Tag: Iowa

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.

Continue reading “Hitting the Road — The Soods Embark on Midwest Fall Tour This Week” →

Uprooted – treesreach Grows from ‘The Great Resignation’ on ‘How It Seems’

How It Seems
treesreach explores the need for personal fulfillment during “The Great Resignation” on “How It Seems.” Artwork – Dillon Rairdin & Luke Long

For treesreach’s Dillon Rairdin, it was time to branch out in life.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa indie rock vocalist and multi-instrumentalist left his humdrum day job in September 2020 and opted to pursue music full-time.

“The only turmoil that was going on in that job was in me. The people I worked with for the most part were really great. It was a good company, but what was going on was this feeling of complete discontentment,” said Rairdin, who previously worked for a law firm.

“It was the weirdest spot to be in because it wasn’t so bad that it was obvious I needed to quit, but it also wasn’t fulfilling in any way. And in the middle of that, I was trying to find contentment with where I was.”

Rairdin and his treesreach bandmates, guitarist Riley Thurm and drummer Luke Long, deeply explore that mindset on their latest contemplative single, “How It Seems.”

Throughout “How It Seems,” ticking cymbals, trotting drums, vibrant electric guitar, humming bass and tender acoustic guitar beckon Rairdin to uproot his professional life and grow in a new direction.

He sings, “But that song that you’ve been making/Gets stuck in my head from time to time/Like a dream/I’ll follow where it takes me/‘Cause if I stay I’m wasting time/At least that’s how it seems.”

“It was in a really awkward kind of spot that I think a lot of people were in with their jobs,” said Rairdin about the band’s “Great Resignation-themed” track.

“From what I’ve heard, it wasn’t so bad that you wanted to quit, but it was like, ‘Man, I know that I’m meant for something better,’ whether that was in a destiny sense or being in a place that utilized your strengths. I think taking a step away from that job was the right thing to do.”

Once Rairdin embarked on his new “Great Resignation” journey, treesreach started recording drums for “How It Seems” last winter in Rairdin’s parents’ basement and later finalized it in their new home studio.

Mixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Ryan Freeland, the track provides a refreshing sonic growth spurt for the band, who traded their previous lush sound for a new indie rock approach.

“Ryan just seemed really gung-ho about the song, and he really dug it. Usually, we mix all of our own stuff, but we knew with ‘How It Seems’ that we had potential for some success beyond what we’ve seen before,” Rairdin said. “The song is way more pop-accessible than anything else we’ve written, and we just really felt better handing it off to a Grammy Award winner.”

Continue reading “Uprooted – treesreach Grows from ‘The Great Resignation’ on ‘How It Seems’” →