STANDING ROOM ONLY<\/p>\n
SILVERADA
\nEvolution. It\u2019s what keeps the best bands afloat \u2014 song after song, show after show, record after record.<\/p>\n
Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s when he formed Mike and the Moonpies. From the start, they were the definition of a workingman\u2019s country band, cutting their teeth with five-hour sets on Austin\u2019s dancehall circuit before spreading their music to the rest of America. By the early 2020s, they\u2019d become global ambassadors of homegrown Texas music, flying their flag everywhere from Abbey Road Studios (where they recorded 2019\u2019s Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold with help from the London Symphony Orchestra) to the Grand Ole Opry.<\/p>\n
The growth was remarkable, but all that momentum left Harmeier and his four bandmates \u2014 drummer Taylor Englert, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque, and steel guitarist Zachary Moulton \u2014 looking for something new. After all, their music had decidedly changed. Why shouldn\u2019t their name do the same?<\/p>\n
Silverada marks a new chapter in the band\u2019s history. It\u2019s not just the title of the boldest release of the group\u2019s critically-acclaimed career; it\u2019s also the name of the reinvigorated band itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the day, all we wanted to do was play the Broken Spoke,\u201d says Harmeier, nodding to the hometown honky-tonk in Austin, TX, where Silverada began sowing the seeds for a sound that mixed timeless twang with modern-day dynamics. \u201cWe had different aspirations back then. We were still figuring out what kind of band we were gonna be, and that took a lot of time and a lot of records.<\/p>\n
A lot of records, indeed. Silverada marks the group\u2019s ninth release, and it balances the strengths they\u2019ve accumulated along the way \u2014 sharp, detailed songwriting that bounces between autobiographical sketches and character studies; gorgeous swells of pedal steel that drift through the songs like weather; a rhythm section capable of country shuffles, hard-charging rock & roll tempos, and everything in between \u2014 with a willingness to break old rules and open new doors. \u201cRadio Wave\u201d is a roots-rock anthem for the highway and the heartland, peppered with Springsteen-worthy hooks and War On Drugs-inspired atmospherics. \u201cEagle Rare\u201d launches the band into outer space during its explosive middle section, which the band improvised in the recording studio. \u201cStay By My Side\u201d showcases Silverada\u2019s road-warrior credentials \u2014 the band recorded the track live during a tour across the American Southeast, capturing it in a single take at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia \u2014 while \u201cWallflower\u201d blends the organic with the otherworldly, finding room for harmonized guitar solos, driving disco beats, and 808 percussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into the studio, everybody in the band felt inspired to do something bigger than what they\u2019d done before,\u201d Harmeier explains. \u201cWe all knew we were at a precipice, and we wanted to jump. I brought in some songs that were metaphorical and not always straightforward, and that showed the guys that I wanted to take this music somewhere new\u2026 so they threw their own rulebooks out the window, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STANDING ROOM ONLY SILVERADA Evolution. It\u2019s what keeps the best bands afloat \u2014 song after song, show after show, record after record. Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":95827,"template":"","meta":{"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[],"class_list":["post-95825","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n