The Great Collide
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"His and hers vocal duties handled by rockers with lyrical chops and range." - CMJ Music Marathon 2010 Program - CMJ
Nashville radio station Lightning 100 selected The Great Collide as their "Local Lightning Spotlight" in June of 2010, earning the single "Hounds of Time" daily airplay. - Lightning 100
"Formed on a post-graduation whim, The Great Collide have a quality EP to show for their first year out of school and as a band. This five-track EP definitely shows the great potential this young band has and how it’s only up from here. Be that kid who was a fan “before they got big,” because it’s gonna happen." - audiocandy+radio - audiocandy + radio
The Great Collide were voted Nashville Artist of the Month by the Deli Magazine for the month of September, 2010. - Deli Magazine
A week before graduation, Jane Lee stewed over the fears of the real world and what lied ahead of her after college in Syracuse. Only a week before, however, she had been playing music with one of her classmates, Wyatt Wolf, from her songwriting seminar class and he had asked her if she wanted to move with him and two other guys to Nashville, Tenn. to start a band.
She didn’t even know who these guys were besides the bassist, her childhood friend David Castillo, and not to mention Tennessee wasn’t exactly in her plans. She was a psychology major who loved to sing and play music, but it was a big risk without much time to think about it.
At first, it wasn’t hard for Lee to say no, but with time running out, Lee just got a feeling about Wolf and the band. And just like that, something clicked.
“People say I was brave, but I think it was meant to happen because of the way it happened,” Lee said.
Lee, Wolf and the rest of the guys, now officially The Great Collide, have been living on the outskirts of Nashville for the past four months, practicing their music in their basement. After living in Nashville over the summer and playing a few shows, the band has already faced the cultural struggles of living in the South.
“It’s a struggle, but we knew that,” Lee said. “We’re still trying to get into the Nashville scene.”
Although Nashville is largely a Christian rock/country-pop music scene, Lee says there’s a brewing indie rock culture as well.
“Nashville is completely different [from Syracuse],” Lee said. “Country music is everywhere, but there are a lot of indie bands, and lots of venues too.”
The band is mostly surviving off their parents for the time being, although Lee is working a sales job in Nashville. Lee, vocals and keys, was born in Australia and raised in Singapore as a kid, and then decided to study at Syracuse University because all the rest of her Singaporean high school friends were going to American colleges. She always loved to sing and played in a couple bands in high school, but didn’t really start getting serious about music until she met Bob Halligan, her songwriting professor during her senior year.
“He inspired me to write a lot more,” Lee said. “I’ve always sang forever. I got into acapella in college, and it really helps our overall vocal-driven melodies.”
After living with her band mates for several months, her reservations about the band have disappeared. Lee said the band has meshed together into a tight little family, and that they all have great creative chemistry.
“Every now and then I get that feeling like I’ve had eight cups of coffee,” Lee said. “I know I made the right decision.”
Bob Halligan, the man responsible for bringing Lee and Wolf together, says although he fell out of his chair once he heard Lee sing, he still discouraged Lee to pursue her rock star dreams.
“I usually want to talk people out of it,” Halligan said. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Although he knows the band is very talented, Halligan had some words of wisdom.
“There are so many challenges---the biggest is to stay centered and focused,” he said.
The band is striving to complete an EP soon. In November, they’ll be hitting the studio to record five to six songs, and hopefully release them in time for December. Wolf and drummer Drew Mitnick formed the band Excuse Me Gunman with their two friends Kevin Kearns and Kurt Conner as sophomores at SU. The band morphed into The Great Collide without Kearns and Conner, and with the addition of Lee and Castillo. Wolf said there’s a big difference between Excuse Me Gunman and The Great Collide.
“Excuse Me Gunman was a good time, but now it’s art---what we see masses of people liking,” Wolf said. “Before, it was rowdy and go-go. I was at a different stage in my life. Now, I’m writing as an adult.”
Wolf knew Lee was talented, but he wasn’t sure if it would totally work out at first. As it turned out, Wolf said they got lucky after realizing he and Lee make a perfect tandem.
“Jane is a very abstract writer/thinker, visually descriptive, and I’m good at interpreting what she’s thinking,” Wolf said. “We’re both classically trained, and we’re willing to fall into things unconventionally.”
Wolf decided Nashville was the right place because they knew it had a big music scene, but also small enough for them to make a name for themselves.
“Nashville gets thrown under the radar,” Wolf said. “Part of that is getting to know the other bands in the scene. It’s who you know.”
He and Mitnick did their research by asking their music industry contacts and professors, and Nashville won out to Brooklyn since New York is so competitive and distracting. It was a tough decision for everyone to take such a risk, but for Wolf, it was the fear of missing his chance that made the decision easy.
“All through senior year, I was looking at banks and finance firms, and I thought to myself, I can’t do this---this isn’t where I want to be in life,” Wolf said. “I didn’t want to wake up one day and realize I’m 40.” - audiocandy + radio
"The Great Collide is comprised of four extremely talented musicians who are truly a treat to experience live. Their energy is contagious to everyone who discovers them." - Sarahbibiable Blo
- Sarahbibiable Blog
"Many would agree that Wyatt and the rest of The Great Collide have great things ahead of them, and just like the seemingly chaotic, orderly, random, destined, and explosive nature of their music, their lives, and their origin, The Great Collide is poised to take the music industry by storm." - Denon Electronics - Denon Electronics
"They’re very talented, and as I always appreciate, they look like they’re having fun when they play... My question for them is, when are you playing in New York?" - The Romp, Blog
Discography
The Great Collide EP
- Released April 23rd, 2010
- Track List:
1) Les Animaux
2) Hounds of Time
3) Hit Parade
4) Flowers
5) Far From Here
- Available at all major online vendors and in select independent record stores
- "Hounds of Time" has received regular airplay as a single on Nashville's Lightning 100
Photos
Bio
True to its namesake, The Great Collide is a meeting point in time and space. It is an intersection of four personalities, aesthetics, and backgrounds. At times fiercely energetic and others heartbreakingly poignant, their music demands attention and warrants it.
The Great Collide was set into motion at Syracuse University in 2009. Wyatt Wolfram and Drew Mitnick, who had played music together throughout college, faced graduation day as an opportunity to leap into the rock and roll circus. It wasn’t until their final semester that Wolfram crossed paths with vocalist Jane Lee in a college songwriting class. After only a few writing sessions together and just days before graduation, Lee was asked to join and form a band. Diplomas fresh in hand, the three transplanted themselves to Nashville, TN, where they could focus solely on creating their own brand of music.
The Great Collide would not be truly formed, however, until another serendipitous connection would be realized. In need of a bassist, Lee contacted David Castillo; the two had played music together while attending high school in Singapore. After hearing a few demos, Castillo bought a one-way ticket to Nashville from New York, and the four haven't looked back since.
The Great Collide has built a band, a sound, and a following as diverse as the group itself. The band has been making a name for themselves in the Nashville indie scene and have played shows throughout the Southeast. In April 2010, The Great Collide released a five song EP that showcases the group’s intertwining vocals and stylized rhythms.
Their first Northeast tour in May 2010 drew capacity crowds in New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C. In June, The Great Collide was featured as Nashville radio station Lightning 100’s Local Lightning Spotlight, where the single “Hounds of Time” received daily airplay. October 2010 saw the band at CMJ Music Marathon, where they played three showcases including a sold out performance at Arlene’s Grocery. The Great Collide currently has dates booked in the Nashville area and is writing material in anticipation of their full-length debut.
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