The Colonels

SHORT BIO:

The Colonels formed as a touring band in 2007 in Northampton, MA. Andrew Bryan Smith and professional vagabond/ musician Peter Sohriakoff were the founding members. Their shared interests in music, muscle cars, and well-developed storylines resulted in The Colonels. They brought Sasha Starr, a dedicated francophone, on board in July of 2008.

The Colonels have recorded and produced two full-length records, showcased at CMJ, toured extensively with 100 shows in 2009/10, and shared the stage with Justin Townes Earle, Steven Kellogg, The Mountain Goats, The Nields and Mary Gauthier. Popmatters and American Songwriter have touted the Colonels. Yahoo Music, WRSI, WBUR, and WXOJ have been early adopters of the Colonels’ blend of well-developed storylines and gritty American music. The Colonels have a dedicated following in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest.

LONG BIO:

The Colonels began with a wild gambit. Andrew Bryan Smith, a hardcore troubadour, novelist, and urbanist from Nashville and Peter Sohriakoff, bassist and rock and roll archivist from Portland, Oregon, began to make music in 2007. The scene was Northampton, MA, a small City in the Connecticut River Valley that is both a college town and musical incubator. The sidewalks of Northampton have a way of bringing drifters with mutual interests together. Their shared interest in almost forgotten music, muscle cars, and well-developed storylines called for the formation of The Colonels. They began collaborating with the French-speaking Sasha Starr in July 2008.

In September of 2008 The Colonels released their first full-length recording, a ten song, self-titled LP. It was recorded by Dave Chalfant, who is most well known for his work with Erin McKeown, Stephen Kellogg and the Winterpills. His experience was a perfect fit for what was then The Colonels’ raw, almost primitive, devotion to recreating the sounds of vintage 1950s country music. The album, when it was released, garnered wild praise from local and national press, who likened it to a “slow-burn Appalachian Splendor.” The untamed mix of pedal steel, banjo, fiddle and electric guitar proved that The Colonels were not content to recreate golden-era country classics and hinted at a new range of musical expression as the band matured.

The band's sound has evolved significantly since their 2008 debut. A year of touring New England and meeting musicians from every end of the spectrum has led to a fresh batch of songs that celebrate The Colonels’ love of bare-knuckled neo-traditional American rock. The kernel of this nervy sound can be heard all throughout the band’s previous releases, but on their second release (September 2010), The Colonels give themselves over to it completely.

After two years and a 100 shows, the Colonels have made significant gains. Major breaks have included dates with seasoned musicians—The Mountain Goats, Justin Townes Earle, Marshall Crenshaw, Amy LaVere, Mary Gauthier and the Nields— and outstanding sets in some of the Northeast’s finest clubs- The Iron Horse, Toad, The Rodeo Bar, The Living Room.

The band tours as a trio and has gained respect for the strength of their song-writing and instrumentation.

In October The Colonels will be touring the Northeast to support their second LP. It’s a 12 song patchwork about strivers in small towns and the worlds they inhabit. Recording occurred in the winter of 2010 in a small barn in the frozen foothills of Western Massachusetts. The icy landscape and hushed soughing of winter branches were punctuated by the staccato burst of a brushfire that edged its way across the hillside during most of the band’s recording sessions. On quieter takes, a slow-burn woodsy smell drifted in and out of the studio. A year on the road. Short days and long nights. A hard place to land. Bicycles and Cigarettes. And a quiet fire somewhere uphill. The Colonels could not have made this record without these things.