Tag: Elroy Meltzer

Hitting the Road — The Soods Embark on Midwest Fall Tour This Week

Jason Roy of The Soods. Photo – Matt Ten Clay

The Soods are ready to hit the road.

The indie-rock collective is embarking on a short Midwest tour, which runs October 11 to 16.

The tour includes shows in Grand Rapids and Lansing, Michigan, as well as Chicago; Davenport, Iowa; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. It will also celebrate a milestone for one of The Soods’ side projects—Elroy Meltzer.

“This one will just be Steven [Meltzer] and me,” said Jason Roy, frontman and co-producer for The Soods, who’s based in Grand Rapids.

“It actually marks 10 years this year since we started Elroy Meltzer together, so we actually will be doing some songs off those first two albums. Steven still actively writes, records, and performs as Elroy Meltzer and has an album coming out on October 10 called 9 Out of 10 Ain’t Bad that people should check out as well.”

For its tour, The Soods have prepared an extensive setlist filled with new songs, old favorites, and covers.

“I think we have rehearsed about 25 or 26 songs, five covers ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Gorillaz, and then a pretty even split of Soods songs and the aforementioned Elroy stuff,” Roy said. “We’re pretty excited to play five unreleased ones as it’ll be the first time we played a few of them.”

I recently spoke with Roy about the collective’s tour and recent releases.

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Getting Personal — Elroy Meltzer Examines Death and Grief on “And The Elderly Midnight” Album

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Elroy Meltzer’s Matt Noordhoff, Steven Meltzer, Pat Kargl, and Drake Fierge. Photo courtesy of Elroy Meltzer

Steven Meltzer takes a more personalized approach to songwriting on And The Elderly Midnight.

The Elroy Meltzer frontman examines internal struggles with death and grief on the indie-rock collective’s latest album via Midwest Gold Records.

“I wanted to go down that [path] and be more relatable. Not to say I’m a dark person by any means, but sadness and death are something that everyone has experienced and dealt with,” said Meltzer, the vocalist-guitarist of the Grand Rapids, Michigan collective.

“In our music scene, we’ve lost great people due to suicide or drug use. I’ve also had friends who have recently lost parents to cancer or are dealing with that currently. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s hard to maneuver through, but it’s happening.”

The album’s seven tracks uncover the emotional toll those experiences take on Meltzer, the people he knows, and the world around him. His perceptive lyrics and the collective’s earnest instrumentation invite listeners to explore their challenges alongside them.

“It’s the feeling of getting older and the idea that I’m getting close to death even though I’m not. It’s also that feeling of thinking, ‘Am I at a point where it’s too late? Have I missed any opportunities? Am I too old now?’” said Meltzer, who founded the collective in 2010 and performs with The Soods.

“It seems like everyone is married, everyone has kids, and everyone is happy. I’m wondering if I’m missing out on those things. It’s also the helpful acceptance of making this life work because you only get one.”

To learn more, I spoke with Meltzer about the inspiration behind And The Elderly Midnight.

Continue reading “Getting Personal — Elroy Meltzer Examines Death and Grief on “And The Elderly Midnight” Album” →