Gone By June
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Gone By June

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Gone By June - "Fighting Constants""

At once you realize a poet wrote these lyrics. And as Peart spins the lyrical journey of Lee, so does Seuss twirl Armstrong. The band, Gone by June, releases the 4-tune EP, "Fighting Constants" and gives testament to a number of indie well-held beliefs - least of which is to put twice as much time, energy, and money into 5-songs instead of ten. The quality of these recordings drip from start to finish of the feedback dinner that is "Perch". Vocalist, Armstrong, reminds us of R.E.M. a bit - but with a more everyman tone that rides down the middle of the alternative rock pop genre. The musicians are great players. Listen to the tasty drum tom fills in "One Last End". Nice. The poetry is perfect - combining interesting patterns of metaphor with a true directness. In "Perch", bassist Tom Suess writes, 'you said it's round, it's not round, you said it's cold in here, i hit the ground now my soul is seared'. Track 3, "The Sound", takes this pop/rock band and metalizes it in a break that includes sumptuous crunch and a wicked drum break - in fact, we can tell Spencer Vliet (drums) is a Bonham freak - which everyone should be, yes? The final track, "Four in a Row", musically starts like a smooth car commercial, and then Armstrong's vulnerable timbre and smooth falsetto transitions comes in to sing, 'we are all mother nature, carbon chaos strewn together, there really is no difference in what i am and what i stand on'. Maybe even what we stand for - and we stand applauding this four tune effort from the band we hope makes it to July. - Earbuzz.com


"Press Pass with Gone By June"

New bands face a lot of obstacles, details upon details that need attention. There’s the publicity, the website, the booking, the studio time, the traveling and, oh yeah, the music.

Sometimes groups don’t particularly spend a lot of time on that last little detail. Often the result is poorly performed cover songs and original pieces likening weather patterns to emotions. Thus they find themselves beginning their musical careers as musical clichés, lacking originality and catering simply to the entertainment portion of the musical equation, rather than the artistic side. Judging from Tuesday night’s show at Iota Club and Café, Gone By June is not one of those bands.

The guitar isn’t as complex as Jimi Hendrix, the vocals aren’t as dynamic as Jeff Buckley, but that doesn’t mask the obvious care the band puts into each of its well-crafted songs, primarily penned by bassist Tom Suess.

The band formed in 2000 as an acoustic cover band, but transformed into its current form after adding drummer Spencer Vliet in 2005.

“At some point we just asked ourselves, ‘What are we doing playing covers?’” guitarist Ryan Bullard says over the phone a day after the Iota show. “But we were playing few originals and we didn’t really like them. Now Tom’s songwriting has really developed. It was a steep learning curve, but we’re creating our own identity and our own sound. We want to sound like Gone By June.”

Lead singer Ryan Armstrong lends his voice to Suess’s lyrics and reminds a tad of Raine Maida, the frontman for Our Lady Peace and also of R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, both for his sound as well as Stipe’s early-career bashfulness at the microphone. While Armstrong doesn’t sing with his back to the crowd as Stipe sometimes did, he looks and sounds as though he’s holding back from dishing out the full potential energy of his vocals. But the Iota show is an early one for June, just their fourth live gig since releasing their EP, Fighting Constants.

Most of the energy of Gone By June’s original compositions Tuesday stemmed from the driving drums of Vliet, the bass lines of Suess, axeman Bullard’s Default-like guitar work. Bullard pulls double duty in live shows, supplying both rhythm and lead tracks, and doing so admirably.

“It’s a challenge to do on stage, but my lead work is developing,” Bullard says.

The current result is pure power chord rock, tinged with arpeggiated riffs and hooks. This is with songs like “Perch,” one of the four found on Constants. “Perch” is joined on the EP by the searching and reflective “One Last End,” “Four in a Row” and “The Sound.” The latter of which offers shades of Rage between the funky fuzz of Bullard’s guitar riffs and the heavy hand of Vliet behind the drum kit.

June’s strongest effort of the night, “Middle of the Road,” similarly gets the crowd going. Its single-ready sound stands out by kicking it up a notch, elevating the energy, and the crowd’s enthusiasm to another level.

The lone cover the band plays at Tuesday’s show, Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” perhaps conveys an interesting point about the band’s attention to their craft as well. By choosing a lesser-known Radiohead single that blends nicely with their setlist over a more popular tune, it suggests desire to emphasize what fits with their art over cheap entertainment.

There’s also the fact that the song represents one of the first interactions between Bullard and Armstrong.

“We came back from hanging out one night and I pulled out my acoustic,” Bullard says. “Ryan asked what songs I could play and I knew a lot of Radiohead. I remember thinking ‘Wow, he has an amazing voice’ and some of the other people listening were like ‘You guys are good. You should start a band.’”

Bands like Gone By June are fun to watch, and even more fun to follow, because you can clearly see their growth and evolution. Their awareness of the artistic elements of their music ought to mean that they are always going to bring something new to the table with each show as well. You can check them out for yourself Jan. 21 at D.C.’s Grog and Tankard.

- Mike Hume - Falls Church Press


"ENTERTAINMENT TOP STOP"

"Local quartet Gone by June mines fertile sonic terrain between Guster and early Radiohead. GBJ's earnest hooks are pretty enough to be all over your radio" - Washington Post


"Melodic Hooks will keep them here through June"

At once you realize a poet wrote these lyrics. And as Peart spins the lyrical journey of Lee, so does Seuss twirl Armstrong. The band, Gone by June, releases the 4-tune EP, "Fighting Constants" and gives testament to a number of indie well-held beliefs - least of which is to put twice as much time, energy, and money into 5-songs instead of ten. .the quality of these recordings drip from start to finish of the feedback dinner that is "Perch". Vocalist, Armstrong, reminds us of R.E.M. a bit - but with a more everyman tone that rides down the middle of the alternative rock pop genre. The musicians are great players. .listen to the tasty drum tom fills in "One Last End". .nice. The poetry is perfect - combining interesting patterns of metaphor with a true directness. In "Perch", bassist Tom Suess writes, 'you said it's round, it's not round, you said it's cold in here, i hit the ground now my soul is seared'. Track 3, "The Sound", takes this pop/rock band and metalizes it in a break that includes sumptuous crunch and a wicked drum break - in fact, we can tell Spencer Vliet (drums) is a Bonham freak - which everyone should be, yes? The final track, "Four in a Row", musically starts like a smooth car commercial. .and then Armstrong's vulnerable timbre and smooth falsetto transitions comes in to sing, 'we are all mother nature, carbon chaos strewn together, there really is no difference in what i am and what i stand on'. Maybe even what we stand for - and we stand applauding this four tune effort from the band we hope makes it to July. - on Kimenker - Earbuzz.com, December 2005


Discography

Gone By June - Fighting Constants [EP]

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Gone by June came together in 2005 but began life in the fall of 2000 when guitarist Ryan Bullard, bassist Tom Suess, and frontman Ryan Armstrong formed Countershade, a band that performed regularly in venues such as the Clarendon Ballroom and the State Theatre. After a year-long hiatus, the three reunited in 2004, this time to write and develop songs for a new album. The band's lineup was completed in March 2005 with the addition of drummer Spencer Vliet.

In September, the band recorded their debut EP "Fighting Constants" at Cue Studios in Falls Church, VA. “Fighting Constants” displays Gone By June’s powerful chemistry and infectious songwriting. “Perch,” the EP’s opening track, builds from a simple rhythmic guitar accompanied only by Armstrong’s vocals into a dynamic chorus and a compelling guitar solo. The second track, “One Last End” features a resonant opening drum groove and an irresistibly melodic chorus. “The Sound” is pure rock and roll – forceful, insistent and powerful while the closing track, “Four In a Row,” showcases Armstrong’s formidable vocal talent. His skillful falsetto and warm tone on this track make it no surprise that Gone By June was recently awarded best male vocals in alternative rock by the listeners of garageband.com.

Gone By June recently began playing live shows as well, headlining a show at IOTA and playing others at TT Reynold’s and the Grog & Tankard. The band will be playing in the DC area in the winter and spring of 2006 and plans to record a full-length album next year.