In the mundane world of local law, a Green River Ordinance prohibits door-to-door sales without a homeowner’s prior permission. Fortunately, the band Green River Ordinance needn’t rely on such pedestrian peddling to sell its wares—its catchy anthems have drawn listeners on their own. The only door-to-door action is purely word of mouth, as one fan tells another what they’ve found.
Now, listeners everywhere will be able to discover what people in Fort Worth, Texas— the band’s hometown—already know, as EMI/Virgin releases Green River Ordinance’s Out Of My Hands on February 24, 2009.
The major-label bow follows independent debut The Beauty of Letting Go, a record that sold well online (reaching #2 at retailer Awarestore.com) and firmly put the band on the map. Following its release, Green River Ordinance won Artist of the Year, Rock Album of the Year and Song of the Year (for “Piece It Together”) at the 2006 Fort Worth Music Awards, winning Artist of the Year a second time in 2008.
Regional fame landed the band opening slots with artists such as Bon Jovi, Collective Soul, Bowling For Soup, Simple Plan and many others, earning this young band (which formed in high school) the onstage experience and poise of a veteran act.
Out Of My Hands builds on the strengths that got the debut album noticed, with accessible, hook-laden songs suitable for cruising—windows down and radio blaring. Reminiscent of arena-ready, larger-than-life rock bands, Green River Ordinance expertly blends emotive vocals, guitars-to-11 and anthemic choruses to deliver moments certain to move crowds, with lighters (or phones) inevitably waving in the air.
Whether the song is a slow build (“On Your Own”), a propulsive rocker (the title track), or a driving sing-along (lead single “Come On”), Green River Ordinance apparently are incapable of writing anything without a huge chorus that will stick in listeners’ heads for weeks.
The band is composed of singer/guitarist Josh Jenkins, brothers Jamey (guitar) and Geoff Ice (bass), Denton Hunker (drums) and Joshua Wilkerson (guitar). For Out Of My Hands, the band teamed up with producers Mark Endert (Natasha Bedingfield, Maroon 5, Gavin DeGraw), Jordan Critz and Paul Ebersold (Sister Hazel, 3 Doors Down, Third Day) while still keeping the songwriting in-house. The resulting album will be familiar to the band’s hardcore fans while reflecting the additional time and expertise that went into its creation.
And despite the members’ youthful appearance and debut status, as the years in the Texas trenches demonstrate, this band is anything but green.
“We’ve always had a vision about what we wanted to do musically, and we’re still getting it done,” Jenkins reflects. “We’ve stayed true.”
Tour Dates:
Feb 25 2009 The Crofoot Pontiac, Michigan
Feb 27 2009 Station 4 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feb 28 2009 Bluebird Bloomington, Indiana
Mar 1 2009 Subterranean Chicago, Illinois
Mar 3 2009 The Note West Chester, Pennsylvania
Mar 4 2009 The Canal Room New York City, New York
Mar 5 2009 TT the bear’s Boston, Massachusetts
Mar 7 2009 Jammin Java Vienna, Virginia
Mar 10 2009 The Music Farm Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 11 2009 The Evening Muse Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 12 2009 The Square Room Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 13 2009 Smith’s Old Bar Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 14 2009 Gerstle’s Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 15 2009 3rd & Lindsley Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 19 2009 SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 20 2009 Mother Egan’s* Austin, Texas
Mar 21 2009 SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 25 2009 Blue Light Live Lubbock, Texas
Mar 26 2009 Fitzwilly’s College Station, Texas
Mar 27 2009 The Aardvark Fort Worth, Texas
Mar 28 2009 House of Blues Pontiac Dallas, Texas
Apr 16 2009 Converse College Spartanburg, South Carolina
Apr 25 2009 Baldwin Wallace College Berea, Ohio
May 2 2009 Beale Street Music Festival Memphis, Tennessee
*SXSW Official Showcase
