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Poor HarveyThere is something indelibly classic about Poor Harvey. Upon first listen, Poor Harvey's original songs would draw to one's mind such greats as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Neil Young, and Tom Petty. But these comparisons are not so much in their structures being similar, but rather, the songs possessing the same timeless ingredients that make you want to listen to the record right now over and over, and will do the same twenty years from now. Poor Harvey are rock-n-roll puritans, but without the pretension. There are no shaggy rock-star hair cuts, there are no well-thought out thrift store digs on their backs. The band is based around rock-solid songwriting delivered with straight up rock n roll sensibilities. The band formed over three years ago when singer/guitarist, Paul Johnson, began writing and performing with brother, Patrick Johnson (bass, vocals). At a live show, expect to see Paul stagger around the vicinity of the microphone, crutching the guitar, throwing screams, then changing to near soft whispers, with every drop of blood sweat and tears projected into the songs, and into the audience. Right by his side, Patrick sways more calmly and collected, filling in the empty air, looking nearly as if he has reached some sort of musical Zen-like state. They are sublimely juxtaposed next to one another, the sonic contrast unflinchingly homogeneous. Holding the sound together in the middle with an uncanny hand for groove rhythms is drummer Dan Thompson, who was brought into the project not long after its beginnings (and a much too heavy metal drummer). After three years of performing as a power trio, the band welcomed the addition of rhythm guitarist Justin Hilbun as well as auxiliary percussionist Rhett Lamy. While the band?s sound is often described as raw and intense, Poor Harvey?s songs always contain an element of candor, delivering the message of the song to the listener with pristine grace and refined rock n? roll elegance without ever losing its potency. They are loud and perhaps even tormented and disastrous, but Poor Harvey is a band who knows how to lasso these energies into well-crafted, emotionally and sonically transcending pieces of music. Since their small Southern city beginnings playing gigs in saturated bars in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the band has risen quickly to the top of their scene. In the spring of 2002 the WB?s ?Planet Buzz? music television program was so impressed with the music they featured Poor Harvey playing a live show and interview on-air. Local radio stations picked up on the music, and various tracks from their debut EP ?Innersessions? (2001) and follow-up LP ?Sonus? (2002) were added into rotation on LSU?s 91.1 KLSU FM as well as with commercial format stations such as X104.9 and ROCK 93.7 FM. Playing nearly all notable venues in the city, including Chelsea?s Caf?, The Varsity Theatre and many Louisiana State University events, Poor Harvey was soon regarded as the cr?me de la cr?me of the Baton Rouge music scene by both music listeners and musicians alike. Playing seedy bars was no longer necessary- the word was out. Last year they were featured at Warner Brother?s Records ?Rock U? Showcase held at The Varsity Theatre. Since then they have opened shows for many regional and national bands including Candlebox, Ingram Hill, and others. In 2003 Poor Harvey signed with Meridian Jane Records, an independent label out of New York that has worked with the likes of Incubus and Jeff Buckley members, and released their third CD ?Antimatter,? in the Fall of 2004. The record contains the same spirit as their previous efforts, but with much more refined and distilled tones and textures. Poor Harvey has grown into their shoes with their sound as a band, a sound that has always been undeniably original, but is now quintessentially Poor Harvey. This unyieldingly original essence is just as boisterous and irrefutable as the wailing of the distorted guitar and the sonic exploitation one can hear from any project PH takes part in. Stay tuned. ::POOR HARVEY COMBO-PACK:: ::HAPPY HOLIDAYS:: ::PHOTOGRAPHY UPDATE:: ::NEW MUSIC WEBSITE:: ::MEDIA UPDATE:: ::NEW POOR HARVEY LP:: ::MERCHANDISE UPDATE:: ::MAILING LIST:: ::ONLINE PRESS KIT:: |
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