Redding (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = REDDING


Img_capt = Jeff McCullough, Daniel Gula, Joseph Graves, Jon Stamm
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Origin = St. Louis, Missouri
Genre = Alternative rock, post-Britpop
Years_active = 2004–present
Label = Rock Ridge Music
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Current_members = Joseph Graves Jeff McCullough Daniel Gula Jon Stamm
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Redding is an American indie rock band from Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri. Heavily influenced by British bands like Coldplay, Elbow, Travis, and Radiohead, Redding take their name from the character of Ellis Redding (played by Morgan Freeman) in one of the band’s favorite films, "The Shawshank Redemption".

The band consists of:
*Joseph Graves: lead vocals, guitar
*Jeff McCullough: bass guitar, piano/keyboard, backing vocals
*Daniel Gula: guitar
*Jon Stamm: drums/percussion

History

Origin and early years (1999 – April 2004)

“First we created the band,” recalls drummer Jon Stamm, “and with that established, we faced the problem of learning how to play instruments.” Having grown up playing music together since grade school, Graves, Stamm, and Gula had become a formidable garage band by high school. In their junior year, the trio adopted the name For the Moment, with the joint decision to step back and get serious. 2003 would be a quiet but crucial year for the developing band. In the singer’s basement, a cheap recording studio was built, which opened an important new door to the writing process. In contrast to previous years, ‘03 would be spent in the studio polishing just a handful of songs, rather than aimlessly playing live shows. Graves found himself at the helm of writing the music, with acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies working their way into the maturing sound. Stamm found a niche as the dominant lyricist.

In the early part of 2004, the hard work would pay off. The band decided to retreat back into their home studio from February until April, with intentions of recording a four-song EP completely on their own. Of course, this posed a serious problem: they were lacking a vital member of the band – a bassist. Naturally, Graves thought of his first cousin Jeff McCullough. Although he was nearly 5 years older and already had a degree from Greenville College, McCullough’s musical background and instant connection with the band was a perfect fit. He not only took on the role of bassist, but keyboardist, backing vocalist, and lyricist as well. Additionally, he would become a major creative force in the group. According to Stamm, “It was Jeff who opened our ears to Britpop, which immediately led to a complete obsession.”

"Sinclair Aircraft" EP (May 2004 – December 2004)

May 2004 was a pivotal time for the band. Recording was finally finished, and the resultant four songs were packaged and released as an independent EP called "Sinclair Aircraft". The disc was made available on May 8th, just two weeks before Graves, Stamm, and Gula graduated from high school. However, the band was able to sell nearly all 300 copies before school ended, which was beneficial to the local success that followed through the summer. Most importantly, one copy of the "Sinclair Aircraft" EP managed to make its way into the hands of Tom Derr, owner of Rock Ridge Music, who expressed the possibility of signing For the Moment to his label. But Derr and co-owner Chris Henderson (guitarist in alternative rock group 3 Doors Down) requested additional music. The band quickly wrote and recorded an early version of “Gleam,” which consequently helped seal the deal with Rock Ridge Music. In the fall, Graves, Gula, and Stamm started school at Southwestern Illinois College as music majors.

Development with Rock Ridge Music (January 2005 – present)

2005 presented the band with new opportunities and challenges. To begin with, a name change was necessary after receiving news that “For the Moment” was already in use. According to Graves, this wasn’t a disappointment. “We needed a more fitting name anyway. No one was comfortable with For the Moment.” Within a few weeks, the quartet agreed to call itself Redding.

. On October 18th, recording was completed. The project would then be mixed and mastered over the next three months. Redding's eponymous eight track debut album was released on July 11, 2006.

See also

Websites

* [http://www.reddingmusic.com Redding] Official Website, Retrieved 21 February, 2006
* [http://www.myspace.com/redding Redding on Myspace] Retrieved 21 February, 2006
* [http://www.rockridgemusic.com Rock Ridge Music] Retrieved 21 February, 2006

Influences (alphabetical)

* The Beatles
* Coldplay
* Doves
* Elbow
* Guster
* Radiohead
* Elliott Smith
* Sufjan Stevens
* Travis
* U2
* Wilco