|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I got bored when I didn’t have a band/So I started a band
– Positive Jam, The Hold Steady
Four years after the breakup of Twin Cities staple rockers Lifter Puller in 2000, lead singer Craig Finn was looking for another band. After being inspired by The Last Waltz, the classic rock-doc on The Band, Finn once again joined forces with guitarist Tad Kubler to form The Hold Steady, a band equal parts English-major literary narrative and classic rock pastiche.
Not unlike Lifter Puller, The Hold Steady offers heavy hooks and lyrics seeped in a mythology that practically demands its own encyclopedia to fully understand. From song to song and album to album, recurring characters such as Holly, Charlemagne, and Gideon wrestle with crises of faith, love, drugs, and death, set in the backdrop of the same sketchy bars and hardcore shows that Finn grew up with in Minnesota. This may not sound characteristic of your average rock band, but it’s the same strategy that has earned the band a dedicated fan following and critical acclaim, including the honorary title of “the best bar band in America”.
With a catalogue of five studio albums under their belt, The Hold Steady has undergone some serious changes in recent years. Early last year saw the departure of mustachioed keyboardist Franz Nicolay, who left the band on amicable terms in order to focus on his solo career; since then, former Lucero guitarist Steve Selvidge has stepped in and Nicolay has gone on to tour with Against Me! while The Hold Steady have taken their longest break from touring ever. On top of that, Finn has written a screenplay adaptation of Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City and is also preparing a solo album with the help of members of White Denim, Heartless Bastards, Phosphorescent, and Centro-matic for release early next year. Additionally, Finn and Kubler will be joining Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, and more at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on November 21st to celebrate punk icon Bob Mould, lead singer of fellow Minnesota outfits Hüsker Dü and Sugar.
But lest you worry The Hold Steady is too busy with other projects, have no fear: the band is also currently working on their follow-up to 2010’s Heaven Is Whenever, which will likely be due out some time next year. In the meantime, you can catch the band on tour at Treasure Island Music Festival and beyond; stay tuned for my coverage of their show at the Echoplex this Saturday.
Support their music by buying from Itunes.
Leave a Comment