Detroit's Freer seeks to follow in their footsteps." - U of M Daily


"Album Review"

"The band plays off their punk and soul influences, ranging from the MC5 to Smokey Robinson." - DetroitBuzz.com


"Five out of Five Stars"

"Sincere pop poetry — rough and tumble punk influences mixed with classy R&B and swinging, sultry blues ballads..." - Real Detroit Weekly


"Exclaim!"

"FREER are punk rock in Neil Young’s Living With War kind of way, and the rocking tunes are artsy and comfortably rough around the edges. Most tracks have an element of experimentation to them, placing Detroit’s Freer amongst the likes of Jeff Buckley or Radiohead . . . " - Exclaim!


Discography

Secret Chorus (March 2007 - Jumberlack Records)

Photos

Bio

FREER is a Detroit-based rock quartet who have left the garage to craft their sound in the dark shadows of Motown. Existing somewhere in between The MC5 and Smokey Robinson, all filtered through a classical background, this talented foursome is creating music that is as soulful as it is punk, and as original as it is addictive.

In March 2007, FREER released their first LP, Secret Chorus, to rave reviews.

"Secret Chorus is a dark and brooding, nine-minute rock & roll epic that is one of the best songs I've heard all year."
(--Matt Dufour, Tripwire.com)

"Punk rock wasn't always necessarily about loud power chords and screaming dudes with Mohawks. Once upon a time, artists like the Clash and Elvis Costello played tuneful pop-rock that was nevertheless impacting in its own way, defying expectations and smashing boundaries. Detroit's Freer seeks to follow in their footsteps."
(-- U of M's MICHIGAN DAILY)

Within their first year existing as a band, FREER was consistently selling out the best venues in Detroit. Before long, the band was invited to support the Von Bondies and SSM during their national tour in January 2008.

During the Von Bondies tour, the band played such high profile venues as Gramercy Theatre, Club Metronome, Diesel, Club Hell, The Basement, and many others.

FREER also toured with The Go in the summer of 2007, playing the Mercury Lounge (with Tiger City), Rock and Roll Hotel, Manhattan Room, and more.

After garnering a licensing deal with Banana Republic in March 2008, the band followed up with an independent tour, playing a packed house at Pianos for the weekly residency, Cross Pollination, along well-reviewed performances at Galapagos Art Space, The Metro Gallery (Baltimore), and the Gypsy Hut (Cincinnati).

Of their Piano's performance, Cross Pollination Promoter Jay Goettelmann exclaimed, "It was super dope. " Clearly, the band was a success in New York.

History of the band:

FREER was formed by brothers Jeremy and Jeffery Freer in Fall of 2005. Having spent nearly a decade in other bands, and working on various solo projects, Jeremy felt that it was time to put together the most innovative group of musicians he could find, who had no limits when it came to genre.

During the summer of 2006, the band wrote and recorded their debut album, entitled SECRET CHORUS. Jeremy recalls, "2006 was a very strange year not only in my personal life but in the world in general. Around the globe there was a lot going on and much of it wasn't very encouraging; the war, natural disasters…In the middle of all of that I was feeling very insignificant in the whole scheme of things, but also very consumed with my everyday struggles. To me the record is very much about those two forces competing with each other."

Such opposition seems to be the theme of SECRET CHORUS: "During the time that I was working on the album, I felt an extreme extension of every emotion. My goal for this record was to be as self - absorbed as possible and as socially aware as possible all at the same time. When people hear the songs, I want them to be able hear my journey as well as be able to identify with it in a very visceral way."

Two influences which have had an overwhelming impact on Jeremy are his family, and the city that he has spent the majority of his life in. The Freer family has a long history in Detroit — dating back to the turn of the 20th century, when Jeremy and Jeffrey's great-great grandmother Phoebe settled in the city, becoming a well-known local character who put on minstrel shows with her son Charles Freer (a self taught pianist, guitar player and singer) at local theatres, and read fortunes for the mob (and cops) in tea leaves. Jeremy feels a strong tie to family's roots in his hometown. One family member in particular was especially close to him: "In the summer of 2004 my Grandpa Freer died. He was a brilliant man who never finished school but worked as a carpenter, read theology and taught himself to paint. When he died I begin thinking of naming my next project FREER not so much because it was my last name but in honor of him. The picture on the cover of our record is him as a little boy."

Banana Republic Video:
http://www.dragonlicks.com/stream/dlstreaminglink.php?id=71