Holidaysburg
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Holidaysburg

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"excerpt from "Goddang Twang" by Nicole Prezioso"

By the time Weddle was in his mid-20s, he realized he wasn't the angry punk rock kid he had been in previous bands. He began to miss the atmosphere in which he grew up in Maryland, where he felt comforted by the lazy melodies of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. He met up with some of his former bandmates and formed Holidaysburg.

These days, the band plays two different sets: the blisteringly loud, bombastic Southern rock set and the quieter, drinking-beer-with-friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon alt-country set. Either set is a terrifyingly good thing, but their louder set leaves audiences crippled yet somehow desperate to hang out with them on their front porch. The alt-country bit is a more recent development. In early 2005, the band was approached to do an acoustic set, which they had never done before. "We tried turning down the bass and taking out the fuzz, and we saw that we could do the songs in a simpler way," says Weedle. "We realized that we weren't confined to any one sound. We could sound mellow on the back porch or really loud."

The band recently released their first full-length album, A Better November, recorded in Gainesville with Rob McGregor at Goldentone Studios. The disc sounds like a combination of their two contrasting sets, including both the toe-tapping hums and the thrashing singalongs. The album itself is packed with songs about love, friendship and the benefits of hindsight. Certain songs evoke a could-have-been feeling but maintain hope that, with another swig of Pabst, the future will look brighter.

- Orlando Weekly (www.orlandoweekly.com)


"excerpt from "Go Southeast, young man" by Dan Sweeney"

At first, the band didn't seem to have much in common with the vaguely countryish sound of the other bands. Its first song was straight-ahead rock, though the singer had that roots-rock growl so many alt-country bands adopt. But after a few songs, Holidaysburg strayed into more-countrified territory with a slower, crying-in-your-beer number titled "A Better November," which is also the title of the band's 2005 debut album. The band concluded with a kick-ass, foot-stomping version of Kenny Rogers' "Coward of the County." I feared our local boys might not measure up to the out-of-town hired guns.
- City Link (www.southflorida.com/citylink)


""This Little Underground" 3/1/07"

In last week’s outings, I was reminded of a couple country-steeped local acts that tend to get overlooked. Friday I checked in on Holidaysburg at Central Station Bar. Despite the modest uprising of young alt-country acts that has sprouted in the past couple years, this band’s profile remains mysteriously low. But maybe it’s because these guys are the very picture of their music: no glamour, no bullshit, just straight-shooting. Despite the famously unforgiving acoustics of the space — brick walls, stone bar, terrazzo floors — their broad, soaring country-rock sound, given extra flight by singer Rob Weddle’s powerfully agile voice, came as close as anyone to sounding remotely warm in this room.

- Bao Le-Huu, Orlando Weekly


""A tale of two concerts" by Bao Le-Huu"

Slowing things down at Will's a few nights later was a more gently exhaling bill. Loosening the Monday noose first was local country rockers Holidaysburg, who were much better since I saw them back in February. Most notably, singer/guitarist Rob Weddle imposed some economy on his powerful voice and found a more effective way to channel his vocal force rather than diluting it with unnecessary histrionics. Bassist Justin Shupe's lines were more punctuated this time, showing their importance to the band's expressiveness. They could be on their way to becoming Orlando's premier country rock band. But their next mission, should they choose to accept it, is to dig deeper and bring forth more twang to really draw out the emotion of their songs. And that song "Friend in Pennsylvania," is the way to do it, boys.

- Orlando City Beat


"More of a Good Thing: Florida Music Festival write-up"

Being far less concerned with fashion than other young twangsters has these no-bullshit locals relegated to underdog status on the city’s y’allternative scene. Maybe it’s their lower irony quotient, or maybe it’s the soulful muscle of singer Rob Weddle’s turbo-charged voice, but they’re unquestionably one of the best country-rock outfits in these parts. Nothin’ fancy, just heartfelt, straightforward and tuneful. - Orlando Weekly (Jason Ferguson and Bao Le-Huu)


Discography

A Better November [2005]

Photos

Bio

Armed with songs about girls, liquor, Pennsylvania, and the ghosts of regret, Holidaysburg is the guy sitting next to you at the bar who either won't shut up or wants you to shut up, but is there for you nonetheless; the broken-hearted echo of days when sleeves were readily adorned with hearts and hands with near-empty bottles, while the wearer of both sat quietly for just one song to grace the jukebox that would give him good reason to rid himself of one or the other.

Rob Weddle (voice/guitar), Larry Fulford (drums), Jed Johnson (guitar), and Ben Thacker (bass) have stumbled around the block in a number of bands since their teens. With Holidaysburg, the four have met somewhere in the middle of the fuzz-laden urgency of punk rock and the lazy Sunday jangle of classic country music.

In the summer of 2005, the band released their debut record, "A Better November," a ten-song chronicle of good times and hindsight, low flying planes and powerlines, friends in cold places, and Jesus.

Since then, the boys have opened for several of their favorite national artists, including Mic Harrison, Drag The River, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, and Cory Branan.