Seeking Homer

………ever searching, bound for home.

In 1994 while attending Fordham University Dave Oberacker and Tommy Connors began playing music together in small clubs and bars in The Bronx and on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Within a year and a half, the duo had composed a variety of songs with acoustic guitars and distinct harmonies. In 1996 Tommy and Dave met New York City natives James Dunlop and Michael Seda. The spontaneous tone was set as Seda’s first time meeting with the band was also the night of their first gig together. On that night, Seeking Homer was formed and later that year they recorded their first album, Streets.

Seeking Homer continued on its path and expanded their touring from NYC to the rest of the country. The band steadily infiltrated the consciousness of clubs, radio stations, the music press and most importantly, the listening public. The band’s strategy of non-stop touring, endless promotions, online distribution, and a growing mailing list and fan base catapulted this self-managed, self-produced act to unprecedented popularity. The influence of Dunlop’s musical arrangements and Seda’s additional vocals, song writing and percussion helped form the sound for the band’s second album …A Good Hard Smack, which was released in 1998.

1998 also saw Seeking Homer’s live show continue to win the praise and admiration of their audiences, which consistently includes a dynamic mix of faithful devotees who sing along to every song as well as new fans who can’t resist the contagious appeal of the four man band’s polished sound. The Seeking Homer live show is a truly unique experience that is always interactive, emotional, intellectual and inspiring. By 1999 Seeking Homer found themselves sharing the stage with many national acts, some of which inspired their music. Bands such as Richie Havens, The Samples, Guster, Moxy Fruvous, Cowboy Mouth, Corey Glover (of Living Colour), They Might Be Giants, Ben Folds, Dispatch, The Tom Tom Club, Edwin McCain among other national acts began noticing that the quartet from the Bronx was winning over their fans.

The band played clubs, festivals and schools all over the east coast and even managed to tour the Midwest and southeast with their limited budget. In New York City Seeking Homer found its home at a downtown club called the Wetlands. This famed club has been an outlet to such bands as The Bogmen, Phish, The Dave Matthews Band, and The Spin Doctors. As 1999 came to a close Seeking Homer found itself amongst the indie-elite and a solid touring act in the musical underground.

Well before the close of the century, Seeking Homer’s brand of acoustic-driven rock began to morph into a unique sound that one critic called, “electric folk with a big beat.” This sound was captured on a recording from a show at the Wetlands in late 1999. Live –Wetlands – NYC was released in June of 2000 under the band’s newly formed label, Dirty Boot Music. This unique live recording was from a show at the Wetlands that not only ended at 2:40 am, but was also the last show of a twelfth show in fourteen days. The eighteen tracks are presented in the order in which the songs were played with the exception of three cover songs that were omitted.

The band continued to tour into the new millennium and received some great national exposure when their version of the Star Spangled Banner was used as the soundtrack for the PGA’s US Open 100 anniversary tribute on NBC. It was at the end of 2000 that the band met producer Jon Wolfson through a mutual friend. Wolfson’s previous work with Quincy Jones, Steve Winwood, and Lonestar impressed the band. The feeling was mutual as Wolfson quickly recognized Seeking Homer’s special energy and songwriting talents. This meeting could not have come at a better time, as the band was ready to express their new arrangements and expanding sound on a new album. It wasn’t long before Seeking Homer was back in the studio after an almost three-year hiatus, rehearsing and recording with Jon Wolfson.

Recorded in New York City at the world class Avatar Studios (formerly The Powerstation) the album promises to be the band’s best effort to date. Throughout the highs and the lows of the band members and the world surrounding them, Seeking Homer found one constant, playing their music together. The ten-song album, entitled Paradise was released on December 11, 2001.

After the release of Paradise Seeking Homer continued to do what they do best, tour heavily. All along the way more and more radio stations are beginning to hop on board. What began at a few college stations in the northeast US had spread into songs like Horses Running, Stung and Eastbound getting charted in college radio, Mp3.com and into the play-lists of all types of radio formats. Not bad for four guys in a van.

After touring nationally for nearly two years supporting the album Paradise, Seeking Homer headed back into the studio in the late summer and fall of 200