waiting for brantley

Honesty, passion, and a dash of an aggressive rock attitude combined with a strong pop sensibility are the key ingredients that make up Waiting For Brantley's particular brand of "southern alt rock." With the upcoming release of a 10 song LP, First Day Graduation, the band is determined to give a new insight of what a Mississippi-based rock band is all about. From colorful storylines in tracks such as "Call Her Friends" and "The Spark and the Flame" to the raw energy of "Static," the band showcases its ability to shell out dynamic rock anthems while still possessing that notorious southern charm.

"I think our goal with this album was to just take rock music back to the basics," explains Steven Holland who serves as the bands founder and frontman. "Lyrically, my goal was to translate my own life stories into something everyone could get something out of."

Since 2004, Waiting For Brantley has independently released 1 LP, "If Anger is the new Happiness..." followed by a 6 song EP in 2006 entitled "A Million Reasons to Try Again." However, after 3 years of regional touring in the Southeast, the band felt it was time for a change of pace. The unofficial "rebirth" of the band began with Holland and guitarist Sam Donald. " We just really wanted to take this band into a new direction," says Donald. "There are so many screamo bands and dance bands and the list goes on and on.. and that just isn't us. We are four guys that grew up listening to everything from Guns N Roses to Deftones to alot of 90's rock and this album was just us tapping into who we really are."

Not long after the band's musical revalation was the addition of bassist Lee Westmoreland and only in a few short months, the band began recording rough demoes of what was soon to become First Day Graduation. "We all had a hand in the writing process" adds Westmoreland. "I was actually a guitar player when Steven and Sam called me. I knew nothing about playing bass but I had seen the band play numerous times in our hometown and I definately wanted to give it a shot."

In August of 2007, the band began tracking with producer Eric Bass in Charleston, South Carolina. "Working with Eric was the best decision we ever made" says Holland. "He really challenged us as a band and we learned so much from it." As the sessions came to an end, the band began focusing on presenting their new found musical maturity with the addtion of drummer Cabe Prestwood. With all pieces intact, Waiting For Brantley has proven to be a force to be reckoned with onstage. "You really can't get the full concept until you see the live show" adds Prestwood. "We really try and put the show back in rock show."

The much anticipated First Day Graduation LP is expected to be independently released in early 2008 with release shows kicking off all over the Southeast. The band has been slowly unveiling some of the tracks across the web which has since drawn much exposure in the past couple of months. "For now, I think we will just work real hard on getting ourselves out there" says Holland. "So far, everyone is loving the new tracks so that for us is the biggest accomplishment."