Hope & Therapy

Hope & Therapy
Indie Pop: Meet the 2016 RFT Music Award Nominees

It took a six-year semi-hiatus for Alton, Illinois, trio Hope and Therapy to come out with new music. But when Webs dropped earlier this year, the band’s rhythmically complex, keyboard-driven songs were a breath of fresh air from a group that was off the radar far too long. Hope Gaines leads the band with dark, entrancing vocals and smartly retro keyboard sounds while bassist Dan Deck and drummer Drew Mader erect a sturdy, nuanced rhythmic base. "We're big on dynamics," Mader told the RFT earlier this year. "We play it harder, then we play a little mellow and then we hit it hard again.” Webs’ opening track “Former Future” lays out the band’s talent at deploying elements of brutality and lushness in equal measure.

-Christian Schaeffer
May 25, 2016 - Riverfront Times

Hope & Therapy's Record Store Day set at Euclid was a feast of overdriven bass, feedback, moody keys, dynamic drums and belted vocals. Hailing from Alton, they were one of the day's many pleasant surprises. Worth checking out for the sick bass tones alone.

-Evan Sult
May 2016 - Eleven Magazine

Who says music isn't a competition? Joking aside, the RFT Music Awards are our way of celebrating St. Louis' staggering wealth of talent. The nominees you see below were carefully compiled by a panel of radio DJs, music writers, venue owners/employees, record store staff and other key figures from the music community, and very soon we will expect you, dear reader, to make some very hard choices.

The polls are set to open in mid-May as we roll out a band-by-band breakdown of each category. For now, take the time to comb through the list and become familiar with St. Louis' exceptional scene. And don't forget, many of the acts you see below are set to perform at this years RFT Music Showcase, taking place in the Grove this June, so stay tuned.


Americana
Arson For Candy
Beth Bombara
Brothers Lazaroff
Loot Rock Gang
River Kittens

Blues
4th City Rag
Big Mike Aguirre & the Blu City All Stars
The Green McDonough Band
The Maness Brothers
Rum Drum Ramblers
Country
Cree Rider Family Band
Jack Grelle
Southwest Watson Sweethearts
Tortuga
Trigger 5

Cover Band
Bullseye Womprats
Fat Pocket
The Town Drunks
Warhorse
We Bite

DJ
DJ MAKossa
DJ Mahf
DJ Uptown
Mister Ben (NO HITS)
Nappy DJ Needles

Electronic (Dance)
Adult Fur
D-M-Y
Giant Monsters On The Horizon
Hylidae
ICE (formerly known as Black James)

Electronic (Eclectic)
18andCounting
Biggie Stardust
Blank Thomas
Eric Hall
Hands and Feet

Experimental
The Conformists
Demonlover
Hardbody
Ish
Yowie

Folk
The Aching Hearts
Cara Louise Band
Dubb Nubb
Letter to Memphis
Whsky Gngr

Garage Rock
The Bobby Dazzlers
The Brainstems
Kenshiro's
Shitstorm
Tiger Rider

Hard Rock
Apex Shrine
Boreal Hills
Buttercup
Fumer
The R6 Implant

Hardcore
The Bubbleheads
Everything Went Black
Lumpy and the Dumpers
Q
The Warden

Hip-Hop (Group)
3 Problems
Blank Generation
Illphonics
MME
Mathias and the Pirates

Hip-Hop (Solo)
Arshad Goods
Bates
J'Demul
Mvstermind
Tef Poe

Improvisational/Noise Music
Beauty Pageant
Brain Transplant
Ghost Ice
Raglani
Vernacular String Trio

Indie Pop
Endora
Hope & Therapy
Middle Class Fashion
Scarlet Tanager
Whoa Thunder

Indie Rock
American Wrestlers
CaveofswordS
Foxing
Sleepy Kitty
Town Cars

Jam/Dub
Aaron Kamm and the One Drops
Blastar
The Driftaways
Thunder Biscuit Orchestra
Vandeventer

Jazz
Animal Children
Dave Stone
The Gaslight Squares
Sidney Street Shakers
Tommy Halloran's Guerrilla Swing

Metal
Fister
The Gorge
Lion's Daughter
Thor Axe
Van Buren

New Band
Baby Baby Dance With Me
Dangerbird
Dracla
Marble//Wall Duo
Swear Beam

Pop
3 of 5
Dropkick the Robot
The Educated Guess
Golden Curls
The Vanilla Beans

Post Hardcore
Blight Future
Jr. Clooney
LifeWithout
Lobby Boxer
Staghorn

Shoegaze/Psychedelic
Persh
Rip Rap
Summer Magic
Sunwyrm
Tone Rodent

Punk
Breakmouth Annie
Little Big Bangs
Skin Tags
Trauma Harness
Veil

R&B
Coultrain
Little Rachel
Love Jones “The Band”
The Provels
Roland Johnson & Soul Endeavor

Rock
Brother Lee & the Leather Jackals
Bruiser Queen
Bug Chaser
Old Souls Revival
Tok

Singer-Songwriter
Emily Wallace
Miss Molly Simms
Sharon Hazel Township
Suzie Cue
Zak Marmalefsky

Soul/Funk
Al Holliday and the East Side Rhythm Band
Funky Butt Brass Band
Hazard to ya Booty
Rhythm Section Road Show
Southern Exposure - Riverfront Times

ALTON — Hope and Drew Mader, both Alton natives, are in their third year of planning Rock The Hops festival of music, beer and art, spanning multiple Downtown Alton venues. They also lead the electronic alternative band Hope & Therapy. Their most recent full-length album, “Webs,” received widespread praise throughout the St. Louis region. “Webs” can be streamed at https://hopeandtherapy.bandcamp.com.

The couple answered several questions ahead of Saturday’s event.

Nathan Woodside: Is there personal pressure to continue to out-do the previous year? How do you manage that and at what point would you feel satisfied to plateau its size?

Drew Mader: Growth is always nice, but scale is also extremely important. Since it’s really just the two of us putting all the pieces together leading up to the day of the event, we don’t want it to become unmanageable, which could in turn cause the execution to suffer. That said, I also want to thank everyone involved with making it happen, and especially the volunteer crew, who help things run smoothly on the day of.

Hope Mader: We’re constantly thinking about where this event could go. Expanding the brand, evolving with the times, potential collaborations… It could certainly go bigger, but that would take a heartier budget and a few more hands on deck. We’ve always got ideas brewing, it’s just a matter of opportunities and timing.

NW: What are a couple “can’t miss” bands or fest features this year, in your opinion? Or what are you especially excited about? Anybody you see as an up-and-coming Alton product with a bright future?

DM: We really can’t stress enough that people should make it a priority to check out the vendor booths. There’s always really interesting stuff to find (and buy) that’s all locally made, so this is a great opportunity to shop local for unique items for yourself or one-of-a-kind gift ideas. We also have several new breweries represented from outside of the immediate area, so we hope people get a chance to sample some beers they’re less familiar with. In the music realm, we’re stoked to be a source of encouragement to several brand new acts on the scene. Seeing artists go from sort-of casual endeavors to taking their craft a lot more seriously is just really heartening, and a big motivator for us to do this.

NW: You have established yourselves, really via Rock the Hops, as kind of a future-seeing orb for a definition of what Alton can be. It seems to me that the idea of what Alton should be defined as is being pulled in eight different directions, which causes some stagnant water. What do you see for the future of a thriving downtown?

DM: I think simply making space — like really, truly providing an unconditional opportunity — for people to do their thing is the key. Rock The Hops, for example, quite literally makes space for bands and other types of artists and makers to show their products. So then, if you model that kind of idea on a grander scale in the community, outside the format of a music, art and beer festival, people start to feel heard, and that their ideas and visions also matter and that makes for an encouraging environment where everyone can thrive.

NW: What’s Hope & Therapy up to next?

HM: The band has been busy. Playing tons of shows and writing. Once Rock The Hops is over, we will re-group and chart a course for the rest of 2017. We’re writing for our third album and I’m excited for a new season, where we can hunker down and get in the appropriate headspace to create.

DM: Oh, and since we omitted ourselves from the lineup during the official 2-8 p.m. time frame of the event, we’re going to play a set at Tony’s Vogue Room at 8:15 p.m. that night… Surprise!

Written By
Nathan Woodside - The Telegraph

Hope and Therapy’s name recognition grows with each accomplishment.

The Alton-based, three-piece band won 2009’s Big Gig organized by Alton Marketplace Inc., as well as Riverbender.com, and now are opening for a national recording artist, Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Firebird in St. Louis at 2706 Olive Blvd. Chisel and his band have been featured in Rolling Stone and SPIN magazine.

Hope Gaines, Drew Mader and Dan Deck, who make up Hope and Therapy, all live in Alton, but they’ve been on the road until recently after finishing and self-releasing their first full-length 13-song CD out of Red Pill Studio in St. Louis.

Hope and Therapy created their own following with all-original music. Gaines grew up singing in church choir, in college and dabbled on the piano. Gaines does vocals and plays keys for the band. Deck plays bass, and Mader plays drums.

In August, Hope and Therapy released the CD, Heavy Dose, which they started in October 2009. It took about nine months to do the mixing, post-production, mastering and artwork for the album cover. They celebrated the milestone with a show at Cicero’s in University City’s Loop in August.

Gaines said the sound of the album and the direction they are heading is more of an indie progressive pop sound with lots of soul.

"We take cues from classic acts of the ’60s and ’70s and meld those influences with those of modern greats," she said.

The band just returned from a Midwest Mini-tour with stops in Peoria, Chicago, Bloomington, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

"It was a ton of fun; we made lots of new fans/friends and sold a few copies of our album," Mader said.

Hope and Therapy recorded with J. Christopher Hughes, who owns his own studio, Post Historic Studio, in Milwaukee. He went through an editor at the Riverfront Times to get Hope and Therapy’s contact. Once he reached them in February 2009, he came to St. Louis to record with them at Red Pill.

"He asked us if and when we were making a record, he would want to work with us," Gaines said. "So, we stayed in touch."

And when the band won 2009’s Big Gig by selling the most tickets of the bands selected by a committee for the concert at Alton Riverfront Park’s amphitheater, they also received a chance to record in studio.

The tour and the CD have gotten their name out there, Gaines noted.

"We were asked by every stop we had to come back and play soon," she said. "We’re working on plans to get back to those towns and to many more in the future."

They also plan on applying to the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, which takes place next spring.

"There’s lots of good things on the horizon," Mader said.

Hope and Therapy’s next Alton show is Dec. 23 at Chez Marilyn’s in Downtown Alton.

Visit the band's MySpace or Facebook for more information.

- The Telegraph

When the Alton, Illinois-based trio Hope & Therapy began in 2008, singer and keyboardist Hope Gaines had spent a short lifetime as a music fan — poring over her stepfather's record collection, going to shows, penning her own tunes. But putting herself and her music front and center was a new journey, one that drummer Drew Mader and bassist Dan Deck assisted her in undertaking.

"I've been writing songs for as long as I can remember, and singing before that," says Gaines. "When I met Drew and Dan I had a really large catalog of songs and I struggled with stage fright. They just pushed me and pushed me to get out there. In 2008, Dan and Drew, one late night, heard me playing some songs. And it sounds so corny, but they just sat down and started playing with me."

Hope & Therapy Breaks Six-Year Silence with New Webs EP
Those informal jams led to open mic nights and, eventually, gigs in and out of town, as well as the full-length album Heavy Dose. Six years have passed between that release and this year's Webs, an EP that serves as a reintroduction to the band, as well as a clear indicator of its fidelity to rhythmically entrancing, darkly burnished music.

Gaines certainly earns top billing in Hope & Therapy. Her vocals ring out with a clear-eyed purity, and while she flirts with abandoning her composure throughout the seven songs, she never cedes control. When she opens up and goes full diva, as on "Easier Said," the effect elevates the songs into high drama.

On that song, she works against a mellow electric piano and a gradually intensifying rhythm section; Mader starts with nothing but a four-count bass drum to set the pace, but as he and Deck dig into the track, its stops and starts give room to twists, turns and fills.

According to Mader, who formerly played bass in more math-rock oriented bands such as Ring, Cicada and Camp Climax for Girls, the band's musical middle ground comes together from different ends of the spectrum. "Dan's background is in punk rock, mine is in heavy rock & roll," he says. "It was something different for people in Alton for sure, who were more used to seeing me playing a full stack and screaming as opposed to seeing this jazzier, piano-based stuff.

"I think that I definitely try to bring a little more angst and aggressive tendencies, and try to pepper in elements of math-rock and stuff like that," Mader continues. "In Hope & Therapy, Hope's a great songwriter, where the other bands were about hammering out riffs. It's interesting to bring those elements into something that's songwriter-based."

Gaines' keyboard work, which favors simple patterns played on retro-synth patches, also gives crucial harmonic levity against a busy and buzzy rhythm section. On a track like "The Vine," Gaines is able to push her voice to its upper reaches while circular, bell-like figures ring out in celestial accord. Again, the grounding forces of Mader and Beck keep the rhythms shifting from steady, dubby pulses to hairpin changes.

"We're big on dynamics," says Mader. "We play it harder, then we play a little mellow, and then we hit it hard again." That process bears fruit on "Dear Darling," perhaps the most conventional composition on the EP, and one that sinks its teeth in during a magnetic chorus. The gradual effect of repetition and the shifting rhythmic tides give a rich, dense palette for Gaines to sing against.

Sessions for Webs began in May 2014 at Jacob Detering's Red Pill studio; Mader says that "regular life events" contributed to the gap between the two releases, as well as the delay between starting and completing this latest EP. "When we released the first album we recorded everything we had," says Mader. "We toured that material and eventually began writing new stuff."

Mader and Gaines, who are married, also welcomed a new addition into their family in the midst of tracking the album. "From the time we got to start recording Webs to the time it was finished, we actually became parents. So that was a speed bump in the timeline too," says Mader.

Mader had worked with engineer Jacob Detering during his time in Ring, Cicada, so Hope & Therapy's time at Red Pill studios took advantage of that familiarity.

"In the tracking sessions with Jacob, we took some suggestions for sure," says Mader. "He's a great producer and knows what works well." Matthew Sawicki helmed the board for lead-off track "Former Future," the newest song of the batch, and he handled the final mixing and mastering as well. "We decided to mix with Matt because he takes more of an aggressive approach. We wanted these to hit a little harder," says Mader.

Hope & Therapy plans to continue gigging around the Metro East and St. Louis in support of the album, though Gaines says it's been "somewhat challenging" to make headway in the St. Louis scene.

Mader concurs. "Since we're not in St. Louis proper, we don't get the chance to mingle as much," he says "It takes due diligence to make connections."Both Gaines and Mader cop to hometown pride, though, and mention Alton heavyweights Back of Dave and Judge Nothing in our interview.

And while Hope & Therapy's more ethereal approach to songwriting and production may suggest otherwise, Gaines sees a kinship between her band and her town's rock heritage: "Alton has deep roots in punk rock and heavy riff rock that has influenced us in some ways."

-Christian Schaffer
January 2016 - Riverfront Times

Somewhere between prog and neo-soul, Hope & Therapy played like a power trio from a future with no need for guitars. Dan Deck cranked some incredible tones out of his Kramer under the powerful vocal melodies and keys of Hope Gaines. Their sound felt removed from time, simultaneously weighted with classic influence and careening off toward the unknown. - Windy City Rock - Chicago Music News

Hope and Therapy's lead singer, Hope Gaines, has a distinctive voice with great stage presence behind her keyboard. The band is dynamic, and had the crowd hooked by the second song. They ended their set with a bang, getting everyone pumped for Bright Light Social Hour's set. - KDHX.org

Who’s Hope and Therapy? How did you guys all meet and start this band?

Hope & Therapy is a 4-piece Indie-Spacey-Progressive Rock band from the St Louis, MO Metro Area. We have all known each other for many years from being a part of the music scene in our area, playing in and/or supporting each other’s previous musical projects. We started as a singer/songwriter type of project with Drew Mader(drums) and Dan Deck(bass) acting as the “back-up band” for Hope Gaines’(keys/vocals) songs. We operated in this format for a few years and had a guitarist play on our album and do a few shows with us after the album’s release, but it just wasn’t in the cards to have him as a full-time member. We added Chan Maurice Evans(guitar/background vocals) as a full-time member right at the beginning of 2012.



What’s the story behind the band’s name?

In the spirit of the backing band type format, we wanted to be “Hope & The _______”, but weren’t quite sure what that would be. It was then decided, to be a bit more cryptic, to lose the “The” and go for something more open-ended, and not so obviously “Someone’s Name & The Something-or-others” like we had seen so many groups doing at the time. Our music has a therapeutic vibe, certainly for us as well as our fans, so we settled on Hope & Therapy. There are so many different meanings for both of those words, that most of the time, until she personally introduces herself, people don’t even realize that Hope is the band’s namesake.



What are your musical influences?

There are so many! Hope’s absolute favorite band is Radiohead. They’re way up there for Drew and Chan as well. Dan has a punk rock background, but oddly, his bass playing reflects a groovier Motown style. Others include, but are certainly not limited to: Tortoise, The Mars Volta, The Beatles, and King Crimson. More recent discoveries like Little Dragon and Phantogram have had an impact on the sounds we’ve chosen lately in the writing process.



What’s the message you guys are looking to spread with your music?

There isn’t necessarily a specific message we try to convey through our music. We just try to write honest, interesting songs that people can relate to on whatever level they can.



What’s your method at the time of writing a song?

In the past, it would usually start with Hope bringing the main idea to the table and we all arrange the songs together. Then we’ll come up with different points to accentuate or maybe play off of a vocal line. Many times, the bass and drum parts will inspire a new part and we’ll see how far out we can take things without losing the core of the song in the process. More recently we’ve used samples and drum loops to spark some ideas and then translate those to our instruments, which by the time we’re done with them, sound nothing like where we initially started.



So you guys are on the road. Can you give us some details about it and what to expect?

We’ll be out for about a week and a half all around the Midwest at the end of August into the beginning of September. We’ll be road-testing a lot of new material as well as our new guitarist, Chan, for a follow-up release to our 2010 debut record “Heavy Dose”. As compared to that album, the newer material has more of a free-wheelin’-in-a-spaceship kind of vibe. Synthy keys, swirling guitar textures, sludgey yet smooth bass lines and dynamic rock drumming. Hope’s voice is soaring above it all spouting homage to everything from our small-town roots and the drama that comes with it, to deep seeded emotional tug-o-war and perseverance in the face of adversity. Cuts from “Heavy Dose”, including the title track will sprinkle the set as well. New light will shine on some, including an alternate version of the most up-beat track “Blinded”, compelling guitar swells will replace the strings on “Our Hell”, and vocal harmonies will fill out key moments of fan favorite “Autumn Brew”.



What’s been the funniest moment you guys have had or took part in while touring?

We’re all a bunch of jokers, so usually the funniest stuff happens in conversation in the van. People get tired and take naps while we’re driving and it’s usually best to catch someone right as they’re waking up for a good laugh. The unknowing of being on the road certainly puts you out of your comfort zone, so that can make people’s defense mechanisms turn to comedy and that’s always important as touring can be stressful from time to time as well. A good example is from our Fall 2010 tour: We’d been driving for a while and were just listening to music and we hear Hope start giggling in the back seat. We’re like “What? What’s so funny, Hope? You farted didn’t you?!” She denies of course because she’s a lady, and we keep giving her the business about it because she just keeps on laughing. We’re like, “Come on Hope, you’re back there fartin’ and laughin’ aren’t you?!” So we end up dubbing that tour “Fartin’ and Laughin’ Tour 2010”. That insid - Vents Magazine

Sultry songstress, Hope Gaines (vocals/ keys) is the fiery element and frontwoman of the progressive indie blues trio Hope & Therapy. Her soulful vocals and evocative lyrics pour out, spilling over the anchoring line of Dan Deck (bass) and Drew Mader's (Drums) precise, yet jazzy percussion. The group is uniquely their own sound while certain aspects are reminiscent of artists Portishead and Cat Power.
The group recently released their first album, Heavy Dose, available on CD, and has select songs available for download. The band is also a live performance to catch, with upcoming shows in the works. Stay tuned! - Peoria Art Examiner

By Annie Zaleski, Wed., Nov. 11 2009

Where: Red Pill
With Whom: J. Christopher Hughes
When: Tracked October 16 to 18. Currently being mixed by JCH at his Post Historic Studio in Milwaukee.
What: The band's debut album.

When due out? Early 2010. Look for sneak peaks on myspace.com/hopeandtherapy around Christmas.
Sounds Like... According to the producer: "Sonically: dark, deep, ambient, vibey, organic. Musically: A sultry voice over organic piano and keyboards with a solid, driving, jazz meets rock rhythm section holding it all together. Haunting sounds made by real humans."

- Riverfront Times

By Annie Zaleski
Wednesday, Feb 18 2009

The members of Alton's Hope and Therapy are no strangers to the local music community. Drummer Drew Mader has also played bass with Illinois noiseniks Ring, Cicada and Camp Climax for Girls, while bassist Dan Deck has been in bands off and on since he was a teenager. Still, Hope and Therapy's music would be out of place in the east side's gritty rock bars. Moody and introspective, the trio combines atmospheric jazz and classical touches with sighing piano melodies and rainy-day lyrics. Comparisons to Ben Folds Five, '90s obscurity Suddenly, Tammy! or Fiona Apple (sans smoky pout) are inevitable — but that's mainly because vocalist/pianist Hope Gaines is an expressive vocalist whose emotion is sincere, not overstated. Definitely a new local band to watch.

- Riverfront Times

Musicians who attended AHS jamming at Don and Penny's
June 18, 2009
By JILL MOON

ALTON - Don and Penny's is hosting a reunion of sorts tonight with hometown musicians.

Native Altonian Robert Baldwin, now of Austin, Texas, joins friends and fellow musicians when his band, Austin-based Wine and Revolution, performs with Alton-based Hope and Therapy. Baldwin and Hope and Therapy's Hope Gaines and Drew Mader attended Alton High School together but graduated different years - all about 10 years ago. Dan Deck of Hope and Therapy also went to AHS but graduated quite a bit earlier than the other three.

"This is kind of Alton's reunion with Robert," Gaines said. "We've all known each other several years, and as a favor to (Wine and Revolution), we searched out Don and Penny's."

Hope and Therapy are creating their own following with all-original music. Gaines grew up singing in church choir, in college and dabbled on the piano. Gaines does vocals and plays piano for the band. Deck plays bass, and Mader plays drums.
"We all clicked one way or another with music, taste, likes, dislikes," said Gaines, who also dates Mader.

Gaines described Hope and Therapy's music as "new blues," which is blues indie pop.

"We take cues from old classics and meld those with modern grades, as well," she said.

Hope and Therapy had their first gig last August and perform fairly regularly at Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge, Chez Marilyn and Big Muddy Pub, all in Downtown Alton, where Don and Penny's also is located.

"A lot of the songs we play are things I might have written in high school 10 years ago, but we rearranged some or revived them," she said. "The guys are old pros and have been in bands since their teenage years in local bands."

Hope and Therapy will perform Aug. 1 at Alton Marketplace's Big Gig at the new riverfront amphitheater.

"We as a band are thrilled to be bringing original, local music back to Alton," Gaines said. "There was a significant lull for awhile, but establishments have jumped on board and really been behind us. We're just really excited about it."

- The Telegraph

July 23, 2009
By JILL MOON
The Telegraph
ALTON — Fans picked their headliner, setting the stage for Hope and Therapy to command Alton’s new amphitheater at the Big Gig.

Hope and Therapy became Alton Marketplace and Riverbender.com’s main act when its fans purchased $10 tickets to the Big Gig and designated their favorite band. Alton Marketplace Executive Director Sara McGibany came up with the Metro East music showcase as a fund-raiser for the nonprofit Alton Marketplace.

The Big Gig, from 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at the new riverfront amphitheater, features six bands performing their original music. A selection committee picked the artists from among 25 acts that auditioned for the music show.

“As a nonprofit, we have to think outside the box and get new things going for fund-raising,” McGibany said. “We have this 4,000-seat new amphitheater, and we thought, ‘Gone are the days when you can just have a trivia night or other traditional fund-raiser."

McGibany, who is immersed in the local music culture herself, started planning an event such as the Big Gig more than a year ago. McGibany gathered a committee to help make the idea a reality...

...Then, the headliners, blues/pop/indie faves Hope and Therapy, will begin the grand finale at 9 p.m. Hope and Therapy consists of Hope Gaines, vocals/piano; Dan Deck, bass; and Drew Mader, drums.

The vocal prowess, moody minor piano chords and introspective lyrics of singer/songwriter Gaines are the focus of this ensemble. Gaines’ songwriting is complimented tastefully by the smooth bass lines of Deck and jazzy brushed drumming of Mader. All members are born and raised Altonians, graduates of Alton High School, and “D.I.Y. music enthusiasts to the 10th degree.”

Formed in the summer of 2008, the band has quickly caught the ears of listeners of all ages. As winners of the band selection ticket contest, The Telegraph will feature Hope and Therapy in an upcoming profile.
The Big Gig follows Alton Marketplace’s mission by drawing attention to Downtown Alton by promoting “local sound Downtown.”

- The Telegraph

ALTON — Alton band “Hope and Therapy” will be performing its first hometown show in 2016 on March 5 at 300 State Street.
The band, which formed in 2008, is comprised of Hope Mader on vocals and keyboard, her husband, Drew Mader, on drums and Dan Deck on bass. They released an EP called “Webs” on Jan. 1. Songs from that release have been played on several shows on KDHX, an independent St. Louis-based radio station.
The style of Hope and Therapy could be difficult to pin down for the regular rock music listener. The sharp, fluttering spray of drums builds an air-tight platform for a spacey wall of shoegaze-style rock throughout most of Webs. Buzzy, dancy electro base works as a backdrop for melodic keys and Hope Mader’s soaring, powerful, pristine voice.
According to the Maders, the band will play 300 State Street — a restaurant and venue known for catering to independent bands who write orginal music.
“It’s good to make the rounds in venues still promoting the originals,” Drew Mader said.
Drew Mader said he believes the original music scene in Alton is currently on an “upswing.” He cited venues such as 300 State Street, Elijah P’s, Old Bakery Beer Company and Shakers Lounge — as well as the upcoming Lighthouse Sounds recording studio.
“We like getting out there, getting to know everybody and making a local community of musicians,” he said “We help each other out, are cool to each other and promote growth. There’s good stuff going on.”
Those connections are why Hope and Therapy have been able to tour across the Midwest. One tour took them from Alton to Austin, Texas and across the Deep South.
“For us, it’s all about making connections,” Hope Mader said. “It’s gone a long way back, since before Hope and Therapy. We’ve put up acts who were on tour and maintained those connections to the present day.”
The Maders said “Webs” was in the works for nearly a year and a half before its release. During that time, they had a baby. The Maders said being husband and wife as well as bandmates has plenty of challenges, but much more rewards.
“It’s tough to compartmentalize,” Drew Mader said. “It’s a challenge, for sure, but there are benefits to it as well —lots of benefits.”
“We get to do what we love together and travel the U.S. playing music together,” Hope Mader said. “Sharing the stage with friends is awesome.”
Friendship, in fact, plays a significant role for the Maders when it comes to selecting band members as well as selecting bands to share their shows. The March 5 show will include their friends “Billy and the Jets” and “Hideous Gentlemen.”
“I don’t know how people find band members from Craigslist,” Drew Mader said. “Being in a band together is a personal thing. I couldn’t imagine being in a band with people I didn’t love.”
“Webs,” a product of that friendship, can be found on the band’s BandCamp page, hopeandtherapy.bandcamp.com. More information about Hope and Therapy can also be found on their Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/hopeandtherapy.
Entry to the March 5 show is $5.
Reach reporter Cory Davenport at (618) 208-6447. - The Telegraph

When the Alton, Illinois-based trio Hope & Therapy began in 2008, singer and keyboardist Hope Gaines had spent a short lifetime as a music fan — poring over her stepfather's record collection, going to shows, penning her own tunes. But putting herself and her music front and center was a new journey, one that drummer Drew Mader and bassist Dan Deck assisted her in undertaking.

"I've been writing songs for as long as I can remember, and singing before that," says Gaines. "When I met Drew and Dan I had a really large catalog of songs and I struggled with stage fright. They just pushed me and pushed me to get out there. In 2008, Dan and Drew, one late night, heard me playing some songs. And it sounds so corny, but they just sat down and started playing with me."

Those informal jams led to open mic nights and, eventually, gigs in and out of town, as well as the full-length album Heavy Dose. Six years have passed between that release and this year's Webs, an EP that serves as a reintroduction to the band, as well as a clear indicator of its fidelity to rhythmically entrancing, darkly burnished music.

Gaines certainly earns top billing in Hope & Therapy. Her vocals ring out with a clear-eyed purity, and while she flirts with abandoning her composure throughout the seven songs, she never cedes control. When she opens up and goes full diva, as on "Easier Said," the effect elevates the songs into high drama.

On that song, she works against a mellow electric piano and a gradually intensifying rhythm section; Mader starts with nothing but a four-count bass drum to set the pace, but as he and Deck dig into the track, its stops and starts give room to twists, turns and fills.

According to Mader, who formerly played bass in more math-rock oriented bands such as Ring, Cicada and Camp Climax for Girls, the band's musical middle ground comes together from different ends of the spectrum. "Dan's background is in punk rock, mine is in heavy rock & roll," he says. "It was something different for people in Alton for sure, who were more used to seeing me playing a full stack and screaming as opposed to seeing this jazzier, piano-based stuff.

"I think that I definitely try to bring a little more angst and aggressive tendencies, and try to pepper in elements of math-rock and stuff like that," Mader continues. "In Hope & Therapy, Hope's a great songwriter, where the other bands were about hammering out riffs. It's interesting to bring those elements into something that's songwriter-based."

Gaines' keyboard work, which favors simple patterns played on retro-synth patches, also gives crucial harmonic levity against a busy and buzzy rhythm section. On a track like "The Vine," Gaines is able to push her voice to its upper reaches while circular, bell-like figures ring out in celestial accord. Again, the grounding forces of Mader and Beck keep the rhythms shifting from steady, dubby pulses to hairpin changes.

"We're big on dynamics," says Mader. "We play it harder, then we play a little mellow, and then we hit it hard again." That process bears fruit on "Dear Darling," perhaps the most conventional composition on the EP, and one that sinks its teeth in during a magnetic chorus. The gradual effect of repetition and the shifting rhythmic tides give a rich, dense palette for Gaines to sing against.

Sessions for Webs began in May 2014 at Jacob Detering's Red Pill studio; Mader says that "regular life events" contributed to the gap between the two releases, as well as the delay between starting and completing this latest EP. "When we released the first album we recorded everything we had," says Mader. "We toured that material and eventually began writing new stuff."

Mader and Gaines, who are married, also welcomed a new addition into their family in the midst of tracking the album. "From the time we got to start recording Webs to the time it was finished, we actually became parents. So that was a speed bump in the timeline too," says Mader.

Mader had worked with engineer Jacob Detering during his time in Ring, Cicada, so Hope & Therapy's time at Red Pill studios took advantage of that familiarity.

"In the tracking sessions with Jacob, we took some suggestions for sure," says Mader. "He's a great producer and knows what works well." Matthew Sawicki helmed the board for lead-off track "Former Future," the newest song of the batch, and he handled the final mixing and mastering as well. "We decided to mix with Matt because he takes more of an aggressive approach. We wanted these to hit a little harder," says Mader.

Hope & Therapy plans to continue gigging around the Metro East and St. Louis in support of the album, though Gaines says it's been "somewhat challenging" to make headway in the St. Louis scene.

Mader concurs. "Since we're not in St. Louis proper, we don't get the chance to mingle as much," he says "It takes due diligence to make connections."Both Gaines and Mader cop to hometown pride, though, and mention Alton heavyweights Back of Dave and Judge Nothing in our interview.

And while Hope & Therapy's more ethereal approach to songwriting and production may suggest otherwise, Gaines sees a kinship between her band and her town's rock heritage: "Alton has deep roots in punk rock and heavy riff rock that has influenced us in some ways." - The Riverfront Times

ALTON — Hope and Drew Mader, both Alton natives, are in their third year of planning Rock The Hops festival of music, beer and art, spanning multiple Downtown Alton venues. They also lead the electronic alternative band Hope & Therapy. Their most recent full-length album, “Webs,” received widespread praise throughout the St. Louis region. “Webs” can be streamed at https://hopeandtherapy.bandcamp.com.
The couple answered several questions ahead of Saturday’s event.
Nathan Woodside: Is there personal pressure to continue to out-do the previous year? How do you manage that and at what point would you feel satisfied to plateau its size?
Drew Mader: Growth is always nice, but scale is also extremely important. Since it’s really just the two of us putting all the pieces together leading up to the day of the event, we don’t want it to become unmanageable, which could in turn cause the execution to suffer. That said, I also want to thank everyone involved with making it happen, and especially the volunteer crew, who help things run smoothly on the day of.
Hope Mader: We’re constantly thinking about where this event could go. Expanding the brand, evolving with the times, potential collaborations… It could certainly go bigger, but that would take a heartier budget and a few more hands on deck. We’ve always got ideas brewing, it’s just a matter of opportunities and timing.
NW: What are a couple “can’t miss” bands or fest features this year, in your opinion? Or what are you especially excited about? Anybody you see as an up-and-coming Alton product with a bright future?
DM: We really can’t stress enough that people should make it a priority to check out the vendor booths. There’s always really interesting stuff to find (and buy) that’s all locally made, so this is a great opportunity to shop local for unique items for yourself or one-of-a-kind gift ideas. We also have several new breweries represented from outside of the immediate area, so we hope people get a chance to sample some beers they’re less familiar with. In the music realm, we’re stoked to be a source of encouragement to several brand new acts on the scene. Seeing artists go from sort-of casual endeavors to taking their craft a lot more seriously is just really heartening, and a big motivator for us to do this.
NW: You have established yourselves, really via Rock the Hops, as kind of a future-seeing orb for a definition of what Alton can be. It seems to me that the idea of what Alton should be defined as is being pulled in eight different directions, which causes some stagnant water. What do you see for the future of a thriving downtown?
DM: I think simply making space — like really, truly providing an unconditional opportunity — for people to do their thing is the key. Rock The Hops, for example, quite literally makes space for bands and other types of artists and makers to show their products. So then, if you model that kind of idea on a grander scale in the community, outside the format of a music, art and beer festival, people start to feel heard, and that their ideas and visions also matter and that makes for an encouraging environment where everyone can thrive.
NW: What’s Hope & Therapy up to next?
HM: The band has been busy. Playing tons of shows and writing. Once Rock The Hops is over, we will re-group and chart a course for the rest of 2017. We’re writing for our third album and I’m excited for a new season, where we can hunker down and get in the appropriate headspace to create.
DM: Oh, and since we omitted ourselves from the lineup during the official 2-8 p.m. time frame of the event, we’re going to play a set at Tony’s Vogue Room at 8:15 p.m. that night… Surprise! - The Telegraph