This is the last Band of the Week for 2006 and with that in mind I searched high and low for a band that would make BotW really proud. A band capable of the kind of emotive songs and hard rocking tunes that could inspire me to put my arms up in the air and dance and completely lose myself in their music. And I found them.
Fort Worth, Texas-based Green River Ordinance (GRO) are the next big band-on-the-block. With an alt.rock-power pop sound that will make you think of Third Eye Blind, Nickelback or Matchbox Twenty. The lyrics are a little bit country with a pop twist but still rock-&-roll and somehow maintain an ardent passion and emotional intensity. GRO are truly the next legend-band in the making.
Formed in high school, Josh Jenkins (lead vocals & acoustic), brothers Jamey (electric guitar) and Geoff Ice (bass), Denton Hunker (drums) and Josh Wilkerson (electric guitar) took their name from a street sign found, forgotten, in a back yard. The Green River Ordinance outlawed door-to-door salesmen from visiting country homes without an appointment. This appealed to the boys as their fan base was growing almost door-to-door by word of mouth.
Now the momentum is building and this exciting new band are beginning to be noticed on a national level beginning with two different appearances on national television shows - YMCTV’s “City Sessions” and HDNET’s “True Music”. Their debut album The Beauty of Letting Go reached #2 in the sales chart on Awarestore.com – one of the largest online independent distributors – and stayed in the Top 10 for eight weeks. At the 2006 Fort Worth Music Awards GRO won Artist of the Year, Rock Album of the Year for The Beauty of Letting Go and Song of the Year for their single “Piece it Together”. GRO have been named by MTVU’s “Best On Campus” one of the top 20 college bands in the US for 2006 and this year they have opened for Collective Soul, Bowling For Soup and Bon Jovi — at which a Bon Jovi insider reportedly said: “This is by far the best local band we have seen open up for Jon (Bon Jovi) the entire tour.” And now a new video for their single “Breath of Life.”
Josh Jenkins, the frontman for GRO, agreed to have a chat with me on the phone for the last BotW and I was thrilled. Rarely do I feel nervous when talking to a frontman – there have been so many now – but this time I was. GRO made me feel inspired in a way that few rock bands do. GRO’s warm, intense, emotive rock-&-roll tunes illicit both sexual and joyous feelings in me all at once. Josh turned out to be an intelligent, slightly shy, deeply spiritual young man who said if the rock band thing didn’t work out, he may become a missionary. Josh and I spoke three times on the phone and each time I was deeply impressed. His charming sense of humour and warm, soft Texas accent made each phone call fantastic fun as we talked about Travis, The Killers, Winnie the Pooh and Southern sayings. This is a small part of our longest conversation.
Article comments
1 - Douglas Mays
How did these guys come up with the name? Back in proto-grunge days there was the Seattle band Green River, named after a stretch of water up here (Seattle) that many murdered women's bodies were dumped by the famed Green River Killer.
Members of this band? Take a look at Pearl Jam's roster.
OK, trivia....
2 - A.L. Harper
Hey Douglas - This Green River Ordinance get their name from a street sign they found abandoned in one the band members back gardens. The Green River Ordinance was an ordinance that outlawed door-to-door salesmen from visiting country homes without an appointment.
But he trivia was very interesting, thanks!