Dan Koch - guitar/vocals
Nate Henry - vocals/bass
Gabe Dutton - guitar
Mike Leibovich - keys
Joe Greenetz - drums
One of my favorite movies is Disney’s Robin Hood. Sherwood Forest, etc.
Three and a half years
http://www.myspace.com/sherwood
http://www.sherwoodmusic.net
While nearly every modern-day rock band is greatly affected by rock’s iconic songwriters, very few bands aspire to rise above fad-status and achieve something great. Sherwood is one of those bands.
Since forming in late 2002 as college friends in San Luis Obispo, CA, Sherwood has developed a reputation for being one of the most industrious bands in their league. They’ve booked multiple nation-wide tours and enjoyed immense success with their self-released EP, making fans wherever fans could be made. Whether they’re meeting people at shopping malls, or chatting with crowds waiting in line at shows, Sherwood knows the value of making new friends. Guitarist Dan Koch remarks, “It’s easy to get down when you’re on a hectic tour playing to sparse crowds. A few things always seem to keep us going, like a great show, a cool conversation with a fan, or moments that remind us how lucky we are to do this kind of thing.”
In 2004, Sherwood went into the studio with producer Michael Rosas to record their debut full-length, “Sing, But Keep Going.” The band recorded fifteen songs, but ultimately kept twelve of the best tunes for the record. Drummer Joe Greenetz remarks, “No matter which song you think will turn out great, you can never tell until the whole thing is done. Since it’s our first album, we really tried to put our best foot forward.”
SideCho Records delivered “Sing, But Keep Going” on May 31st, 2004, after serving as a source of counsel to the band during its earliest days. When Sherwood first released their EP, SideCho Records president, James Cho, encouraged the band to tour as much as possible and make friends on the road. The band received similar advice from others in the industry and wasted no time booking their first national tour in support of their EP. Their hard work and catchy tunes helped generate considerable label attention early on, but Sherwood found a home at SideCho.
With a diverse selection of influences that include The Beach Boys and Jimmy Eat World, “Sing, But Keep Going” offers sharp lyrics, indie charm and a nod to the great songwriters of decades past. The band referenced standards such as “Pet Sounds” and “Revolver” to create engaging instrumentation and relied on personal experiences to inspire the lyrics.
After a solid year-and-a-half of touring in support of “Sing...”
Sherwood recorded yet another EP for self-release in mid-2006. The band offered the 5-song Summer EP for free download via music news website http://www.absolutepunk.net then spent all summer playing the tunes to enthusiastic fans on the Vans Warped Tour.
Amongst a sea of predictable clones, Sherwood’s natural sound and clever hooks serve as a refreshing reminder of how far a great song can go.
Upbeat indie-pop
On a songwriting level, older bands like the Beatles and the Beach Boys, but our instrumentation is more along the lines of Jimmy Eat World and the Get Up Kids.
Warped Tour is a grueling endeavor. We did it two years ago for a few weeks, so we knew what we were getting into. One of the neatest things about the tour is getting to meet and befriend a lot of folks in bigger bands that we admire. For example, we had a great time hanging out with Chris from Saves The Day, and the guys from Underoath.
The music industry has been turned on its head by the advent of mp3’s and the internet. It’s so difficult for bands to establish themselves, because record labels are becoming more helpless, and the playing field for all bands has been leveled considerably. We figured the best way to get our music out to as many people as possible, was to give it to them for free. To answer your question, I do think this will be growing trend in the industry. Labels will just need to find new avenues for making money. Change is inevitable, and it’s often a good thing
The idea behind the community is to raise awareness among music fans, of pressing social/humanitarian causes. We realize there’s a lot more to life than playing rock music, and we want to perpetuate that idea. We’ve received essays from a number of friends in other bands.
Like I said, the industry has changed drastically in the last few years. People who have been in the business for decades are scrambling trying to figure out how to cope with the changes. I think it’s important for bands of all sizes to consider themselves independent. One thing we’ve learned over the years is that we’re ultimately alone in the business, and nobody is going to make or break us without our own hard work (or lack thereof).
I usually come up with the basic ideas for the song—melody, chords, lyrics, some instrumentation. Then we’ll all get together in a practice space and flesh it out. Songs usually start with a hook that pops into my head. Sometimes the hook has words to it, and I’ll write a song based around that one line.
We probably all have different answers to that question, but I think one band that we would most enjoy touring with is Death Cab For Cutie. We’re all fans of their music and it would be a treat to watch them every night; I think their fans are open-minded and would be receptive to Sherwood.
To keep making the best music that we can, and to introduce it to as many people as we can.
By telling their friends about us. Word-of-mouth has always been a fundamental part of the indie rock world.
Check out http://www.thehungersite.com where you can give food to starving people for FREE just by clicking a button.
Oh, and go download our free Summer EP at http://www.absolutepunk.net/sherwood
