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Interview: Band Of The Week - Green River Ordinance
Written by A.L. Harper
Published December 18, 2006
Part of Band of the Week
This is the last Band of the Week for 2006 and with that in mind I searched high and low for a band that would make BotW really proud. A band capable of the kind of emotive songs and hard rocking tunes that could inspire me to put my arms up in the air and dance and completely lose myself in their music. And I found them.
Fort Worth, Texas-based Green River Ordinance (GRO) are the next big band-on-the-block. With an alt.rock-power pop sound that will make you think of Third Eye Blind, Nickelback or Matchbox Twenty. The lyrics are a little bit country with a pop twist but still rock-&-roll and somehow maintain an ardent passion and emotional intensity. GRO are truly the next legend-band in the making.
Formed in high school, Josh Jenkins (lead vocals & acoustic), brothers Jamey (electric guitar) and Geoff Ice (bass), Denton Hunker (drums) and Josh Wilkerson (electric guitar) took their name from a street sign found, forgotten, in a back yard. The Green River Ordinance outlawed door-to-door salesmen from visiting country homes without an appointment. This appealed to the boys as their fan base was growing almost door-to-door by word of mouth.
Now the momentum is building and this exciting new band are beginning to be noticed on a national level beginning with two different appearances on national television shows - YMCTV’s “City Sessions” and HDNET’s “True Music”. Their debut album The Beauty of Letting Go reached #2 in the sales chart on Awarestore.com – one of the largest online independent distributors – and stayed in the Top 10 for eight weeks. At the 2006 Fort Worth Music Awards GRO won Artist of the Year, Rock Album of the Year for The Beauty of Letting Go and Song of the Year for their single “Piece it Together”. GRO have been named by MTVU’s “Best On Campus” one of the top 20 college bands in the US for 2006 and this year they have opened for Collective Soul, Bowling For Soup and Bon Jovi — at which a Bon Jovi insider reportedly said: “This is by far the best local band we have seen open up for Jon (Bon Jovi) the entire tour.” And now a new video for their single “Breath of Life.”
Josh Jenkins, the frontman for GRO, agreed to have a chat with me on the phone for the last BotW and I was thrilled. Rarely do I feel nervous when talking to a frontman – there have been so many now – but this time I was. GRO made me feel inspired in a way that few rock bands do. GRO’s warm, intense, emotive rock-&-roll tunes illicit both sexual and joyous feelings in me all at once. Josh turned out to be an intelligent, slightly shy, deeply spiritual young man who said if the rock band thing didn’t work out, he may become a missionary. Josh and I spoke three times on the phone and each time I was deeply impressed. His charming sense of humour and warm, soft Texas accent made each phone call fantastic fun as we talked about Travis, The Killers, Winnie the Pooh and Southern sayings. This is a small part of our longest conversation.
-Tell me about your debut album The Beauty of Letting Go.
Our thing is like the pop-rock… All the stuff we have on that record is from like three or four years ago, when it was written.
-How long has The Beauty of Letting Go been out now?
Probably about a year.
-Are you currently recording again?
We just finished recording three or four new songs. Just demoed them, we kinda got them down. Kinda like pre-production stuff. So, possibility of makin’ a record or puttin’ out an EP of our newer stuff just to get it out to our fans. So that’s kinda what we been doin’. I mean I laid a whole lot of stuff down just acoustic and vocals, just to have the ideas down. But… that stuff is just like a whole different… like even with the band, you know we’re pretty much pop rock. But like me, as a musician, I have a lot of different ideas so I lay down whatever.
-Do you think you will ever have any solo projects?
We’ve talked about this and one of our goals as a band is that at some point in time, I guess whenever the time arrives, to do an album under pseudo names, a different name. Do it rootsy (referencing roots rock), kinda like rootsy, raw kinda like that Ryan Adams, just kinda like… I don’t really know just rootsy stuff. All of us are really into that stuff. Write a record that’s more, organic in a sense. Not polished but more raw. It’s something we have a desire to do.
-Don’t you think you could do that under the name Green River Ordinance?
I mean that would be cool, I would love that. I just feel like the more… and this is something we try to do within the band. Give a broad… on the album we have some really chill songs, kinda bring it down, that are really broad. Not every song’s a rock song. We feel like progression of a record needs to have diversity, have a dynamic to it. You know, really bring it down. And I definitely agree that t - A.L.Harper with Blog Critics
As the typical birth of a rock band goes: Brothers Geoff and Jamey Ice, Josh Jenkins, Joshua Wilkerson and Denton Hunker met each other while they were still in school, spent their time writing and recording their music in the basement of their church, and sold out their first EP within a short time span. Know what's more impressive? These guys are barely old enough to drink legally. Not that they'd want to, anyway. Being no strangers to large-scale venues, they have supported big names like Bon Jovi (!!), Collective Soul, Bowling For Soup and Simple Plan. This debut offering is a testament to their Artist of the Year win at the 2006 Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards; these five rising stars obviously know how good ol' 90s rock sounds.
The 10-track themed album is filled with catchy hooks, easy listening melodies and recognizable influences reminiscient of the earlier sounds of Goo Goo Dolls or even Sister Hazel, if you would. Their style of clean, acoustic/electric guitar riffs with Denton's consistent drummings mix really well for promising tracks like "Piece It Together", " Everything You Are" and complement somewhat sombre 'stick-a-fork-in-me' lyrics ("Pick Me Up ", "Stay") in this story-telling that is truly gripping and personal. Great album to listen to; especially when you're on your way to work and stuck in the dreadful human jam, this will calm your nerves with immediate effect. There are neither distinctly cheerful nor depressing tracks - from the way I interpret, it's a test of faith in the face of arduous times ("Speak Through Me" speaks for all). The overall message? It is in the album title - go figure and appreciate.
It's about time more people hear about Green River Ordinance and give them their worthwhile attention. Even if I was forced at gun-point to pick a favourite, I can't. It would be like asking a mother to play favourites with her children - I simply love them all.
(4 out of 5 stars)
*As an extra special bonus, we caught up with the band to find out more about their music, influences..read on*
Interview with Green River Ordinance
1. Guys! How are you feeling today? Just so you know, we're alll the way from Singapore! Know where it is?
We're feeling great, just enjoying being home for the holidays. Wow that's the other side of the world from us. I believe that's southeastern Asia. I hope that's right.
2. That's right. I just got a copy of "The Beauty of Letting Go" and it's obviously influenced by good ol' 90s rock bands. Tell us more about your influences on this album. Is there a message that the band is trying to get across through this album?
Thanks for the comparison to the 90's. We definitely are influenced by many bands in the 90's. All 5 of us have completely different influences. They range from radiohead to counting crows to third eye blind and so on. We just try to combine all our influences into one. If anything, we wanted this album to be honest but hopeful. We wanted to write about what was going on in our lives. We all have experienced ups and downs as everyone does. We wanted our songs to show the hope in pain and not leave you feeling completely helpless. Not really sure if we were successful with that but it was our goal.
3. How did it feel to be supporting Bon Jovi at the American Airlines Center this year? You guys are probably not even half of Jon Bon Jovi's age!
It was an amazing experience. It's one of those moments that you can't really top. Bon Jovi and there whole crew were so great to us.
4. What were some of your favourite bands/songs growing up? What would you do if you met your musical heroes one day?
We grew up listening to bands like Zeppelin and through our development got into great bands like the Wallflowers, Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, REM. If anything we would love to ask questions to our influences. You have got to think they have so much experience and wisdom to share. I think we would just listen.
5. How different is the crowd in, say New York (or anywhere else), as compared to back home in Texas?
The crowd in Texas is notorious for being a little loud and proud. Which makes our hometown shows so much fun. We had a great time playing in NYC we just had to realize the way they react to music and Texas is completely different. We still had a great time there and made some friends.
6. What was the craziest thing that a fan has ever done for you guys? Or something you wish a fan did for you?
It's always cool to think that these people are spending the money they worked for to come to our show. It means a lot to us. We have had some fans make stuff for us. We want to see them just as much as they want to see us. We don't look at them as fans but more like friends. If they didn't do what they did we wouldn't be able to do what we do.
7. Lastly, what are your new year resolutions? Any tours to look forward to?
We have an exciting couple of months ahead of us. We are heading out to the west c - Indiependent Music
The big winners of the night were Green River Ordinance. The indie-pop band took home top honors for Rock Song of the Year (“Piece It Together”), Rock Album of the Year (The Beauty of Letting Go), and Artist of the Year.
http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=4065 - FWWeekly.com
Fort Worth-based Green River Ordinance is ready to get the show on the road, so to speak. For the last couple of years, the band has played Deep Ellum countless times, but decided to get a van (named "Lambchop") for its first cross-country trek.
The band will spend the rest of the year on the road promoting its latest album, The Beauty of Letting Go, as well as recording a few more songs...
http://www.quickdfw.com/poplife/weekendq/localtracks/stories/DN-pop--greenriver_14ick.ART.State.Edition1.3ee8c10.html# - QuickDFW.com
Fort Worth based Green River Ordinance (www.greenriverordinance.com) just recently opened for Bon Jovi infront on a sold out crowd at the American Airlines Center. The band played a full set infront of 20,000 people. They are still in shock. "Words can not describe playing in front of 20,000 people.."
More at www.mix1029.com and www.bonjovi.com - www.bonjovi.com
MTVU "Best on Campus" named the band one of the top 20 college bands in the U.S. for 2006. - MTV Networks On Campus
Discography
"The Beauty of Letting Go" - 2005 - Full Length Album
"Way Back Home" - 2007 - 5 Song EP
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed. Carl Jung
Assuming Jung is right, the same logic would dictate that the meeting of five personalities would create an equal reaction, five-fold in its power to change.
Such a meeting has taken place. In the nooks and crannies of their disparate lives, five boys from Texas found each other. Accident, inevitability, chance, fate no one will ever be able to explain whatever it is that draws the colors of a rainbow together into one stream of pure white light.
Green River Ordinance was born from this light. Brothers Geoff and Jamey Ice, Josh Jenkins, Joshua Wilkerson and Denton Hunker joined their lives together into one singular dream. The dream of creating music. While most kids their age were worrying about entering high school, they were writing and performing their own music. They recorded their first EP in a basement while still in High School, a CD that sold out its first pressing in just a few months. They've packed houses across Texas, and have opened for the likes of BON JOVI, Collective Soul, The Click 5, Blue October, Bowling for Soup, Flickerstick, Simple Plan, Mutemath, Eisley, Lovedrug, Matt Wertz and many other bands already established in the music world.
They were voted in the Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards for Best New Band of 2003 and the Best Live Band in 2004, and swept the awards in 2006 winning "Artist of the YEAR," "Song of the Year," and "Album of the Year." GRO was also chosen by MTV as one of the top 20 college based bands in the USA of 2006. To top the year 2006 off, the british publication Blog Critics (a site that averages 3million hits a day) named “The Beauty of Letting Go” #4 in Top 10 Albums of 2006 (the only unsigned band to make the Top 10...right behind Snow Patrols & Pink's record) and named Green River Ordinance #1 Independent Band of 2006!!
Still not old enough to be customers in the bars they sometimes play, the band is anything but green. They have lived the life, and on stage or in the studio, this fact is obvious. Smooth, polished and professional, their musicianship and stage presence belies their youth. They look like what they are: rock stars. But that's where the similarity ends. You won't find these young men bashing their way through hotel room walls or overdosing on the latest chemical craze on a tour bus.
Having sold over 10,000 units independently & over 4,000 digital download sales with their full length debut, "The Beauty of Letting Go", and their Ep "Way Back Home" due out in Feb of '07, they are looking to show the rest of the music world what they have to offer.
With their full length debut, The Beauty of Letting Go -2005, they are looking to show the rest of the music world what they have to offer. In just a few months with their new cd in hand GRO has already sold several thousand copies of their independent album, as they have toured the southwest.
GRO is not like other bands on the way to the top. Negativity isn't their thing. Positive in the face of all the adversity rock and roll can throw at them, the joy they have with each other, and with their music, shines in their faces. They walk their own walk, and they walk it proudly. They are making their own rules, taking their own place in time, making their own mark on the world.
And they are loving every minute of it.
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