The Boston-based band, Gentleman Hall, are ,to say the least on the rise. From their very first single, “Sail Into The Sun,” which was featured on Target’s 2013 holiday commercial, to when they played at the Billboard Music Awards, this band is one to watch. Drawing comparisons to MGMT and The Killers, Gentlemen Hall are stand out men at work. Below, Seth Hachen and Bradford Alderman of Gentlemen discuss what their writing process, touring and Kendrick Lamar.
Cliché: How did the band get started? Are you all from Boston?
Gentlemen Hall: We’re actually all from the northeast and midwest and met each other in Boston. We were just friends for a while hanging, partying, and jamming; and then one day we started writing songs in the basement which, led to playing some parties and eventually shows. Not much has changed, just playing better shows now but we still write at home.
Where did the name of the band come from?
We were playing one of our first frat parties in Allston and things were going fantastic as people were really going nuts so we kept turning the PA system louder and louder. Naturally, after some time, the cops busted the scene and were doing their whole threatening to arrest everybody and everyone thing and when finally they came up to us and they said “Gentlemen, haul your asses out of here or we’ll haul em to jail”. Something just clicked there and realized at that moment that we were going to be a band that pushes it to the limit at every opportunity. We commemorated it by naming our band after the words that were spoken at that moment to us (with a slight spelling change of course).
How would you describe your sound?
People tell us we sound like the culmination of all music past and present which I suppose to an extent is true. But really we are just trying to find new sounds and write songs that express that universal human spirit as well as convey our individual triumphs and tribulations. We write tons of ideas and songs while we are at home and a lot of them end up in the archives but the ones we all love we end up recording and performing.
What’s the writing process like, is it more organic or does the band sit down intentionally to write a song?
Each song has its own journey, from starting with a single idea or even a feeling and then developing it in various ways, sometimes over the course of years until it’s released. We try out a lot of ideas and arrangements and feel which ones we like the most. We figure if we like it, maybe someone else will.
Are there any plans in the works for a full album?
We are working on an album that should be coming out later this year. We have a lot of really great songs recorded, so now it’s mostly mixing and finishing. We play a lot of the new material in our live show that people seem to like, so we’re really looking forward to releasing the music.
How was touring with Third Eye Blind, and what was the fan reception like?
It was incredible. We loved traveling around with them and had some epic shows together. There were a lot of people at each show and we did our thing and the fans really embraced us and rocked out with us. It was also great to watch Third Eye Blind rock it each night. The band and crew are all great people and are very talented as well.
The band did a cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” What drew the band to that song?
We’re huge fans of Kendrick and love his last record. We bumped Good Kid, M.A.A.D City on the road all the time and we just thought it would be really cool to take one of our favorite songs off that record and do it in the GH style. We are really pumped about the great reception it has received.
What can fans expect from the band in 2014?
We’ve totally made a pact to go balls to the wall this year. We’re just really excited to release more music and play as many shows as we can. We also have a music video for our single, “All Our Love,” coming out in a couple weeks.
All images courtesy of Nate at Total Assault
